14. David Portnoy: Barstool Sports “Big time college sports is a big business,” Portnoy said. “Let the kids who make billions for their schools get a cut of it. It’s only fair. Seriously the NCAA is the only place in America where people have a skill that make’s moneyand they can’t get paid for it.”
15. Maryland Basketball Coach: Gary Williams “These guy’s don’t receive anything except room, board, books, tuition and fees, which doesn’t put any cash in their pockets,” Williams said in September. “I think [paying athletes] could do a lot of good. Hopefully it would keep away some of the Unscrupulous people that do hang around the great athletes, where an athlete won’t befriend a guy just because a guy gave him 100 bucks or something like that.”
16. Mike Anthony: Hartford Courant “I'd say it's a fair argument, sure. But a strong case could be made either way and at this point I would not support athletes being paid. While there are a lot of factors at play, I do still believe these athletes are true amateurs, and it's important to note they are on scholarship at an academic institution that is providing a free education.” “Certainly they are, in part, the lifeblood of much of the money that flows into a university, but taking the major step to pay them is not appropriate. Even if it were deemed so, there would be so many complications in trying to figure out how to do it. For instance, is a highly-visible player going to make the same amount as a little-used backup? I think the system in place is fair and appropriate.”
17. Duke Men’s Basketball Beat Writer: Steve Wiseman “Yes, the schools make money, lots of money, off their athletic exploits but the athletes on full scholarships receive a free education,” he said. “At a school like Duke, the initial value is around $200,000. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at.” “The long-term benefit is the job opportunities that their education spawns. Being an athlete from a major institution allows for networking with fellow alums that lead to better employment situations,” he added.
18. Revenue from athletics goes toward academic scholarships Notre Dame President, Rev. John Jenkins, said that Notre Dame has used $26 million from their NBC television contracts towards financial aid for academic scholarships.
19. Salem State College Student Assistant: Daniel Viscariello “Athletes are athletes,” he said. “They’ll play the game or they wont play the game. They are in school to get an education, anything above that is a privilege. Administrators need to make money and athletics is one way they do it, simple as that.”
SNY promises to feature 300 hours of UCONN programming annually including 120 hours of game coverage. Also included in the 300 hours is press conferences, in-depth post-game shows and re-airs of games among other shows.
The signing of the television deal with SNY ends the University of Connecticut’s previous relationship with WTNH and it’s sister station who previously aired men’s basketball and football games.
“This comprehensive partnership with SNY with provide the university with a historic level of coverage dedicated to our athletics program, our coaches and student athletes. Beyond the games, UCONN fans will be able to enjoy many hours of additional and original programming produced by SNY about the Huskies. We’re excited that the offiicial TV home of the Big East Conference is now the home of UCONN football and men’s basketball,” Hathaway said at the press conference to announce the signing of the deal.
SNY is not available at the Storrs campus where the Husky faithful reside. In addition, SNY is not offered to Cox or Charter Communication’s subscriber's in central and eastern Connecticut.
“It’s really unfortunate that the administration signed this deal without assuring that us students would be able to watch the games,” he said. “They’ve had viewing parties at the Student Union but not all students can, or want to, go to the Student Union to watch the football games.
SNY became available on campus on Nov. 4 as channel 33 on the HuskyVision package offered to students. Just over two months after the television deal was signed, Husky fans now can watch football games in their dorms after missing 4 games that were broadcasted on SNY.
“I like where the 8.8 million homes are located. If you are really good at recruiting those areas, quite frankly, you could win a National Championship with that recruiting base,” Calhoun said at the press conference announcing the signing of the deal.
“We’ll get the most exposure out of anybody in New York City,” Edsall said at the press conference announcing the signing of the deal.
Universities all over the country make millions upon millions of dollars from television contracts, ticket sales, merchandise sales etc… The millions of dollars is made because of the amateur athletes that compete in the games. This leads to people arguing that amateur athletes should be compensated for their play.
In 1991, Notre Dame signed a record-breaking TV contract with NBC giving them exclusive rights to broadcast all their home games. The deal was worth a total of $75 million.In 2008, Notre Dame and NBC renewed the deal for 5 more years, reported to be worth $9 million per year by USA Today.
Notre Dame football made total revenue of $59.8 million in 2008 according to FanHouse.com, in large part to the amateur athletes who risk their health on a weekly basis playing a game.
“Big time college sports is a big business,” Portnoy said. “Let the kids who make billions for their schools get a cut of it. It’s only fair. Seriously the NCAA is the only place in America where people have a skill that make’s money, can’t get paid for it.”
As Wiseman pointed out, these athletes get a free education when on full scholarship. Money from television contracts make these full scholarships possible.
