1. “To Pay, or Not to Pay-
That is the Question”
Amateurism and Commercialism in Intercollegiate Athletics
Tim Valton II
(@tvaltonii)
May 2nd, 2014
Graduate Research Day
Salem State University
2. Sports as a Historical Lens
⦿What is history?
⦿Power and
presence of sports
within American
culture
⦿Trace the history
of the United
States through
sports, see trends
3. Purpose of the Research Study
⦿ Sports form tight knit
communities
⦿ “Student-first” mantra
⦿ Track the history of
amateurism and
commercialism in
intercollegiate athletics
⦿ Pinpoint times throughout
American history where
terms are challenged by
media, students, or
college administrators
4. Thesis Statement
⦿Throughout the Twentieth Century, the
concept of amateurism and the role of
commercialism in American intercollegiate
athletics were consistently redefined and
revaluated as a direct result of either an
increase in media presence or an influx of
revenue sources.
5. Key Terms and Concepts
⦿Amateurism
• NCAA defines nine different aspects that rule whether or not an athlete is eligible
for amateur status and therefore eligible to compete in intercollegiate athletics
⦿Commercialism
• Universities trying to find new sources of revenue with expanding costs and look
towards the commercial world for help. Includes: promoters, television networks,
marketing firms, ticket brokers and sponsors.
⦿Media
• Mass communication throughout the country;
• 1900- Cinema, 1910- Radio, 1950- Television, 1990- Internet, 2000- Social
⦿Student Athlete
• “A student-athlete is defined as an enrolled student who participates in an
organized competitive sport sponsored by the college/university in which he or
she is enrolled. Student-athletes must balance the roles of being both a student
and an athlete at their school” (http://athleteconnections.com/defining-the-student-athlete/)
6. Role of College Sports within
American Higher Education
⦿Contextualize college sports
⦿Socioeconomic power that big-
name football and basketball
programs
⦿Uneasy balance of power
⦿College sports have a
tremendous impact on
American higher education
“Many large varsity sports programs cost about the same as running a
professional school in engineering, law, or even medicine…[and] a
standard practice [is] for a head football or basketball coach to be paid at
least as much as an academic dean” (Thelin, 1994)
7. Contemporary Issue:
Ed O’Bannon vs. NCAA
⦿ College athletes notice extreme
amount of revenue coming into
the NCAA through TV contracts
and video game production
⦿ “Amateur clause” significance
⦿ Tackles the issue of “likeness” of
athletes in rebroadcasts of
games, DVD sales, photos,
video games, etc.
⦿ Michael McCann (2009)-
Licensed products are a $4
billion industry
⦿ Argue Former students no
longer fall under “amateur
clause”
8. College Sports:
A Humble Beginning
⦿ First appearance in 1852-
Harvard and Yale co-
hosting crewing competition
⦿ Baseball (1859) and football
(1869)
⦿ Administrators saw
economic potential
⦿ Varsity football became
national headlines
⦿ No longer just academic
prowess
“A winning football team…made it easier for alumni and boosters to
generate the funds needed to build additional athletic facilities and to
restore a sense of collegiate unity” (Hart-Nibbrig, 1986)
9. The College Athlete:
Early Twentieth Century
⦿ Turn of century = Mass
media production
⦿ Two common themes
were among college
sports writers:
• Commercialism’s effect on
amateurism
• Effect of increased revenue
on intercollegiate athletics
⦿ “The College Athlete”-
Summer of 1905
⦿ Attempted to define and
evaluate meaning of
amateurism
10. Athlete’s Code of Honor:
Providence Rules
Needham, H.B. (1905). The college athlete: How commercialism is making
him a professional. McClure’s Magazine XXV (260)
11. Commercialism and the Athlete
⦿ General managers wanted to
field best team possible- paid
to play
⦿ Summer-ball with college
athletes
• Paid based off talent level; free
housing and weekly stipend
⦿ Lack of university
accountability
⦿ Profit above everything else,
including amateur status
“If a collegian wants to play ball for money, he goes about it and
covers up his tracks by playing under an assumed name”
(Needham, June 1905)
12. Increased Revenue Sources
in College Football
⦿ Institutional environment
whose sole focus is
pending money on
amateur athletes to
compete with
professional teams
⦿ Faculty of Arts and
Sciences -($30,743.06)
⦿ Athletic Association-
$33,0571.51
“Although honest motives prompted its construction, the Harvard stadium
stands before the college world today as a glorification of the gate money,
the evil side of athletics- of football in particular-
and its effect is harmful in the extreme” (Needham, July 1905)
14. Intercollegiate Athletics and
The Carnegie Foundation
⦿ Unchecked athletic programs were not held
accountable for any kind of formal review or
assessment
⦿ 1920s- Media placed pressure on organizations
revolving around educational reform
⦿ Carnegie Foundation answered in 1926
⦿ Primary goal: figure out major problems facing
college sports
⦿ Investigated: administrative control of college
athletics, recruiting process, value of college
sports, role of the media and professional coach,
and finally development of commercialism
15. Findings of 1929 Carnegie Report
⦿ Commercialism was an
“interlocking network that
included expanded press
coverage, public interest, alumni
involvement, and recruiting
abuses. The victim was the
student-athlete, in particular the
diminishing of educational and
intellectual values” (Zimbalist,
1999)
⦿ 75% of colleges were in violation
of NCAA’s code of amateurism
⦿ Newspapers and radio shows
were “scolded for fostering
commercialism” (Thelin, 1994)
⦿ College administrators turn blind
eye to “evils of athletics” for
financial gains
16. Implications for Student Affairs
⦿ NASPA/ACPA Core
Competencies
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• History, Philosophy, and Values
• Human and Organizational
Resources
• Law, Policy, and Governance
⦿ Student affairs professionals
need to be cognizant of
larger cultural systems
⦿ Play a critical role in the
definition of our American
culture
⦿ Intercollegiate athletics is just
one of the many cultural
systems
17. References
⦿ Burns, Ken (Director). (1994). Basbeball [Motion Picture]. United States of America:
PBS Films.
⦿ Chu, D. (1989) The character of American higher education and intercollegiate sport.
Albany :State University of New York Press.
⦿ Hart-Nibbrig N. & Cottingham C. (1986). The political of college sports. Lexington:
Lexington Books.
⦿ McCann, Michael (2009, Jul 21). NCAA faces unspecified damages, changes in latest
anti-trust case. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 3, 2013 from
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/michael_mccann/07/21/nca
a/index.html
⦿ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). (2010) 2010-2011 NCAA Division I
Manual. Indianapolis, ID: Author.
⦿ The NCAA Lawsuit (2011). Retrieved December 3, 2013, from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-and-march-madness/ncaa-lawsuit/
⦿ Needham, H.B. (1905). The college athlete: His amateur code, its evasion and
administration. McClure’s Magazine XXV (2) 260-272.
⦿ Needham, H.B (1905). The college athlete: How commercialism is making him a
professional. McClure’s Magazine, XXV¸(2), 117-129.
⦿ Thelin, J. (1994). Games colleges play: Scandal and reform in intercollegiate athletics.
Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
⦿ Thelin, J. (2011). A history of higher education. Baltimore: John Hopkins University
Press.
⦿ Zimbalist, A. (1999) Unpaid professionals: Commercialism and conflict in big-time
college sports. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
