College Football Fascination

More often times than not, when I hear a sport writer or friend say why college athletes should be paid; they’ll quickly look at enormous amount of capital college football programs generate. But as we’ve been learning in class, this is usually not the case, as typically only 20 or so athletic programs generate a profit each year. So why do people think that college football programs generate excess money even though they don’t? Could it be that some coaches are paid millions of dollars annually? Could it be because of the lucrative TV contracts negotiated with the universities that we see in the media? Or maybe the belief that these college athletes appear as though they are free labor for a billion dollar industry.

The media is powerful tool in shaping public opinion. We see that the media will portray a university’s enormous generated revenue, while over looking expenses that include tuition, coach’s pay, recruiting, team travel and food, marketing and game expenses. I was shocked to hear in class that a majority of college football programs stay in hotel rooms before home games for the purpose of watching over the athletes and preparing for game day.  After briefly adding up the cost of feeding and provide shelter for these athletes before home games we calculated up to hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for these programs.  This unnecessary expense could be more practically used in funding other athletic programs, but since we live in a football-crazed society, universities will spend whatever it cost to put athletes in the field and people in the seats.

B. Nguy

Kin 577

LT 24