SPORTS
Monday, April 6, 2015 13
March Madness
They hypocrisy of American university sports
michael silver › staff writer
A
m e r ic a n u n i v e r s i t y s p or t s are
founded on the idealistic notion of amateurism in the form of student-athletes.
Supposedly, what matters is the personal growth of the students, and the school spirit
fostered by competition. Perhaps this was once the
case, and perhaps in some corners it remains the
case. However, at the largest American universities
this has long ceased to be the motivation. Instead,
schools are motivated solely by profit. There is nothing inherently wrong with schools earning a profit
from athletics, however the profits often result in the
exploitation of the athletes involved.
The NCAA basketball championship tournament, March Madness, is currently ongoing. All of
the games are televised, and billions of dollars are
gambled on the results of the games. CBS and Turner
Broadcasting paid almost eleven billion dollars to the
NCAA for the right to broadcast the tournament. The
NCAA also brings in significant profits from sponsors
and ticket sales. All of the schools that participate
receive a portion of the revenues. The schools are
able to invest this revenue in several ways, including paying coach salaries, and funding less profitable
athletic programs.
Successful, high profile athletic programs,
including mainly basketball and football programs,
are used by large schools to attract significant donations from alumni, adding to the funds that athletic success can generate for the schools. The high
level athletes, in short, provide signifi