A missing voice in big-time college sports: The athletes
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Whenever big-time college sports unveil their latest idea for making more money – conference explanation, playoff expansion, whatever – the voices in the news coverage belong mostly to coaches, league commissioners, university presidents and TV executives.
There’s a viewpoint usually missing: that of the athletes. Anyone remember them? They’re the ones who have to travel the additional miles, play the additional games and, oh by the way, pass their courses.
I have seen firsthand the difficulties that students who are athletes have in juggling commitments. Sure, playing an NCAA sport has all kinds of benefits, possibly including being the reason a student can get an education in the first place. But athletic obligations affect what majors athletes can choose, the time of day they can take courses, and how often they miss class because of travel, to name just a few effects.
Whether athletes get accommodations such as excused absences and deadline extensions depends on the professor, the course and the circumstances. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If you happen to think that no one cares whether athletes fulfill their coursework or not, news flash: You don’t know what you’re talking about.
So, when the latest money grab comes along, my first thought goes to educational impact, not TV ratings or whether my team now has a better chance to win a championship. Crazy, I know.
Educational impact doesn’t get much consideration in boardrooms and executive offices, or if it does, it eventually loses out to the lure of really big dollar signs. That tends to be the focus of media stories too.
One reason the athletes’ viewpoint is so scant* is that almost 90 percent of state universities that compete in NCAA Division I prohibit reporters from interviewing athletes without permission from the athletics department. I hold the view that public universities should be able to restrict athletes’ free expression only as it relates to game competition and internal team matters, and not to athletes’ opinions on issues in the world, including sports and education. But that’s not the way it is in reality.
In light of the Southeastern Conference adding Texas and Oklahoma by 2025, and the Big 10 adding USC and UCLA in 2024, I asked some UA athletes (three former, one current) who were students of mine to assess the good or bad effects on athletes when a league adds increasingly distant schools as members.
Former soccer player Taylor Morgan dislikes the move. She points out that travel isn’t only on weekends. “Traveling to away games is taxing. At times it’s fun but at times it’s stressful. Knowing you’re missing a test that everyone else is taking or having to take it early or having to get notes from a friend is something that adds up.” Athletes already face a tremendous time commitment to their sport that extends to before and after the regular season, she said. “At what point is money less important than our players’ physical and mental wellness?”
Riley Mattingly Parker, a current soccer player, also cites possible physical consequences. “Traveling already takes a toll on collegiate players; adding even farther distance could potentially cause an increase in injuries if the fatigue becomes too much.” The positive side, as she sees it, is a chance to see other parts of the country. And in her case, the SEC’s addition of Texas and Oklahoma “will allow for my family and friends to see me play more” because she’s from Dallas.
Former football player Giles Amos thinks athletes benefit from improved competition and more national exposure. “Being in a bigger and better conference allows them a better opportunity to play in these widely televised games being seen by fans all over the nation, especially if you're from somewhere on the other side of the country and your family can't make it to the game.”
Arielle Schafer rowed for UA. Expanded conferences bring more money from TV deals, primarily for football broadcasts, which means more money for Title IX sports such as hers, she said. “I was able to have opportunities due to the athletic department thriving and was never slighted. Non-football athletes in the Big Ten and SEC could see the same thing now.” On the other hand, she said, “conference schedules will be a nightmare” that affects class schedules.
It’s not a great surprise that these individuals cited positives and negatives. But it’s also not the uniform chorus of rah-rahs usually heard in the media as college athletics continues its journey deeper into mega commercialism.
* Some athlete voices got plenty of media attention for a time in 2020 regarding pandemic safety and racial justice. That was because athletes at certain schools organized campaigns intended to go public.
“At what point is money less important than our players’ physical and mental wellness?”