The NCAA Basketball March Madness tournament is now in full swing. Games are full of surprises, fans young and old cheering on their team, group challenges are everywhere. The United States loves this tournament.
The NCAA, colleges and universities, college coaches, and television stations and advertisers also love this tournament. The tournament is a great source of money for all parties. In 2010, the NCAA signed a 14-year media rights deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting for $10.8 billion. For 2012-13, NCAA revenue is projected at $797 million, with $702 million coming from the Association’s new rights deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting and the other $95 million in revenue generated from ticket sales and the sale of of merchandise.
According to the NCAA, college athletic programs generate a lot of money for colleges. Ticket sales, television, radio, alumni donations, royalties and distributions from the NCAA, combined, generate more than $6.1 billion in annual revenue for universities. This is a lot of money for schools. It is also a wonderful marketing tool for universities.
The opportunity to bring big money to participating colleges with winning programs pushes colleges to recruit the best coaches to create winning athletic programs. A winning record means more national exposure, which in turn makes a lot of money and is a great marketing campaign for the universities. Unlike paying for national advertising, colleges actually get paid for this huge national exposure.
Therefore, finding a coach who can bring a winning program to a university is extremely important. Many schools now offer multi-million dollar salaries to coaches to attract the best. These multi-million dollar salaries are minuscule investments that can generate huge income returns for winning college programs.
With all this money being made by colleges, TV stations, marketers, advertisers, and coaches, many college players have asked the question, “Where’s my cut?” After all, the players are the main attraction at these sporting events, so to speak.
Many college athletes believe they should be compensated for the roles they play. This was highlighted years ago with the “Fab Five” at the University of Michigan. The entire starting team was made up of freshmen, and they were able to lead Michigan to a championship game in their freshman year.
This almost mythical group of young athletes became a national sensation. Merchandise featuring the Fab Five, television, radio, print media, college, etc. all generated incredible income. The five freshmen, who were the Fab Five, received no income from their national fame. Does it seem fair when many were poor children with families that could barely eat?
Is it correct that none of the Division I college players share in the massive income enjoyed by so many other individuals and entities generated from the players’ stellar performances?
While the potential for media exploitation of these young student-athletes is an issue that needs to be addressed, I actually think the system as it stands now is fair. Colleges recruit young men and women to play for their respective schools and award them athletic scholarships.
The reason we have colleges and universities is to educate our young people. Colleges expect stellar performances for their initial investments, giving college players a fully paid 4-year college education. In exchange, his education is free.
While so many others, again, TV stations, radio stations, colleges, universities, coaches, etc., are making large sums of money from great college athletic performances, the athletes receive nothing besides their athletic scholarships. That is your compensation and I don’t think students require anything else. The system is not perfect, but it works. I don’t see it changing soon. Enjoy performances throughout the remainder of March Madness from our young college athletes who we hope will receive a great education and go on to wonderful careers.