College Athletes for Hire

Many books have been written on the evils of commercialism in college sport, and the hypocrisy of payments to athletes from alumni and other sources outside the university. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the way that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has embraced professionalism through its athletic scholarship policy. Because of this gap in the historical record, the NCAA is often cast as an embattled defender of amateurism, rather than as the architect of a nationwide money-laundering scheme.Sack and Staurowsky show that the NCAA formally abandoned amateurism in the 1950s and passed rules in subsequent years that literally transformed scholarship athletes into university employees. In addition, by purposefully fashioning an amateur mythology to mask the reality of this employer-employee relationship, the NCAA has done a disservice to student-athletes and to higher education. A major subtheme is that women, such as those who created the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), opposed this hypocrisy, but lacked the power to sustain an alternative model. After tracing the evolution of college athletes into professional entertainers, and the harmful effects it has caused, the authors propose an alternative approach that places college sport on a firm educational foundation and defend the rights of both male and female college athletes. This is a provocative analysis for anyone interested in college sports in America and its subversion of traditional educational and amateur principles.

"Every now and then we have a conversation or a debate without rancor which is energizing and thoughtful. This book is one of those conversations. Its topic is one of significance for us today and, if reason fails to prevail, it is one of dire significance for tomorrow's athletes, male and female alike."-Linda Carpenter, Professor of Physical Education Brooklyn College, "Professors Sack and Staurowsky have written a provocative and important book. By showing that the myth of amateurism in big time college sports has led to educational and financial abuses and the exploitation of African-American athletes, they have presented college presidents with a chance to clean their house in the 21st century. This is the most sensible proposal for college athletics I have seen in some time. This book should be read by coaches, athletic administrators, university presidents, and all faculty members concerned with the governance of college sports."-Mark Naison, Professor of African American Studies and History Fordham University, "Sack and Staurowsky 'played the game, ' competed in college sports at a high level, Sack as a member of the famed Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The authors know sports from the inside, love it, and see the NCAA from the athletes' point of view--as a huge, greedy organization exploiting college athletes for its own profit. They also offer a provocative solution to the current problems--a return for many schools to need-based-only scholarships."-Murray Sperber, author of Onward to Victory: The Creation of Modern College Sports (1998), "Sound in thinking and fair in presentation, Sack and Staurowsky take positions that many (including myself) will challenge. But there is no doubt that their arguments are compelling and offer food for thought for all of us in intercollegiate athletics. I recommend this book to everyone interested in collegiate sports."-Joel Maturi, Director of Athletics University of Denver, "The 'amateur myth' is alive and well, and thriving in collegiate athletics today. Authors Sack and Staurowsky clearly illustrate that athletic scholarships have failed our nation's 'student-athletes' as they have catapulted them into a system of professional sport that continues to deny equal opportunities to women. A must read for every athletics administrator and college president who has the power to influence the NCAA and the future of college athletics."-Laurie Priest, Chair of Physical Education and Director of Athletics Mount Holyoke College

ALLEN L. SACK is Professor of Sociology and Management at the University of New Haven. He played defensive end on Ara Parseghian's 1966 National Championship football team and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. In 1981-82 he was the Director of the Center for Athletes Rights and Education, and he is currently the Coordinator of the Management of Sports Industries Program at the University of New Haven.ELLEN J. STAUROWSKY is Associate Professor of Sport Sciences at Ithaca College. As a former college athlete, coach, and athletic director, she brings a unique blend of academic credentials and practical insight to the problems facing intercollegiate athletics.