Ralph Nader Calls For Ending Athletic Scholarships

WASHINGTON — Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is calling for the elimination of college athletic scholarships, saying the move is necessary to "de-professionalize" college athletes.

"As we near the exciting conclusion of `March Madness' – which would more accurately be described as the 2011 NCAA Professional Basketball Championships – it's time we step back and finally address the myth of amateurism surrounding big-time college football and basketball in this country," said Nader, whose League of Fans is proposing that the scholarships be replaced with need-based financial aid. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposal Thursday, ahead of its official release.

NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said referring to college athletes as professionals defies logic.

"They are students, just like any other student on campus who receives a merit-based scholarship," he said.

Nader, a former presidential candidate, argued that his plan would also help reduce the "win-at-all-costs" mentality in high schools, by reducing the incentive of college scholarships.

"An entire industry has developed in the youth sports arena – club teams, personal trainers, etc. – to prey on families' dreams of an athletic scholarship," he said. "The lure of the elusive athletic scholarship is the primary – sometimes the only – marketing tool these youth sports entrepreneurs use."

He said he would try to gin up support for his proposal from university presidents, Capitol Hill and the Education Department.

"We'll use all the levers," Nader said. "We'll use the parents of athletes who've been mistreated and sick, and forced to play when they're injured."

Nader added that he hadn't yet canvassed Capitol Hill, but figured he'd find lawmakers who are concerned about the way college athletes are treated.

He noted that the Drake Group, a college athletic watchdog organization, has come out in favor of banning athletic scholarships.

Nader said that colleges should either integrate athletics into the educational mission by eliminating college scholarships, or, "openly acknowledge the professionalism in big-time college sports, remove the tax-exempt status currently given to athletic departments, and make universities operate them as unrelated businesses."

The longtime former head of the NCAA, Walter Byers, has called for paying college athletes.

Nader said his proposal was the opening initiative of a rejuvenated League of Fans, a sports reform group that has been dormant for some time.

Comments

[squat6971]

10:01 PM on 04/04/2011

You can't make billions of bucks off these kids and not pay them. And pay them well.
Of course, either way, those billions destroy academic freedom and rigor.

[Tim Hunold]

03:27 PM on 04/04/2011

Problem is, that in most cases, a good football program will bring more to a school than student tuition. A crap team playing against USC can get their butts kicked all the way to the bank.

[vault dog4]

02:32 PM on 03/31/2011

Great job Nader!

As a libertarian, I've long known that liberal progressives will do more to destroy the opportunities of impoverished minorities than any conservative or racist could ever dream of.

[Kendra J Williams]

05:28 PM on 03/28/2011

I wouldn't say that banning athletic scholarships is a good idea. I personally know fellow students on both ends of the spectrum. Those who abuse the scholarship, use up their 2-4 year funds (if they last that long) and fade off into the distance. Then, there are those who use their scholarship to obtain their education, bust their ass and succeed considering they're out 75% of the semester (I'm exaggerating over the percentage but you ought to get my drift).

I'm pretty sure there is something more to this than Nader lets on. Come on, I know more African-American students (in MS at least) who use these scholarships to better themselves and get out of poverty through means of an education.

[Ozarks]

08:35 PM on 03/27/2011

Why Ralph, you would make those 149 bowl games meaningless. And, those bowl organizers and promoters would maybe have to give up their $500,000 + fees. It would be the end of the world.

[Ozarks]

08:31 PM on 03/27/2011

Would be nice to stop raising tuition costs to pay for those multimillion deals with College Football coaches.

[NamithaSF]

04:29 PM on 03/27/2011

America values a star college athlete far more than a star science or engineering student.
Most of the top engineers and scientists I meet in SF Bay area are from overseas. many educated at tope schools here and likely none of them went to a college game.

[PhineasGage730]

07:47 PM on 03/27/2011

Are you new to this country? We value Professional Athletes more than others as well...because they ENTERTAIN US. Yes, sure, it will be such a beautiful country if we could get normal people to find some kind of connection with these wonderful, brilliant people, but how realistic is that. You might as well bring up celebrities as well...but what's really your point. Study society...study the world you now life in...these are the people we hold high. I guess one can argue it's sad, but really, it makes sense. Sports, movies and whatever else is what the average person uses to escape. And being that we live in a capitalist society...obviously, someone will find a way to make money off of it.

[NamithaSF]

09:05 PM on 03/27/2011

I guess you never heard of Mark Zuckerberg and his battle with the very athletic "Winklevi".
Brains over braun always wins except perhaps at the U. of Alambama. Go Crimson, go Tide. Yeah, we'll after footyball most are shoveling manure while the Zuck is innovating.

[Michael Morrison]

09:35 PM on 03/27/2011

Phineas...

That's precisely the reason that colleges shouldn't be subsidizing athletic programs. Governments exist to promote the general welfare...Athletics will do just fine without college subsidies.

Besides, not all of us are entertained by college sports. Why should I have to subsidize your entertainment?

[Michael Morrison]

02:36 PM on 03/27/2011

Wow...

For once, I actually agree with Ralph Nader.

[PhineasGage730]

07:50 PM on 03/27/2011

Sure...so then we let the colleges make 100 percent profit off these kids (which is a TON of money).

Athletic Scholarships are not a gift out of the colleges kind heart you know. They make MONEY! And unless you're new to this country, you know capital is what counts. Yes, even in higher education...for Christs sakes, capital is now playing a (larger) role in our incarceration of our citizens, thanks to private prisons.

[Michael Morrison]

09:29 PM on 03/27/2011

Phineas...

Not many college ball teams break even. Between 25 and 50% of most college athletic budgets are derived from "activity fees" levied on other students.

Regarding your comments about prisons...Are you implying a correlation between college sports and felonies? If so, you're probably right. Many (not all) college athletes have an entitlement mentality that often results in assaults and other forms of violence against other people.

[Spock]

10:58 AM on 03/27/2011

Nader makes sense. Collegiate sports programs are profit driven businesses. If they get tax exemption, its tine to end them.

Then again, Corporations like GE don't pay any taxes. Why should college sports programs.

[joewalters]

10:35 AM on 03/27/2011

Nader is right. I would go a little further to say they should either take them away or start paying the students.

[Tulka2]

11:24 PM on 03/26/2011

Makes perfect sense. Nader is correct and this is the perfect quixotic crusade for his retirement.  Ought to get him a lot of speaking gigs at colleges.  Perfect.  Thank you for not running for President.

[goodnewsgophers]

10:31 PM on 03/26/2011

oof! Now this is a gutsy move, Ralph. Firstly, I agree with this proposal, ideally students should be receiving scholarships to college based on merit and intelligence, not athletic ability. As I'm sure so many other students have seen at competitive universities, sometimes the athletes aren't the brightest of the bunch at the school, but since they're really good at basketball etc, they've gotten a full scholarship to the school you had to bust your butt to get accepted into.

On a merit-based level, it's just not fair to the people working hard to get into good schools, when dumber kids can go there because their athletic ability will bring money to the school (of course this isn't the case with every athlete). But that's where it gets tough...these athletes are the ones bringing the big bucks to universities! My school made March Madness for the first time a couple years ago, and it brought in a lot of money and recognition.

Hopefully what this proposal does is get some big guns thinking about this issue, and possibly the college-level sports system. Maybe someday it can be re-worked to something that not only keeps the teams exciting and competitive, but also maintains the reputations of the academically-competitive nature of these respective schools.

[eliotness]

08:19 AM on 03/27/2011

Really your argument is flawed. So those that work their entire lives through their work ethic, dedication, persistence and raw talent in sports have not busted their butts? Perhaps you may not be a fan of sports which is fine but these student-athletes aren't always the 'dumbest' kids in the school. Half of my friends who were actually very smart went to school for the frats/sororities and of course the insane parties.

Yea most graduated, some didn't but college and life in general isn't just all about book smarts. In sports there are many benefits that can be given in the form of life lessons. Loyalty, respect, team building skills, competitiveness, overcoming adversity, etc.. I've seen people graduate cum laude or higher with degrees in accounting or economics and when they get to the workplace they are completely lost as an individual.

I pose a different approach than the one Nader gives, which is ending all athletic scholarships. How about instead of ending them why not pose the question, 'what are the universities or colleges doing with all the money they receive from the athletic department'?

In this day and age where top coaches make $3 million+ per year and have long term contracts, the money spent on new state of the art athletic facilities, etc.. I think there can be an argument made there that money is being wasted.

[miamorphos]

03:54 PM on 03/27/2011

There are more than 140,000 athletic scholarships given out in the US, and about half the scholarships are given to women. I have had great luck with the student-athletes in my classes, who work very hard to keep their scholarships and get good grades while doing all of the ridiculous things they are required to do to keep up with their coaches' demands. I don't know why people are so incensed about these scholarships, which are funded by alumni donations and television contracts and NCAA contribution -- maybe people think that if the scholarships were ended, the money would still be given by the alums and the NCAA? No, the money would dry up, and hundreds of thousands of students would go without funding. The visionary dream of the anti-athletic scholarship people is interesting, but it's a vision with no footing in reality.

[Michael Morrison]

09:39 PM on 03/27/2011

eliot...

Assuming that college athletics teaches its participants a lot about team building, overcoming adversity, etc...Those benefits only accrue to a very small number of individuals who, in general, aren't going into accounting.

Aside from entertainment provided to a few sports fans, what "common good" devolves from college athletics to society as a whole?

[motoGpifupleez]

10:09 PM on 03/26/2011

There's too much money in it for the universities and they are not about to walk away from it. Look at the players who get caught in scandals and yet always seem to deemed "eligible" for the games.

I know Mr. Nader has the best scholastic interests of these kids at heart but their parents aren't doling out all those dollars to the guru's who promise to take the kids to the "promised land" because they are interested in maximizing their child's GPA.

March Madness foe basketball, just like the BCS bowl games, are cash cows for the NCAA. I mean really, 68 teams? Look at all the football bowl games where you have 6-6 teams playing.

Money. Money. Money.

That is what Ralph Nader is up against and that is why he will fail.

[Michael Morrison]

09:40 PM on 03/27/2011

moto...

I'm not even sure there's money for the universities. If there were, universities wouldn't be charging students "activity fees." Instead, I believe that lots of individuals are being enriched at the expense of the university and greater society.

[stape45]

09:49 PM on 03/26/2011

Who called for Nader?

[mcdonaldm]

07:26 PM on 03/26/2011

Drop college athletic scholarships? How about dropping college athletics completely? There is no rationale basis for using academic institutions as an avenue for athletic programs. Adopt the European model. Outstanding athletes can be employed by clubs and compete at the semi-professional level at the high school and college ages, and then advance into the pros when ready. The athletes are paid, colleges don't have to compromise academic standards,. state universities (and taxpayers) no longer have to pay millions of dollars in coaches salaries (not to mention training and support staff), fans still have teams to cheer and support, and as professional businesses, the clubs generate tax revenue for local and state governments. As far as "minor" sports such as swimming, track, etc., these can be campus "club" organizations and students can still compete on an informal basis just as tens of thousands of current students do through intramurals and competitive amateur campus clubs.

[stape45]

09:27 PM on 03/26/2011

They have their reasons. You know - like associating healthcare with one’s job.

[Michael Morrison]

09:41 PM on 03/27/2011

mcdonaldm...

You're CRAZY. OK, I agree with you.