As an avid sports fan, March Madness is my favorite time of the sporting year. The thrill of watching college teams from schools that you didn’t even know existed winning on one of the world’s largest stages is incredible. All of the possibilities that people come up with in their brackets adds to the competitive energy of the tournament. March Madness brings an excitement that I personally cannot seem to find anywhere else in sports. This March, I couldn’t help but wonder with all the issues student-athletes have regarding the NCAA, can I still love March Madness and not support their treatment of their players?
Does my love for March Madness feed into the fact that many of these players are not compensated correctly for all of their hard work? Of course, I have never bought tickets to a game or a player’s college jersey, but I also never miss a game in the tournament. These student athletes work hard to represent their schools to the best of their abilities in the 40-minute basketball games and I feel that they should be compensated for it. Many people will say that these payers get free education, room, and board and that should be enough to sustain them. Personally, I know that these scholarships do not always cover things like books, food and many other pieces of getting a college education.
I’m not saying that the NCAA should be required to pay every student-athlete, but the fact that within the next three years the NCAA will make more than 263.8 million dollars off of the Division I basketball tournament alone while some of these athletes go hungry does not add up to me. So this March, while I cheer on the “Wildcats” from Pennsylvania I will also be thinking of ways to ensure that future student-athletes get the compensation that they need and deserve.