The University of Maryland spends $155 million a year on athletics, according to the Baltimore Sun.
What does this budget actually give the athletes in terms of support for post-athlete life? For some, after they finish their eligibility as a college student athlete, it means time to hang up their Terp jerseys and retire at the ripe age of 22. For others, they can turn professional, giving them the opportunity to become a full-time athlete and continue their career in sports on the world stage.
The biggest pitfall in the system is not being able to play at a competitive level for those sports that are available, and having to settle for a lower level, recreational club set up.
“It’s an interesting time for us, we are actually in the process of developing a professional women’s lacrosse league,” said assistant coach of the UMD women’s lacrosse team Lauri Kenis. “If you want to play lacrosse after you graduate right now, it is at the international level or like a post-collegiate club league that isn’t very competitive, that ends up being five weekends a spring and that’s it. There’s really nowhere to go once you graduate.”
Not only is finding a lucrative career in sports a barrier for student athletes after they graduate, but the psychological adjustments to non-athlete status can prove to be a challenge for student athletes. According to an article published by Northwestern University, some student athletes feel relief after they finish competing, but for others, there are significant battles with mental health and depression that follow for several years after graduation.
Stephen Yates, the Director of Operations for Volleyball at Maryland, said, “Less than one percent of the best college volleyball players have the opportunity to play overseas. Some leagues can be very lucrative and others can have just about enough money to keep you going.”
Yates continued, “The student athlete tag on your name gives you more athlete opportunities, especially, in my experience, for interviews… you get way more skills than a regular student on campus.”
Each sport differs in their prevalence on the global scene. However, a common trend is that women’s sports just don’t get the revenue that men’s sports do. For example, according to spotrac.com, the salary cap for the Baltimore Ravens is $145.2 million, a staggering figure by any means. And according to Forbes.com, the highest earning female athlete, tennis player Maria Sharapova, earned $1 million in winnings but $23.5 million in sponsorship deals, nowhere near the salary caps of men’s sports in the USA.
“Volleyball have toyed with the idea of starting a professional league here in the states,” Yates said. “Inaugural sports are normally some type of business or for profit… the problem with sports like women’s volleyball is that it doesn’t draw enough attention, it would have to be some kind of non-profit which could provide them the opportunity to play after they finish and pay them some type of salary.”
It seems that after college sports, the transition for student athletes can be a difficult one, both economically and psychologically. The provision for college sports on a competitive scale can be limited depending on which sport you play and how much funding is available. Therefore, the struggle for college athletes continues after graduation until professional or more substantial frameworks are put in place. Until then, it seems hard to picture the student athletes having much hope of playing competitive sport, unless they make an international team, after they graduate.
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