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1AC: Pay Student Athletes Page 1 of 3

1AC - Pay College Athletes

Imagine doing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work, and being paid nothing. Imagine putting your body on the
line every day, and not being compensated. Imagine getting injured, undergoing reconstructive surgery, and missing out
on the career of your dreams, all because you tried your best at a job you did for free. Thats the life of a NCAA college
athlete. And that is why my partner and I stand...

Resolved: The United States should significantly reform its policies regarding higher education.

Lets define our key terms, in ...

OBSERVATION 1: THE DEFINITIONS

1: Higher Education is defined as education beyond the secondary level; especially : education provided by a college or
university1
2: Significant is defined as having or likely to have influence or effect2
3: Student is defined as one enrolled in a school or college; pupil3
4: Division I school: Among the three NCAA divisions, Division I schools generally have the biggest student bodies,
manage the largest athletics budgets and offer the most generous number of scholarships. Schools who are members of Division I
commit to maintaining a high academic standard for student-athletes in addition to a wide range of opportunities for athletics participation. With nearly 350 colleges
and universities in its membership, Division
I schools field more than 6,000 athletic teams, providing opportunities for more than
170,000 student-athletes to compete in NCAA sports each year.

Now lets take a look at the overarching reason to change our policies regarding higher education

OBSERVATION 2: STANDARD AND THESIS

College athletes generate millions of dollars in revenue for schools, but most of them live in poverty. Our goal is simple:
students should have the right to compensation if they are working full time jobs, so the affirmative goal is to uphold
football and basketball players right to compensation. Lets examine the current system and how it clearly denies
college football and basketball athletes the right to compensation in

OBSERVATION 3: FACTS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM

Fact 1: College athletics is a full-time job

Ramogi Huma and Ellen J. Staurowsky in 20124
Data from the NCAAs 2009-2010 Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Learning of Students in College (GOALS)
Study reveals that the average number of hours athletes reported being engaged in both athletic and academic activities
amounted to 81.3 for those in FBS programs; 79.8 for those in FCS, and 76.5 for those in Division I mens basketball
programs. The average number of hours athletes devoted to athletic activities in season was 43.3 for FBS football players
and 39.2 for Division I mens basketball players. To be sure, Shane Battier, a member of the Miami Heats 2012 NBA
Championship team, stated in a 2011 US Congressional roundtable that he experienced a higher time demand as a college
basketball player than as a player in the NBA.

1 Merriam-Websters Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/higher%20education

2 Merriam-Websters Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/significant
3 Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/student
4 ( Ramogi Huma is the President of the National College Players Association. Ellen J. Staurowsky, is Ed.D., Professor, Drexel

University) The 6 Billion Dollar Heist Published by the NCPA

http://assets.usw.org/ncpa/pdfs/6-Billion-Heist-Study_Full.pdf
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1AC: Pay Student Athletes Page 2 of 3

Fact 2: Colleges are raking in millions on revenue sports

Sports writer Craig Keolanui on October 26th, 20145
The NCAA and its most popular teams make lots of money. The University of Texas generated over $100 million in
revenue in 2011 ($104 million), marking the first time in history the $100 million barrier had been eclipsed. Thanks to
lucrative television deals, merchandising and boasting many of the largest sporting venues in the United States, college
football makes lots of money. Cable and network television deals alone add millions of dollars to the coffers of individual
collegiate programs.

Making money is perfectly acceptable, but only if the people driving your profit are being compensated for the work that
they are doing. However, athletic scholarships are NOT compensation. We see that in

Fact 3: Scholarships do not qualify as compensation

Complaint and Jury demand for Gillian Berger, Lauren Anderson, and Taylor Hennig V. NCAA 20156
Scholarships granted by NCAA Division I Member Schools to some student athletes, pursuant to NCAA bylaws, are not
compensation for non-academic performance by student athletes because, among other things:
[later, in the same context]
(vii) any scholarship granted to any student, who also participates in work study, does not relieve the college employer
from the obligation to pay at least the federal minimum-wage rate for non-academic performance in work study.

OBSERVATION 4: THE IMPACT

Impact: Athletes denied rightful compensation

Complaint and Jury demand for Gillian Berger, Lauren Anderson, and Taylor Hennig V. NCAA 20157
Student athletes meet criteria for recognition as temporary employees under the FLSA as much as, or more than, work
study participants. Thus, NCAA Division I Member Schools are required by law to pay student athletes at least the federal
minimum-wage of $7.25 an hour. Defendants have jointly agreed, and conspired, to deprive student athletes of lawfully-
earned, modest wages and of equal treatment under law. Defendants refusal to recognize, and pay, student athletes as
temporary employees under the FLSA, mandated by NCAA bylaws, produces this perverse result: work study participants
who sell programs or usher at athletic events are paid, on average, $9.03 an hour, but student athletes whose performance
creates those work study jobs at athletic events are paid nothing.

Athletes provide a service to their schools, a service worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and yet the current system
refuses to compensate their hard work that generates millions in profit for the universities. This clearly fails to uphold
their obvious right to compensation. So what can we do about all of this? Lets examine the solution in

OBSERVATION 5: THE PLAN

Mandate 1: Minimum wage requirement

All varsity athletes engaged in revenue-positive sports at Division I colleges and universities will be required to make the
federal minimum wage for every hour spent competing in, practicing for, or engaging in required training for their sport.
Funding: N/A
Agency and Enforcement: The US Federal Government
Timeline: Immediately upon an Affirmative ballot

So what sort of advantages would passing this plan bring about? Thats what were going to discuss in

5 (Writer specializing in sports) Top 10 Reasons College Football Players Should Get Paid Published by The Sportster
http://www.thesportster.com/football/top-10-reasons-college-football-players-should-get-paid/
6 (Civil Action No. 1:14-CV-1710 WTL-MJD Amended Complaint and Jury Demand) published by PL McDonald Law LLC:

https://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/ncaaamended.pdf
7 (Civil Action No. 1:14-CV-1710 WTL-MJD Amended Complaint and Jury Demand) published by PL McDonald Law LLC:

https://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/ncaaamended.pdf
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1AC: Pay Student Athletes Page 3 of 3

OBSERVATION 6: THE ADVANTAGE

Advantage: Athletes for revenue-positive sports compensated for work

Sports Illustrated, October 20148
"Student athletes meet the criteria for recognition as temporary employees of NCAA Division I Member Schools under
the FLSA as much as, if not more than, work study participants, and, thus, NCAA Division I Member Schools are
required by law to pay student athletes at least the federal minimum-wage of $7.25 an hour," the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, students who participate in part-time jobs, such as work study, get no academic credit, so they
meet the FLSA's definition of temporary employees of the schools.

The affirmative team is asking for simple justice: Athletes who work a full-time job and generate billions of dollars are at
least worth being paid the minimum wage. In addition to their athletic scholarships, giving them the right to
compensation at the federal minimum wage is a common-sense reform that is long overdue. We do not need to pay them
millions, we do not need to make them affluent kings. We only need to realize that a full-time job should be compensated,
because everyone who works has a right to compensation. Thank you, and I now stand open for cross-examination

8 New lawsuit claims NCAA violated Fair Labor Standards Act

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2014/10/24/ncaa-sued-fair-labor-standards-act