The College Fix

Steve Spurrier, head football coach at the University of South Carolina, thinks student athletes are getting the short end of the stick:

Well, according to Steve Spurrier, head coach of University of South Carolina’s football team, they should get a pretty nice piece of pocket change. Spurrier not only supports a $2000 yearly stipend the NCAA proposed providing for college athletes but also advocates for at least another $1500, ESPN reports.

“We as coaches believe they’re entitled to a little more than room, books, board and tuition,” Spurrier said.

Others point out the comparatively insane salaries for coaches:

However, authors Malcolm Gladwell and Buzz Bissinger countered that college athletes participate in a game with serious long-term physical effects. Bissinger adds that it exploits players and returns little revenue to the schools that support it.

“The amount of money that coaches make is insulting,” Bissinger, the Friday Night Lights author, noted in the debate. “It is insulting when a coach is making five to 10 to 15 times more than a college president. What does it say? What does it say about the priorities of a university? It says that the head coach runs the school.”

What’s the answer to college sports? Pay students? Pay coaches less? Separate the athletics from the university? Disband the NCAA?

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