Elated over his upcoming 22nd birthday, Josh Huff did what many college students would do. Last weekend, he went online and told his friends about his weekend party and — heads-up — he would be charging a cover to recoup some of the expense.
But Huff isn’t like most college students. As a wide receiver for the University of Oregon football team, he is under the microscope of both the athletic department and the ubiquitous NCAA. His cover charge represented “commercial involvement,” according to bylaws. And because the funds don’t find their way into the wallets of the athletic department, the Pac-12 conference or a charity of some kind, charging admission went against NCAA rules.
The party was scrapped and a litany of 140-character rants ensued on Twitter. A confused and upset Huff called out the NCAA for meddling.
“So it’s okay for the NCAA to make money off of my name and likeness but once I go to charge ppl to get in my party it’s a problem? Crazy,” Huff tweeted.
The athletic department had no comment about the tweets, but spokesman Craig Pintens said, “We worked with Josh to resolve the situation and ensure his eligibility was not compromised.”
The star wideout became just one of the most recent critics of the NCAA’s reach into a player’s life. Before him, Jay Bilas, the former Duke basketball player turned lawyer and ESPN analyst, blasted the association and its online shop for tagging players’ jerseys. Before that, the media scrummed over whether Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel had the right to sell his signature. What right do student athletes have to earn money for their play, their jersey sales or other contributions? For the money and the publicity they bring to their school, the question is being asked if college athletes are just the ultimate unpaid intern.
The issue has been prevalent since Ed O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball standout, decided to take the college sports governing body to court. O’Bannon and his lawyers have demanded a cut of the profits from years of jersey and video game sales his likeness was featured in. He has never seen a dime of compensation.
The Oregon athletic department supported ideas to get players extra spending money the last time the issue was up for a vote. Colleges proposed a $2,000 stipend for college athletes that would take care of things beyond room, tuition and books. Unlike full-ride students on academic scholarships, athletes are also demanded to put in the work on the field to keep their careers alive. A part-time job isn’t an option, leaving many players wanting money to cover gas or groceries.
“We are very much proponents of a stipend that goes above and beyond the tuition fees and room and board,” Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens told CNBC at the grand opening of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. “We do think they need a little extra money and that’s something on the table with the NCAA.”
Many Division I schools said they couldn’t afford the stipend and rejected it. However, Ed Ray, Oregon State University president and a member of the Division I voting board, voted in favor of the stipend.
“We’re putting (money) into locker rooms, bigger stadiums or whatever, but we’re not able to do something for student athletes to help them keep body and soul together beyond tuition and books,” Ray said to the Emerald in a phone interview. “They can’t go out and get a side job if they’re engaged in the highest level of collegiate competition.”
The same can’t be said of nearly anyone else involved in college sports. Last season, the Pac-12 kicked off its 12-year, $2.7 billion television deal with ESPN and Fox. Conference commissioner Larry Scott made more than $3 million last year. Head football coach Mark Helfrich pulls in $1.8 million. Even the Ducks’ strength and conditioning coaches are making upwards of $40,000 a year. Former coach Mike Bellotti still gets $42,000 a year for his coaching stint and hasn’t called a play since 2009. In fact, Bellotti is in the top tier of former Oregon state employees receiving retirement benefits.
Though the stipend proposal has stalled, Big 12 conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby recently suggested offering players a trust fund to tap into once they graduate. Like the O’Bannon case, the idea suggests a portion of licensing and apparel sales go to the players. Colleges make big money selling the rights to gear, as the UO does with Nike. Nike then sells nameless jerseys with the numbers of their star players.
On the other hand, Jordan Kent, a former wide receiver for the Ducks before spending three seasons in the NFL, says just seeing your jersey number worn by the fans is enough for some players.
“I wouldn’t have cared if I got a cut. I just thought that would be cool if I saw little kids wearing my jersey,” Kent said. “I think you can look at it two ways: ‘I deserve a cut of that,’ or ‘Wow, what an honor, I have little kids buying my jersey.’ That’s a pretty cool opportunity that I want to enjoy.”
Yet big sporting events are basically grand commercials for the entire university. Following Oregon’s appearance in the 2010 national championship game, former UO President Richard Lariviere told the Oregonian that applications for the UO rose 30 percent. At last year’s Fiesta Bowl, the university threw a pep rally for prospective students, and the Office of Enrollment Management suggests at least 30 students enrolled shortly after.
“We try to capitalize that time of year on the publicity and the media exposure that athletics are providing,” says Roger Thompson, vice president of enrollment, also noting that football is just one of the many lures for the university. “We try to run these student recruitment events on Saturday and tell students about all the things that are happening at the U of O Monday through Friday.”
The counter argument has often revolved around players getting paid with benefits. The athletic department estimates that a grant-in-aid scholarship is worth between $21,000 and $53,000, not counting training and meals provided. That’s not to mention the benefit of strolling through two buildings worth more than a combined $100 million in construction whenever they please. Bound in tall glass and upholstered in yellow Ferrari leather, the John E. Jaqua Center and the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex are the envy of football players everywhere.
Everyone earns from the successes of big name sports like football and men’s basketball. Meanwhile, players are still amateurs and toe all sorts of rules to remain eligible while practicing every day to keep their scholarships. Nice facilities are one of the only ways the school can compensate players because they can’t even charge a cover for a birthday party until they graduate or leave school entirely.