<p>If Andrew Luck cared most about going pro and making money, then he would have entered the NFL draft last year when he would have been the #1 pick and would have earned millions more than he will this year, since he would have just missed the new salary caps. Stanford, for the most part, does a great job allowing students to combine high level athletics with high level academics. But their system isn’t perfect.</p>
<p>I don’t think college athletes should be paid. However, what I object to as the parent of a Div. 1 athlete in a non-revenue sport (which is actually 3 sports in the sense that she’s a distance runner who runs cross country, winter track, and spring track), is that my D’s financial aid package includes expected work earnings during the academic year. I believe it’s unfair to expect her to put in 25 hours or so each week on her sport and then on top of that work a part-time job too. D does have a job, but can’t always fit in the 10-14 hours/week she’s supposed to to earn the required amount. Athletes need more sleep than non-athletes due to the energy they expend, and my D often gets less. This has had some health implications for her. Secondly, I object to the team obligations which aren’t related to the sport. For example, athletes are expected to host recruits, which is a time-consuming activity. Also, even though the host is given money to use to take their recruit to dinner or wherever, the other teammates who join them (as they are expected to do when they can, and when it makes sense) have to use their own money for that trip to the ice cream or pizza shop. Also, the athletes have to help out with minor administrative tasks related to events the team hosts. For example, D has had to fill give-away bags for their home invitationals. Not a big deal, but this doesn’t exactly qualify as something she is doing for the love of the sport.</p>
<p>And yes, her GPA is lower than it should be and would be if she weren’t competing. It seems that certain companies want to recruit athletes and will make allowances for that, but how this will play out remains to be seen. I doubt grad schools make allowances, though.</p>