Former student athlete reveals the truth

Former student athlete and athletic director of Olive Harvey James Cooper disagrees with Coach Griffin of Roosevelt University about athletes getting paid.

“In men’s basketball, in the Division I, there are 13 full scholarship players on each team… and they’re getting a full-ride scholarship,” Griffin said.

 “They’re getting tremendous perks and benefits in terms of being a part of that team and that program.”

Cooper said that a scholarship doesn’t cover necessities only school-related bills.

“Scholarships consist of tuition, room and board. If you’re not staying inside the dorms, you don’t have meals covered,” Cooper said. So what about those perks?

“Those perks can be anything from … a soft conversation to a hard conversation. You’ll meet different individuals that will pull you aside and talk to you,” Cooper said.

“Those individuals have offered assistance to me.”

Cooper played four years at the University of Illinois under Ron Turner. He had a scholarship all four years, he said. According to Coop, once you become a collegiate student athlete, players are treated like celebrities. Also, he said the focus was athletics and not academics.

“It’s the perception that if I’m participating in high school athletics… I’m going to college and eventually I’m going to the pros. The focus is pretty much that,” Cooper said.

But it wasn’t glamorous all the time. He said that if you stayed in the dorms as a freshman or sophomore, it was a healthy environment, because three meals a day were provided. But once you became an upper classman things changed.

“Once you make the transition to your junior or senior levels of athletics, it requires you to be a little more responsible,” Cooper said. 

Most juniors and seniors stay off campus and have to budget their money. Student athletes would receive a monthly refund that they would use to try to offset meals and pay for rent, according to Cooper. But sometimes student athletes would have to make tough decisions, Cooper said.

“There would be certain situations where we may go unfed,” Coop said. He said some players received food stamps. So should student athletes receive more than just a scholarship?

“Student athletes deserve a … piece of the pie,” Coop said.

“Collegiate athletes should be paid based on the amount of money the institution or conference brings in.”

College acts as a minor league

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany says it’s not a college's responsibility to provide cash to athletes when they are receiving educational benefits. He this comment at the BCS meeting last week. Delany said, “Why is it our job to be minor leagues for professional sports?”

Delany spoke out last week at the BCS meeting about how colleges are a minor league for professional sports.

“But don't come here [college] and say you want to be paid $25,000 or $50,000. Go to the D-League and get it. Go to the NBA and get it. Go to the NFL and get it,” Delany said. The only problem is the NFL and NBA restricts athletes coming straight from high school.

Joe Griffin, head coach of the Roosevelt University men’s basketball team, agrees with some of Delany’s comments.

“It is a minor league,” Griffin said.

“There are all sorts of professions out there to where college is not the best avenue to take at that time.”

Griffin's had the opportunity to coach two seasons at Michigan State University under the helm of Tom Izzo. Griffin and Izzo led the Spartans to back-to-back 50-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament berths, and a trip to the Sweet 16. He's seen firsthand this issue about players making a jump from the Big Ten to the professional ranks.

According to the collective bargaining agreement that was approved by the NBA, players and the players union back in December 2011 states, all players must be 19-years-old during the calendar year of the draft.

Coach Griffin is on the fence about the NBA’s policy. He said if a player is good enough to play professionally then they should be allow to go. Griffin and the rest of the world will have to wait on that policy changing. The agreement lasts for 10 years and the next time changes can be made is in 2021.

However, Coach Griffin says that players going pro out of high school could have some affect on college athletics.

“You wouldn’t get as many players…in the colleges,” said Griffin. But overall he says some players would stay for their senior year regardless.

According to reports, the NCAA is facing an uphill battle paying athletes. Coach Griffin says that players should get paid money for the talents.

“Not at all … in men’s basketball in the Division I, there is thirteen full scholarships players on each team … and they’re getting a full ride scholarship. They’re getting tremendous perks and benefits in terms of being a part of that team and that program.”

Although it seems like athletes are receiving compensation through a scholarship, it could be difficult for some to just accept that when conferences,such as the Big Ten made nearly $310 million in 2012-2013, according to Forbes. At least for now, Delany says it’s fair to pay players with education.