It's a personalization of the professional sports world, and this personalization over time has helped to legitimize the "amateur" world of college athletics.
Another major catalyst for college sports developing and evolving away from the "amateur" label is the fact that the rise of sports betting on college teams has been quite dramatic over the past two decades. There is little doubt that college athletic competitions are heavily wagered on, and all this money, influence, and attention helps to create an environment where the people doing the better are likely to have a personal and financial stake in the colleges' sports programs. This creates fertile ground for sports teams monopolies, and while they are not subject to the same anti-trust regulations that businesses are, they act in much the same way (Abbey-Pinegar, 350). This behavior can also put schools and particularly student athletes in a vulnerable position. As student athletes begin to become less and less involved in their studies and realize that they are the impetuses and engines of major sports wagers, they also begin to adopt the "win at all costs" attitudes.
In summary, the college sports world has been influenced by money flowing into sports programs for the financial gain of outside parties. These are groups like companies looking to advertise, colleges looking for revenue and money from advertisers, gamblers, and athletes all looking to further their own financial status....
Without a doubt, the influence that money has had on college sports certainly has taken them out of the "amateur" realm, whether that's in name only or when it comes to the athletes themselves. There are certainly benefits to this influx of money for all parties involved, but these benefits tend to be unique to the demands and requirements of each of these groups. The main motivation behind the "de-amateurization" of college athletics has been financial gain, both relative to on the field play and off the field sponsorships, scholarships, and gambling winnings. Certainly this trend will continue and the "amateur" world of college athletics will resemble the playing fields of old less and less and more and more money and attention is given to sports programs around the nation at all levels, including those at colleges and universities.
Works Cited
Abbey-Pinegar, Erin. "The Need for a Global Amateurism Standard: International Student-
Athlete Issues and Controversies." Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2: 2010. Pp. 341-365.
Baird, Katherine. "Dominance in College Football and the Role of Scholarship Restrictions."
Journal of Sports Management, Vol. 18, No. 1: 2004. Pp. 217-235.
Staurowski, Ellen J. And Sack, Allen L. "Reconsidering the Use of the Term
Student-Athlete in Academic Research." Journal of Sports Management, Vol. 19, No. 1: 2005.…
