Explore the vast range of titles available.

In this in-depth look at the heated debates over paying college athletes, Ronald A. Smith starts at the beginning: the first intercollegiate athletics competition—a crew regatta between Harvard and Yale—in 1852, when both teams received an all-expenses-paid vacation from a railroad magnate. This striking opening sets Smith on the path of a story filled with paradoxes and hypocrisies that plays out on the field, in meeting rooms, and in courtrooms—and that ultimately reveals that any insistence on amateurism is invalid, because these athletes have always been paid, one way or another.From that first contest to athletes’ attempts to unionize and California’s 2019 Fair Pay to Play Act, Smith shows that, throughout the decades, undercover payments, hiring professional coaches, and breaking the NCAA’s rules on athletic scholarships have always been part of the game. He explores how the regulation of male and female student-athletes has shifted; how class, race, and gender played a role in these transitions; and how the case for amateurism evolved from a moral argument to one concerned with financially and legally protecting college sports and the NCAA. Timely and thought-provoking, The Myth of the Amateur is essential reading for college sports fans and scholars.

A well-constructed and reasoned debunking of the mythology of amateurism in for-profit NCAA athletics For the last 60-plus-years, as the revenue-generating capacity of Power Five football and men's basketball has dramatically increased, NCAA Division I Power Five football and men's basketball players (college profit-athletes) have been economically exploited, their labor has been severely restricted. To mask this inequity, the NCAA and its members created, disseminated, and embedded a fictitious \"collegiate model of athletics\" established and repeatedly modified for the benefit of member schools, designed to ensure profit-athletes were denied employment status and just compensation for their athletic labor. The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes: An Amateurism That Never Was provides a comprehensive historical, sociological, legal, financial, and managerial argument for the reclassification of profit-athletes as employees. Such a reclassification would permit profit-athletes to gain not only fair financial compensation but also equal access to educational benefits that have been promised but systematically denied. The authors trace how Power Five college sports have morphed into a hyper professionalized and commercialized sport-business enterprise. They provide evidence that at least since 1956 the NCAA's amateurism has been a collusive, exploitative, and racialized \"pay for play\" scheme that disproportionately affects Black profit-athletes. The authors cut through the institutional doublespeak of approved benefits, cost-of-attendance stipends, or name, image, likeness (NIL) collectives to lay bare the immorality of Power Five college sports. The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes makes the case that profit-athletes (and their representatives) must have the right to unionize and freely negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with management (e.g., NCAA, Power Five conferences and athletic departments). In addition, this book offers a forward-thinking structure in which individual labor contracts, or a potential collective bargaining agreement, address profit-athlete compensation and working conditions.

For decades, amateurism defined the ideals undergirding the Olympic movement. No more. Today's Games present athletes who enjoy open corporate sponsorship and unabashedly compete for lucrative commercial endorsements.Matthew P. Llewellyn and John Gleaves analyze how this astonishing transformation took place. Drawing on Olympic archives and a wealth of research across media, the authors examine how an elite--white, wealthy, often Anglo-Saxon--controlled and shaped an enormously powerful myth of amateurism. The myth assumed an air of naturalness that made it seem unassailable and, not incidentally, served those in power. Llewellyn and Gleaves trace professionalism's inroads into the Olympics from tragic figures like Jim Thorpe through the shamateur era of under-the-table cash and state-supported athletes. As they show, the increasing acceptability of professionals went hand-in-hand with the Games becoming a for-profit international spectacle. Yet the myth of amateurism's purity remained a potent force, influencing how people around the globe imagined and understood sport.Timely and vivid with details,The Rise and Fall of Olympic Amateurismis the first book-length examination of the movement's foundational ideal.

Among the most important of the bylaws to student-athlete members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are the rules on amateurism. It is argued that the NCAA amateurism rules violate section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The no-draft and no-agent rules restrain player mobility by discouraging athletes from testing the professional players' markets before their college eligibility expires. A majority of recent court cases have assumed that amateurism rules are subject to antitrust scrutiny and have analyzed their reasonableness under the Sherman Act, but the NCAA's rules have been upheld. Most significantly, the Supreme Court in NCAA vs. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1984) held that NCAA actions are subject to antitrust scrutiny and should be analyzed under the \"rule of reason,\" which requires the court to determine the restraint's \"impact on competition\". It is argued that, since the no-draft and no-agent rules are based on the outdated ideal of amateurism, the courts should invalidate these rules as clear restraints of trade in the market for the skills of student-athletes.

A major element of college sports governance is the enforcement of “amateurism”, that is, no pay beyond the grant-in-aid. Enforcement is a joint venture by university administrators through their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that preserves this interesting definition of amateurism and the wealth transfer it creates from athletes to those same administrators. Enforcement criticism abounds, aimed at the NCAA without any model of that process or incorporation of the motivations for enforcement. Three criticisms amenable to economic analysis are evaluated, that the level of enforcement is too low, is passive rather than active, and biased against lower-revenue programs. Basic economic modeling provides testable implications regarding these criticisms, rather than finger-pointing at the NCAA, hopefully adding to meaningful reform efforts.

For over a century, college athletes in the United States have been expected to maintain amateur status, receiving educational benefits, but no other financial reward for their performance. Given the billions of dollars generated by college sports, this limitation has been seen as unfair, leading some college athletes to explore ways to obtain a portion of profits as compensation. Over the past decade, this restriction on student-athlete financial gain has been loosened through a number of court cases. In 2021, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), the governing body of college athletics that sets rules and protocols for college sports, changed their policies to allow student athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) through endorsements, sale of merchandise, appearances, and other profitable activities. Given the newness of NIL policy, little is known about its impact on college athletes or college athletics. As a first step in exploring this topic, this study examined the characteristics of student athletes with very high NIL valuation to see who is benefiting the most from this change in policy. Using a listing of the athletes with the top 100 NIL valuation as of September 2023, it was shown that the valuation of top NIL athletes ranged from US$497,000 to US$6.1 million, with a median value of US$734,000. These top 100 athletes were predominantly football (76%) and basketball (22%) players, predominantly Black (68%) and overwhelmingly male (94%). Using negative binomial regression, it was found that the athlete’s number of Instagram followers was significantly associated with NIL valuation, thus athletes with activity and skills in social media were shown to benefit greatly from the new NIL policies. Implications of these findings and next steps needed in NIL research are discussed.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (\"NCAA\") regulates the majority of college athletics in the United States. Since its inception, the NCAA has sought to preserve the concepts ofamateurism and competitive equity among its member institutions. To that end, the NCAA has prohibited players from receiving compensation beyond their athletic scholarships. These restrictions have recently come under attack by both the states and Congress. Current legislative proposals seek to prohibit the NCAA and member institutions from denying college athletes the ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (\"NIL\"). These proposals have offered varying methods of player compensation, ranging from restricted individual NIL benefits to revenue-sharing models similar to professional sports. In response, the NCAA has since removed any restrictions related to NIL benefits for college athletes, allowing the individual schools to determine the permissible scope of such benefits. This Note offers a framework to maximize NIL rights for college athletes. This framework includes: (1) the formation of a Commission on College Athletics and an independent third party to negotiate NIL contracts on behalf of players; (2) extensive individual NIL rights; (3) comprehensive group licensing and co-branding rights; and (4) a limited exception to the right of publicity in sports broadcasting to grant athletes access to a share of the massive TV contracts that have fueled the growth of college athletics.

As a result of several national court rulings, the NCAA revised its bylaws regarding student-athletes. Student-athletes are now being paid money by third-party interests for use of their name, image, and or likeness (NILs) in an endeavor to sell products, services, and student brands. Students advertise their NILs on social media and contract with local, state, and national vendors to endorse products. It is certainly beneficial for student-athletes, parents, families, and even local communities to profit from their work and athleticism. However, important concerns have been left out of the NILs discussion by the academy, the media, the NCAA, and academic journals. This article examines the impact NCAA rule changes have on college students in the classroom as well as the impact on faculty and administration. The probability exists of increased cheating, gender bias, and pressure on instructors who will be caught in the middle between money and grades.

Objective of the study: This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the networks of volleyball teams in Brazilian context, in amateur and professional level. Methodology/Approach: This research adopted an interpretive paradigm, in which six Brazilian volleyball teams were studied. The techniques of data collection were qualitative and encompassed interviews, analysis of information available in the press and on websites and observation. Originality/Relevance: Prior literature has not investigated in-depth with the lens of the networks theory, the sports organizations at an amateur and professional level, considering the firms' life cycle. To address this gap, considering that, similar to the life cycle of firms, amateurism and professionalism are specific strategic contexts. Main results: Our findings indicated that actor's of team's networks could be divided into two groups, one linked to sports and other to administrative activities. Additionally, teams' networks have in common the fact that paid team members perform activities related to the sport itself. Theoretical/Methodological contributions: The fact that Superliga B has more collaborations obtained by personal contacts, while Superliga A teams build a more calculated network, meet the propositions made in this study and are aligned to the general idea of the work of Hite and Hesterly (2001) about changes in firm's network and firm's life cycle. Social contribution/for management: The main implications for management indicated that, whether companies or volleyball teams, should align their networks with the current life cycle stage. If a volleyball team plans to become professional, it should be aware of the need to adapt the network to a new division. Keywords: Volleyball. Network. Evolution. Amateurism. professionalism. Objetivos do estudo: Este estudo pretende investigar as caracteristicas da rede dos times de voleibol no contesto Brasileiro, em nivel amador e profissional. Metodologia/Abordagem: Essa pesquisa adotou o paradigma interpretativo, onde seis times Brasileiros de voleibol foram estudados. As tecnicas de coleta de dados foram qualitativas e abrangiu intrevistas, analise de informacoes disponiveis em jornais, sites e observacao. Originalidade/Relevancia: Literatura anterior nao investigou a fundo, organizacoes esportivas em nivel amador e profissional, sob a otica da teoria de redes, considerando o ciclo de vida das empresas. Para elucidar sobre o tema, considerou-se, o ciclo de vida das empresas similar, ao amadorismo e o profissionalismo enquanto contestos estrategicos especificos. Principais resultados: Resultados indicam que os atores das redes dos times podem ser divididos em dois grupos, um associado a atividades esportivas e outro a atividades administrativas. Ainda, as redes dos times tem um fator comum, os membros pagos estarem ligados as funcoes das atividades esportivas. Contribuicoes teoricas/Metodologicas: O fato da Superliga B ter mais colaboracoes obtidas atraves de contatos pessoais, enquanto os times da Superliga A constroem uma rede mais especializada, converge com a proposicao feita neste estudo e esta alinhada com a ideia geral do trabalho de Hite & Hesterly (2001) sobre as mudancas na rede e no ciclo de vida das empresas. Contribuicao Social/ para gestao: As implicacoes para gestao indicam, tanto empresas quanto times de voleibol, deveriam atualizar a rede para o estagio do ciclo de vida vigente. Se um time de voleibol planeja se tornar profissional, ele deveria estar ciente da necessidade de adequacao da rede para a nova divisao. Plavras chave: Voleibol. Rede de contatos. Evolucao. Amadorismo. Profissionalismo Objetivos del estudio: Este estudio tiene como objetivo investigar las caracteristicas de la red de equipos de voleibol en el contexto brasileno, a nivel amateur y profesional. Metodologia/Enfoque:Esta investigacion adopto el paradigma interpretativo, donde se estudiaron seis equipos brasilenos de voleibol. Las tecnicas de recoleccion de datos fueron cualitativas e incluyeron entrevistas, analisis de informacion disponible en periodicos, sitios web y observacion. Originalidad/relevancia: La literatura anterior no ha investigado a fondo las organizaciones deportivas, aficionadas y profesionales desde la persperctiva de la teoria de redes, considerando el ciclo de vida de las empresas. Para dilucidar el tema, consideramos el ciclo de vida de las empresas similar al amateurismo y la profesionalidad como desafios estrategicos especificos. Resultados clave:Los resultados indican que los actores de las redes del equipo se pueden dividir en dos grupos, uno asociado con actividades deportivas y el otro con actividades administrativas. Ademas, las redes de equipo tienen un factor comun: los miembros pagos estan vinculados a las funciones de las actividades deportivas. Contribuciones teoricas/metodologicas:El hecho de que Superliga B tenga mas colaboraciones a traves de contactos personales, mientras que los equipos de Superliga A contruyen una red mas especializada, coincide con la propuesta hecha en este estudio y esta alineada con la idea general del trabajo de Hite & Hesterly (2001) sobre cambios en la red y el ciclo de vida de las empresas. Contribucion social/ para gestion: Las implicaciones para la administracion indican que tanto las companias como los equipos de voleibol deberian actualizar la red a la etapa actual del ciclo de vida. Si un equipo de voleibol planea convertirse en profesional, debe ser conciente de la necesidad de adaptar la red a la nueva division. Palabras clave: Voleibol. Red de contactos. Evolucion. Amateurismo. Profesionalismo.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is undeniably inseparable from higher education. While the courts historically served as the sole reviewer of many of the NCAA's actions and policies, interest in name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws has sparked a legislative movement. But recent legislative proposals to implement NIL fall short of legitimately holding the NCAA accountable. The Department of Education, tasked in part with overseeing postsecondary education across the nation, is well-equipped to regulate the NCAA's lapses in its governance of college athletics pertaining to gender inequality, sexual misconduct, discrimination, and education. The NCAA's impact on higher education warrants regulation, and the Department of Education is the agency best suited for the job. Congress should extend the oversight authority of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education to oversee and work with the NCAA to promote a more equitable college athletic environment and to implement NIL opportunities in an equitable manner.