Myles Brand is the President of the NCAA. He makes nearly a million dollars a year as the steward of college athletics. He's adamant about those athletes not getting paid. And now he's been published in the Huffington Post (guess we know where his politics lean).Neither higher education, of which college sports is only a small part, nor intercollegiate athletics is truly capitalistic. They do not generate revenue to make a profit; they generate revenue to fulfill a purpose, to meet the mission of higher education. If they were models of capitalism, many academic programs and nearly all sports other than football and men's basketball would be dropped because they are too costly and do not generate enough revenue to pay their own way.Read the whole thing. I'm not necessarily in favor of institutions paying the athletes, but the argument itself isn't the most convincing.
Brand is right that most collegiate sports don't make money just as many college departments don't make money. They're still part of a broader, profit-driven institution however. Just as the janitorial crew that cleans up a pro sports stadium contributes to the product but doesn't add to the bottom line, some college sports are around and contribute something without profiting. However, the janitorial crew gets compensated because they are an essential part of the machine. So are the athletes, but without cash reimbursement.
