Student Athletes vs. Regular Students: The Great Debate
Student Athletes at Ole Miss are being criticized by regular students for receiving extra benefits that are limited to the athletes
By: Adam Ganucheau
At the University of Mississippi and in Oxford, college athletics is the most appealing activity that takes place. On any given weekend in the fall or spring semesters, Oxford can draw thousands of fans supporting the Ole Miss Rebels on the fields and courts. Subsequently, athletes are the most popular and distinguishable people on campus. Some regular students on campus believe that the spotlight on the athletes causes some unwarranted special treatment.
"It's completely unfair that these athletes are getting treated like they are the only ones on campus," senior hospitality management major Brianna Phelps said. "I can name a handful of athletes that recieve benefits just for being athletes."
Phelps, in addition to dating three football players in the past, has worked as a tutor for the Ole Miss athletics program. When needed, tutoring is provided to athletes on the university's expense, and regular students are paid to be tutors for the athletes.
Regular student that attend Ole Miss cannot help but notice some of the athletes getting other special treatment. Phelps also mentioned other things, including: getting rides to class on golf carts that read “Ole Miss Athletics” on the carts, wearing different Ole Miss Nike athletic gear every day of the week, and getting extra time to take tests or make up class assignments.
On campus at Ole Miss, the Office of Athletic Compliance is designated to make sure that Ole Miss is following NCAA rules and regulations regarding benefits that athletes can recieve. “We basically are the middle-man between the NCAA and our coaches and athletics staff,” Matt Vincent, Assistant Director of Athletic Compliance at Ole Miss, said.
According to NCAA rules and regulations, athletes cannot receive any extra or unnecessary benefits from anyone: including the school in which they attend, boosters of the school of the athletic program that they belong to, or alumni who have a vested interest in the success of a school.
Vincent laid out the specific rules regarding student athletes and obvious benefits received. Regarding the tutoring of the athletes, Vincent said that free tutoring on campus was not, by any means, limited to just athletes on campus. Regarding the riding of carts to class, Vincent said that athletes that ride carts to class have injuries that do not allow them to get around as they normally would. Regarding the Nike athletic gear, Vincent explained that the university signs a sponsorship deal with Nike every 6 to 10 years and that contract provides the student athletes with gear every year. Regarding the class situations for athletes, Vincent said that the teachers and individual school deans are responsible for the timeliness of tests and assignments. All of the obvious "benefits" that regular students see on campus are legally sanctioned by the NCAA and Ole Miss.
However, while these obvious privileges may be warranted under NCAA bylaws, Phelps believes that only athletes can recieve these benefits. "They can say that it's legal, or whatever," Phelps said. "That does not make it right, though."
Athletes are under the impression that the extras that they get should not be viewed as extras but as fair compensation. Sophomore football player Denzel Nkemdiche believes that athletes are getting what they deserve. "Who said that it's unfair that we get a couple tickets for our parents to come to a game?" Nkemdiche said. "After making the university millions of dollars in ticket sales and stadium expenses and stuff like that, how is anyone going to question a couple tickets?"
When asked about the free Nike athletic gear that players recieve, Nkemdiche was even more animated. "It's all about jealousy," he said. "They see the Nike sneakers that I wear as part of my scholarship, and they envy them."
A survey conducted by USA Today in 2004 proves that the majority of college athletes agree with Nkemdiche.
Another survey was conducted on a more personal level to show how student athletes and non student athletes feel about benefits received by student athletes.
The obvious benefits that athletes receive are one thing, but the treatment that athletes get behind the scenes is something that many people, including Phelps, believe is over the top. The Ole Miss football team just started a new program called “training table.” In addition to the normal workout and training regiment they are put under in the Indoor Practice Facility, they are given nutritious dining options after practices and workouts that only the team can access. At Ole Miss, that is a huge deal to many students.
“The fact that normal students don’t have healthy on-campus food dining options is bad enough,” junior accounting major Lindsey Walker said. “But the fact that the football team is getting what we have been wanting for years, just around the corner, is just frustrating on so many levels.”
Ole Miss Dining officials say that programs like the training table program at Ole Miss are done across the country. They also say that plans are in the works for more healthy dining options to be available to all students at Ole Miss, not just athletes.
In addition to the nutrition program, student athletes are given a limited amount of free tickets to athletic events for relatives or friends. Some argue that the free ticket situation is unfair, while others think it is completely fair.
“If I want my parents to come up for a football game, I have to pay at least $50 a ticket,” senior financing major Matthew Grady said. “If the players want their family members to come to a game, they get them easily for free.”
“It’s their product,” Ole Miss alumnus and season ticket holder Rick Akin said. “They are giving us what we pay for, so they should get some free tickets for their family.”
There is also a whole chapter in the NCAA rule book about what alumni and school donors can give to athletes. The University of Miami football program, known world-wide for being a powerhouse juggernaut of college football, was recently sanctioned by the NCAA because alumna and a season ticket holder provided benefits for Miami football players under the table for over 15 years. Because of the school's illegal actions, the NCAA suspended scholarships that the school may give to future players and suspended eight returning starters from the 2011 season.
National speculation about whether or not college athletes should get paid is a topic that has not gone unnoticed at Ole Miss. Kentrell Lockett, former defensive end and All-American for the Rebels, among thousands of other college student athletes, has been cited on camera in the past, saying that college athletes should get paid.
"I don't care if they get paid or not," Phelps said. "Rules should be made so the athletes aren't getting things that I can't get."
"I don't care if they get paid or not," Phelps said. "Rules should be made so the athletes aren't getting things that I can't get."
