NCAA athletes

You are a doofus. Don't come on here again.

I'd suggest you check out the NCAA bylaws.

Dumbasses, he didn't ask whether or not it's legal. He wants to know what your opinion on the matter is.. Is your opinion stated in the bylaws? Well I sure as hell am not gonna waste my time looking for it.

Sorry I didn't know some folks here had a 2by4 up their ass.

I don't know if this is still the case, but back in the 80s and early 90s, athletes at Florida State and some other 'independent" schools used to be able to remain "amateur" in one sport, while competing as a professional in another.

The best example of that was Deion Sanders, who used to make boatloads of cash playing minor league baseball (something like $75,000 one year), while still competing as a NCAA-eligible athlete in football and track.

I think this loop-hole might now be closed, but it did exist at one time.

Martin

This can be comic relief some days you guys are funny! I'm serious!

Yes, I'm sure anyone would like the thought of getting compensated on the side while they're also getting an athletic scholarship and competing in the NCAA, but it's not going to happen. There's too many rules and stipulations involved, and they're not going to change. Most D1 college teams already have a contract with Nike, Adidas, Asics, etc. to receive equipment, so for you, INDIVIDUALLY, to be sponsored by another company would make things complicated. College athletes are amateurs, and they have to stay that way until they either use up their eligibility or decide they want to quit and "go pro." As long as you run collegiately, you're governed by the NCAA bylaws.

http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/enforcement/amateurism/index.html

Here's an example of a bylaw:

12.1.1.3 Road Racing

"Road racing" is essentially the same as cross country or track and field competition and cannot be separated effectively from those sports for purposes of Bylaw 12. Therefore, a student-athlete who accepts pay in any form for participation in such a race is ineligible for intercollegiate cross country or track and field competition.

Here's an interesting take on the NCAA's position with respect to professional athletes -- timely as well, as it turns out.

Jeremy Bloom, the world's No. 1-ranked moguls skier who wants to play football at the University of Colorado, filed a motion against the NCAA on Thursday, asking a Colorado district court to overturn a previous ruling that he could not accept skiing endorsements and play football for the Buffaloes at the same time.

"Although Jeremy relies on (his skiing) talents to sustain himself now, and plans to rely on these talents long after his football career ends, the NCAA says 'No' despite its own constitutional directives to foster the educational development of student-athletes and promote their welfare," says the motion, which asks for a temporary restraining order.

NCAA spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the motion is premature because a waiver request from the University of Colorado is still pending.

"There should be a decision on this most likely by next week," Jankowski said. "There are some things in this motion that we haven't seen and we've encouraged the University of Colorado to submit any information to the NCAA that could have bearing on this."

Bloom would not comment on the motion.

The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from endorsing products based on their athletic ability. But Bloom petitioned the NCAA in January, contending that his skiing endorsements were unrelated to his ability in football. In February, on the same day Bloom finished ninth in the Olympic moguls competition, the NCAA denied his petition.

The 20-year-old Bloom, a highly touted wide receiver who helped Loveland (Colo.) High win a state championship, signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Colorado last year, but he has not enrolled at the school. The motion seeks a decision by a judge before Aug. 8 -- the day that Bloom is scheduled to report to the school in Boulder, Colo.

NCAA bylaws say that student-athletes are allowed to receive money for professional sports, including minor league baseball, as long as the only money being made is in salary. However, in professional skiing, there are no steady salaries, as income is comprised of prize money and endorsements.

Bloom promotes Oakley sunglasses, DynaStar skis and Under Armour performance apparel, but -- if he were to play football -- the NCAA won't allow him to endorse these products.

Bloom also has a modeling contract with Tommy Hilfiger Jeans.

In March, the NCAA's Jankowski told ESPN.com that Bloom could receive money from modeling as long as he satisfied four criteria. Bloom's modeling would have to have started before he enrolled; his modeling couldn't be based on his athletic ability (football); the company could not mention his involvement with NCAA athletics; and his pay would have to be commensurate with similar modeling contracts.

The NCAA has since said, according to the motion, that Bloom also wouldn't be allowed to make an appearance for the apparel company. Bloom could also drop all contracts and become eligible immediately.

The motion also seeks to stop the NCAA from prohibiting Bloom from earning money from appearances on TV shows and in films -- even if his appearances have nothing to do with football. Bloom has appeared on EXTRA, Access Hollywood and MTV and, according to the motion, Bloom has auditioned for several television programs and one New York casting executive said he has "star quality."

Bloom's lawyer Peter Rush successfully represented Northwestern running back Darnell Autry in his case against the NCAA in 1996. Despite the rule that previously prevented student-athletes from appearing in commercial films, Autry was granted a waiver and allowed to act in "The Eighteenth Angel," since the role had nothing to do with his football career. Autry, however, never got paid for the part.

Actually, a football player, forget his name because, well, it wasn't track, signed and played for the NFL, but went back to school in the offseason (spring) and ran track for his school. Iowa or Iowa State, I think. It was all perfectly legal. The coach said he got a kick out of the fact the guy went from pro-football style travel to riding in the bus and sharing a room in track.

The guy you're thinking of was Tim Dwight...played for the Falcons in the Super Bowl and then returned for his sr. season in track...

As I recall though, Tim Dwight didn't run that much for Iowa the year he came back, as he was injured or something. I could be wrong.

Actually, he won a couple of events at the Big Ten Championships that year. One was the 4x100. Not sure if he qualified for NCAA. But it was a successful year and i dont think he was injured.

He ran the 4x400 finals at NCAAs that year. CBS focused on him (Iowa was 6th or so) rather than the race up front, as I remember.

This is a great topic that shows how idiotic the NCAA is.

Here is the rule regarding different sport participation in lamens terms

An athlete can participate in another proffesional sport, Such as Minor League Baseball(Chris Wienke and several other QB's)but still participate in NCAA athletics if they pay there way.

Jeremy Bloom cannot except endorsments from skiing even though that is his proffesional sport. The reason why athletes can compete for "mainstream" sports teams is because there is an actual team contract involved, not endorsments. Even though Jeremy can not sign a contract with a ski team because they don't exist, he is still being penalized by the NCAA because, as everyone knows, the NCAA makes no sense.

What's wrong with using your talent to make money? That seems to me what college is mainly about; developing your abilities so that you can make a living out in whatever the hell the "real world" is. If the athletes are good enough to help generate revenue in our weak economy, what's wrong with paying them to endorse something? Since when do we kick people off the team for being too good? Land of the free my ass...Bush ought to be looking for those "evil doers" within the NCAA rules committee.

Legalizit wrote:

What's wrong with using your talent to make money? That seems to me what college is mainly about; developing your abilities so that you can make a living out in whatever the hell the "real world" is. If the athletes are good enough to help generate revenue in our weak economy, what's wrong with paying them to endorse something? Since when do we kick people off the team for being too good? Land of the free my ass...Bush ought to be looking for those "evil doers" within the NCAA rules committee.

Getting an athletic scholarship is the NCAA's way of "paying" you, but the money goes towards your education. If you're a walk-on, you obviously gotta find other ways.

just a little thought.

think of the leverage that the athletes could have if they had a union like pro sports. b/c believe me, there are people working for the ncaa that make serious bank based off the work that you athletes do.