NCAA Votes to Permit College Athletes to Make Money

 

The National Collegiate Athletic¹ Association (NCAA) has taken the first step toward permitting college athletes to make money from their “name, image and likeness².”

The NCAA Board of Governors voted on the issue Tuesday during a meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

The United States’ largest governing body for college sports said it understands that it “must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes.”

NCAA rules have long barred players from employing agents. It has also generally refused to let schools pay players.

The board has asked each of the NCAA’s three divisions to begin creating new rules that protect amateurism and permit players to make money. The divisions must establish the new rules by January 2021.

Board chair Michael V. Drake said in a statement Tuesday, “The board is emphasizing that change must be consistent with the values of college sports and higher education and not turn student-athletes into employees of institutions.”

Late last month, California passed a law permitting college athletes to hire agents and make money from endorsement³ deals. The law protects athletes who sign such deals from dismissal by their team.

The California law is set to take effect in 2023. Other states are moving on similar legislation that could go into effect as soon as 2020.

The NCAA has 1,100 member schools and almost 500,000 athletes. It has refused to pay players in most cases. But it has permitted some exceptions. Olympians, for example, can accept winnings they receive from earning medals. And major athletic conferences have been able to give players wages of between $2,000 and $4,000 a year.

The NCAA reported $1.1 billion in earnings⁴ in 2017.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

athlete - n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength?

embrace ?- v. to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly

emphasize ?- v. to give special attention to (something)?

consistent ?- adj. having parts that agree with each other?

hire ?- v. to use or get the services of (someone) to do a particular job

endorsement ?- n. the act of publicly saying that you like or use a product or service in exchange for money?

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。