Future of College Sports: Reimagining Athlete Pay

College athletics is a multibillion-dollar industry, occupying a rare space globally in which commercialized sports intersect with higher education. The ongoing FBI investigation involving payoffs to NCAA men’s basketball players shows what has been widely known: Some college athletes possess value beyond their scholarship and other allowable benefits. Critics of the system say these players are often missing out on their best opportunity to capitalize off their value, as any non-athlete can do as a college student.

What if NCAA athletes were permitted to receive outside sponsorship money in exchange for use of their name, image or likeness? NCAA President Mark Emmert recently said this approach, known as the Olympic model, is “well deserving of serious consideration inside the context of college sports.” What would be the potential implications in a number of areas, such as the value for athlete pay, educational achievement, competitive impact, NCAA governance, women’s sports, high school/youth sports, and fan interest?

On May 1, the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program will host "Future of College Sports: Reimagining Athlete Play." We will
explore what college sports might look like if it adopted the Olympic model.

The event is free and includes lunch. Check back later in April for a list of speakers and how to RSVP. The conversation will be moderated by Jon Solomon, editorial director of the Sports & Society Program, whose reporting on college sports has won national honors.

The Sports & Society Program thanks Marilyn and Michael Glosserman for their generous support of the Future of Sports conversation series.