Overview

In an era when college football coaches frequently command higher salaries than university presidents, many call for reform to restore the balance between amateur athletics and the educational mission of schools. This book traces attempts at college athletics reform from 1855 through the early twenty-first century while analyzing the different roles played by students, faculty, conferences, university presidents, the NCAA, legislatures, and the Supreme Court.  Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform also tackles critically important questions about eligibility, compensation, recruiting, sponsorship, and rules enforcement. Discussing reasons for reform--to combat corruption, to level the playing field, and to make sports more accessible to minorities and women--Ronald A. Smith candidly explains why attempts at change have often failed. Of interest to historians, athletic reformers, college administrators, NCAA officials, and sports journalists, this thoughtful book considers the difficulty in balancing the principles of amateurism with the need to draw income from sporting events.

Full Product Details

9780252077838

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Reviews

In this provocative book ... [Smith] details the efforts to purify intercollegiate sports since the first teams faced off in the 1850s. He makes a solid case for why reforms are needed. --Diverse: Issues in Higher Education A major contribution to the history of college sports. This astounding book does not leave a stone unturned, and it represents a lifetime of researching and writing on the subject from a top expert in the field. --John Sayle Watterson, author of The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency Smith's extensively researched and well-documented text shows that throughout the history of college athletics there have been only a handful of true champions of reform and they have universally lost to the pressures of professionalization. --EH.NET A lively, fluid account of college sports controversies and reform efforts spanning more than 150 years... Well written and thoroughly researched. --Journal of Higher Education Sweeping in its coverage of big-time college athletic reform and rich detail... A significant contribution to the place and meaning of college sports in the modern United States. --American Historical Review Illuminating and thought provoking. Music and Cultural Rights will challenge musicians, music scholars, and music educators to reexamine their preconceived notions of culture, music's purpose within culture, and the social responsibilities that come when using this music. --Music Educators Journal

In this provocative book ... [Smith] details the efforts to purify intercollegiate sports since the first teams faced off in the 1850s. He makes a solid case for why reforms are needed. --Diverse: Issues in Higher Education A major contribution to the history of college sports. This astounding book does not leave a stone unturned, and it represents a lifetime of researching and writing on the subject from a top expert in the field. --John Sayle Watterson, author of The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency Smith's extensively researched and well-documented text shows that throughout the history of college athletics there have been only a handful of true champions of reform and they have universally lost to the pressures of professionalization. --EH.NET A lively, fluid account of college sports controversies and reform efforts spanning more than 150 years... Well written and thoroughly researched. --Journal of Higher Education Sweeping in its coverage of big-time college athletic reform and rich detail... A significant contribution to the place and meaning of college sports in the modern United States. --American Historical Review Illuminating and thought provoking. Music and Cultural Rights will challenge musicians, music scholars, and music educators to reexamine their preconceived notions of culture, music's purpose within culture, and the social responsibilities that come when using this music. --Music Educators Journal

A major contribution to the history of college sports. This astounding book does not leave a stone unturned, and it represents a lifetime of researching and writing on the subject from a top expert in the field. John Sayle Watterson, author of The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency

Author Information

Ronald A. Smith is professor emeritus of sports history at Penn State University and the author of several books, including Sports and Freedom: The Rise of Big-Time College Athletics and Play-by-Play: Radio, Television, and Big-Time College Sport.

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