College athletes enjoy certain perks – the strong possibility of a free education (we’re talking full-ride scholarships!), on-the-house room and board, complimentary textbooks and top-notch tutors – but with that territory comes a serious commitment to grueling practices and high expectations to excel on the field, all the while juggling a full course load. Sure, college athletes are considered amateurs in their sports but the fact remains that these students participate in a multi-million dollar industry. Should they be compensated? More than 300 football and men’s basketball players seem to think so.

In a petition to the NCAA, student athletes are requesting that more of the money generated by their teams to go directly to the athletes, both while they are in school and after they graduate. The document, which the National College Players Association provided to the Associated Press, urges the NCAA and college presidents to set aside “an unspecified amount of money from what it estimates is $775 million in recently acquired TV revenues in an ‘educational lock box’...where players could tap those funds to help cover educational costs if they exhaust their athletic eligibility before they graduate.” And that’s not all: The petition also calls for players to receive what’s left of the money allocated to them after they graduate – a step that could be considered by some as professionalizing college sports. (For more on the story, click here.)

Do you think college athletes should get a piece of the multi-million dollar pie or is a free education (which will last a lifetime) compensation enough?

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