The NCAA is a multibillion-dollar-per-year business, covering every sport from college football to women’s field hockey. However, the only people that seem to reap the financial benefits are the television networks, conferences and universities.Today’s college athlete sees none of the revenue that is brought into universities from bowl games, TV broadcasts and merchandise sales. If a team does well enough, not only can it mean an increase in the number of students attending that university, but also an upgrade in the pay of athletic directors and coaches.

One of the only ways the athletes playing the sports can enjoy the revenue earned from these outside forces is an upgrade in the facilities that they have to use on a daily basis to maintain the level of performance that keeps the money coming in.

So if that’s the case, why aren’t these athletes who are so valuable to a university compensated for the years of work they provide? In actuality they are; a college education is the most valuable tool that is least mentioned in the realm of college athletics.

In my younger, less-educated days, I also believed that it was unfair for these athletes whom I admired to not be rewarded for countless game-winning shots and championship rings. Then I started college, and I thought even more that these athletes deserved something.

College can be the most financially-strapping, account-zapping, debt-acquiring time for any student, and the portrayal of some of the student athletes in the spotlight can provide a false representation of every college student. Of course when you see the Stanfords, Michigans and Notre Dames of the world, things look grand and fancy, but what of the Gramblings, Coastal Carolinas and even Nichollses, where things aren’t so big?

And it’s not like the players have it horribly bad either, with scholarships that provide them with free tuition, room, board and travel; it leaves out other life incidentals that aren’t mentioned.

While some athletes deal with the situations that arise for them, others have looked to other means of acquiring money to function in society. Point-shaving scandals, accepting money from boosters and gambling are just a few of the ways that athletes have tried to get over NCAA rules.

If that wasn’t enough, a former UCLA football player decided to sue the NCAA because he acquired $6,000 in credit card debt after he graduated from the university. I’m sure that the $24,000 in tuition that he didn’t have to pay back to the university is burning up his wallet as we speak.

What I’m saying is that although players should not be paid, something must be done to make sure their quality of life is on par with the effort these athletes are giving to the universities they represent. If money were given to the athletes, it would cheapen the education and the championships they play for.

A college education, just like glory, can last forever, but unlike glory, the education is the one thing can be passed on to someone else.