WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday released the second in a series of reports that consider the range of problems within college athletics. The report, “Madness, Inc.: How Colleges Keep Athletes on the Field and Out of the Classroom,” examines the ways in which colleges fail in providing athletes the education they deserve.

“The term ‘student-athlete’ is really a misnomer for a lot of kids playing big-time college athletics. The argument people always make against compensating college athletes is that their compensation is the education they receive. But what if they’re getting cheated out of that opportunity and not really receiving an education?” said Murphy. “Whether it’s academic fraud, overly burdensome schedules, or being pushed into easy pass coursework, the system often robs these athletes of their shot at a real education. The NCAA is broken, but many universities are at fault as well. Student-athletes should get an actual chance to be students, rather than treated as money-making commodities.”  

This is the second in a series of Madness, Inc. reports that consider a range of problems within college sports. Murphy’s first report, released in March during the annual men’s basketball “March Madness” tournament, examined the profits of college sports and how the NCAA enriches nearly every entity but the athletes themselves. In that report, Murphy called on the NCAA to compensate athletes. The report found that across the sixty-five Power Five conference schools, only 12 percent of all revenue goes toward student aid and scholarships, while 16 percent goes to coaches’ salaries. This means that the 4,400 head and assistant coaches collectively receive more of the revenue than the nearly 45,000 athletes. Coaches, former athletes, and advocates have spoken out in support of Murphy’s report. Subsequent reports will examine the nature of amateurism, the long-term health consequences that college athletes face, and how to address the litany of issues within the college sports industry.

Click here to download Madness, Inc. or read the full report below.

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