College scholarship football players should receive a stipend or a form of payment for their service

I'll happily debate this topic with you. I feel that for athletes receiving a scholarship I don't think its fair for them to receive a stipend or any other form of money on top of this. College is EXPENSIVE and it's hard to pay for. If you get a scholarship to get you through college you should be grateful and I'm not the only one saying it Whitlock a former division 1 basketball player (including scholarship) agrees. Take a peek at what he has to say on the topic. I'll say this as a college student I can barely afford to be here. Just being able to pay for school is a blessing and athletes should treat it like one. My first point would have to be given the current guidelines say "It is a violation of the NCAA rules for athletes to accept money or gifts while intending to remain eligible." which means clearly that you can't pay athletes. However, clearly we are ignoring this; I'll just move into the rest of my argument. According to the Washington Post the average athletics scholarship is $10,000 a year (Bowen). This equals out to $1,111 a month while schools in session. Currently, I work 26 hours a week and take 16 credits a quarter make out with about 900-950 a month after taxes. I am also paying for college out of my own pocket plus loans. The scholarship, in my mind, is the payment for work rendered. Not only this athletes get to travel (which even at a smaller school like mine costs about $100,000), have access to facilities other students don't and oftentimes have athletic trainers which are limited to athletes. Another thing is that colleges help their athletes to go professional by putting them in the spotlight. This gives them a chance to go Pro which they wouldn't otherwise have. My cousin is a full-ride football scholarship student at UW and manages to find time to work to pay for his additional expenses. He works an evening job because he needs to do class and practice during the day. I feel that he is proof that any athletics student can find ways to make ends meet. If athletes receive pay for their services beyond a scholarship even more money is spent. This can lead to higher tuition for students and things being cut in the schools. Right now would not be the time to start paying athletes beyond their scholarships. Currently many colleges are having their money cut on a federal and state wide level. The revenue from money making sports, such as football, are used to pay for other sports that are less supported by revenue. Given the majority of these are women's sports which the school has to support because of Title IX schools HAVE TO pour money from revenues of other sports to support it. Athletes at a college level are AMATURES which means that they don't get a paycheck for playing. They can be motivated to play by a scholarship, but to give them money via the university makes them professional players. Bowen, Fred. "Don't Bank on a Sports Scholarship - Washingtonpost.com." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - Washingtonpost.com. 4 Apr. 2008. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. . Whitlock, Jason. "ESPN.com - Page2 - College Athletes Already Paid in Full." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. 2007. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. .