Public Opinions about Different Dimensions of College Athletes’ Economic Rights among U.S. Adults in 2024-25

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 25. Role of Political Forces in Education

Abstract

College athletes’ economic rights have been the source of a great deal of debate in recent decades. In the present study, we examine the extent to which original (n = 1360) 2018-19 National Sports and Society Survey (NSASS) respondents and a new replacement sample component for the study (n= 513) collectively support, in 2024-25, college athletes’ rights to be allowed to be paid, and whether they would be upset if college athletes: a) were recognized as university employees, b) gained collective bargaining rights, and c) were paid wages by their universities for their training and performance. We analyze descriptive results and then focus upon potential racial/ethnic, generational, gendered, sports culture, and traditionalist influences in our ordinal logistic regression models. We find that less than 1/3 respondents disagreed with college athletes’ right to be paid, but about 40% of respondents reported that they would be at least somewhat upset if college athletes were recognized as university employees, gained collective bargaining rights, or were paid by universities for their training and performance. Sports fans, including those who more commonly watched and followed sports, were more supportive of college athletes’ economic rights. Yet, adults who played sports more frequently were more likely to say that they would be upset by more changes in college athletes’ economic rights. Compared to White, women, and younger respondents, Black, men, and older respondents were generally supportive of college athletes’ rights to be paid, but did not differ in their feelings about college athletes becoming employees, gaining collective bargaining rights, or being paid by their universities for their training and performance. Those who identified as evangelical Christian, more conservative, and less in agreement about the existence of racial discrimination in society were less likely to endorse college athletes’ economic rights.

Authors

• Chris Knoester, The Ohio State University

• Kirsten Hextrum

• Rachel Roberson