The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes Wins the 2024 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Outstanding Book Award

November 22, 2024 | by uscpress

The North American Society for the Sociology of Sport presented Richard M. Southall, Mark S. Nagel, Ellen J. Staurowsky, Richard T. Karcher, and Joel G. Maxcy with the 2024 Outsanding Book Award for The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes: An Amateurism That Never Was, at their annual conference in early November.

This award recognizes outstanding scholarly analyses of a sport related issue or phenomenon written from a sociological, anthropological, or related perspective.

The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes is a comprehensive historical, sociological, legal, financial, and managerial argument for the reclassification of profit-athletes as employees. The authors cut through the institutional doublespeak of approved benefits, cost-of-attendance stipends, or “name, image, likeness” (NIL) collectives and provide evidence that the NCAA’s amateurism has been a collusive, exploitative, and racialized “pay for play” scheme that disproportionately affects Black profit-athletes. They offer a forward-thinking structure in which individual labor contracts, or a potential collective bargaining agreement, address compensation and working conditions.

Richard M. Southall is a professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management and Associate Director of the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) at the University of South Carolina.

Mark S. Nagel is a professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management and Associate Director of the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) at the University of South Carolina

Ellen J. Staurowsky is professor, sports media, at the Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College.

Richard T. Karcher is associate professor, health promotion and human performance, at Eastern Michigan University.

Joel G. Maxcy is professor and department head of sport business at Drexel University.