A PRICE TO PLAY | Groups make case for athletes’ rights

College athletes, who many say have had few rights and few people to stand up for them, are getting more help as opposition demanding changes continues to grow.

The discontent led to the creation of the National College Players Association (NCPA), which boasts more than 14,000 members; Playoff PAC, a political action committee that has become a watchdog over the BCS Championship Bowl series, which is not without its own scandal; and the longer-established Drake Group, comprised of college faculty members throughout the country.

Most recently, Ralph Nader formed the League of Fans, which is aimed at changing the way big-time college sports are run. Another relatively new group is the Parents of Players Association.

Many reform groups often see college sports, mainly football and men’s basketball, as runaway freight trains with conference commissioners, bowl executive directors and coaches raking in huge sums of money while scholarships have changed little and athletes continue to face many restrictions. The Drake Group is more concerned with academic transparency.

Some common goals of the reform groups are:

n Raise the amount of athletic scholarships.

n Hold schools responsible for players’ sports-related medical expenses (such as off-season workouts).

n Allow multiple-year scholarships instead of one-year revocable scholarships.

n Prohibit universities from eliminating a scholarship because of an injury.

n Prohibit punishment of college athletes who have not committed a violation.

n Guarantee athletes are granted an athletic release from their university if they wish to transfer.

n Allow athletes to transfer one time without punishment.

This story was originally published August 15, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A PRICE TO PLAY | Groups make case for athletes’ rights."