This book advances the debate about paying student athletes in big-time college sports by directly addressing the red-hot role of race in college sports. It concludes by suggesting a remedy to positively transform college sports.

Top-tier college sports are extremely profitable. Despite the billions of dollars involved in the amateur sports industrial complex, none winds up in the hands of the athletes. The controversies surrounding whether colleges and universities should pay athletes to compete on these educational institutions’ behalf is longstanding and coincides with the rise of the black athlete at predominately white colleges and universities. Pay to Play: Race and the Perils of the College Sports Industrial Complex takes a hard look at historical and contemporary efforts to control sports participation and compensation for black athletes in amateur sports in general, and in big-time college sports programs, in particular.

The book begins with background on the history of amateur athletics in America, including the forced separation of black and white athletes. Subsequent sections examine subjects such as the integration of college sports and the use of black athletes to sell everything from fast food to shoes, and argue that college athletes must receive adequate compensation for their labor. The book concludes by discussing recent efforts by college athletes to unionize and control their likenesses, presenting a provocative remedy for transforming big-time college sport as we know it.

Examines the longstanding controversy regarding whether colleges must pay to play when it comes to being competitive in high-profile sports and how this debate intersects with perceptions of race

Suggests a remedy for transforming big-time college sports that can simultaneously benefit colleges and universities, non-revenue generating sports, elite college athletes, and professional sports teams

Presents provocative and insightful information for scholars and students in the fields of sociology, kinesiology, education, gender studies, black history, sports management, urban studies, communications, and labor relations as well as for current athletes, former athletes, and fans of college sports