30A Final Reflection

Looking back through the posts throughout the semester, there are a couple that stick out to me.

The most formative experience would be the Bug List that we did at the beginning of the semester. Some of them still bug me but most of them are no big deal. It was challenging coming up with that list because you don't realize what bothers you at all until you have to sit down and think about it.

The experience that I am most proud of is the Elevator Pitch. For some reason I would get super nervous to record myself and put it online for everyone to see. You always think you look one way and sound a certain way until you see yourself on video. It made me want to perform better and try to work on it for the future in case I have an interview via Skype.

Personally, I don't see myself being an entrepreneur. The class was informative on how to view things that you want and a business plan of your choice. In the long run, I will use the informative that I learned throughout the semester in the career that I pick. I see myself doing the complete opposite of what an entrepreneur does.

My recommendation would be to manage your time throughout the week and get the work done in a timely manner. A lot of the assignments might take you a couple of days, especially with the interviewing process. Managing your time with this class will make you successful in the end!

28A Your Exit Strategy

I plan on staying with this business until I retire. This is something that I am passionate about when it comes to college athletes. I don't plan on initiating this plan and then leaving. The plan is only for Division I athletes. I believe it should be for all Divisions of athletics. Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA. I don't intend to pass this down through my family. I intend on working on this for as long as I can.

I selected this particular exit plan because I am passionate about the rights of college athletes. By continuing to follow this plan, I have hopes that I will continue to persuade members of the NCAA to allow these athletes to be compensated for their image.

The exit plan that I decided to take has influenced me in many ways. I know that throughout the learning process of the business plan that I picked, I learned that I not only care for the Division I athletes with their name and image being used, but I also care for the athletes who are on the bench as well. I plan to use the resources that I have and continue to network throughout the years. Each person that I come into contact with for this business plan will continue to help me throughout the years and help me understand the process better.

26A Celebrating Failure

Failure is defined as a "lack of success." At some point (whether we want to admit it or not) we all have experienced a form of failure whether it is in the classroom, at home, at work, etc.

Since this semester has started, I started to gain more weight than usual. I tend to blame my boyfriend because of the "relationship weight" myth. But at the end of the day, it is on me. I work mainly work nights and they are 9 to 10 hour shifts 6 days a week. When I get off work it is either 11pm or it could be 1am. I tend to eat out at the restaurant that is open until 2am right down the street from my job. This causes me to eat poorly. I either or a few beers or a soda and eat an appetizer and an entree. Clearly this isn't good for your body when you are eating that late and are going right to bed.

My goal for the past few months have been to cut back on the alcohol and cut back on drinking soda. I was doing good for about two weeks and then I failed. It's difficult to quit something when your body is used to intaking certain foods or drinks per day. I'm a bartender full-time and everyday that I work I have people coming in and asking me about what drinks and what beer I like. Then they give me suggestions on drinks or beer to try out. So that makes it even harder to quit the drinking as well!

The weight gain and the failure to complete the cutting out of alcohol and soda have made me feel less about myself. It shows that I am not capable of being successful and that I am easily influenced by the smell or sight of the cravings.

I handle failure poorly. I complain about it for hours or days and drive everyone around me crazy. I should be taking it with a grain of salt and doing something to change it. Thinking back on the class, we have a lot of assignments due throughout the semester. It was clear at the beginning that we pretty much are in control of our own grade. If we miss one assignment we lose 1 to 3 points. He's setting us up for success rather than failure. This class taught me that I can be successful rather than a failure by getting all of the work done.

24A Venture Concept No. 1

With my business plan, student-athletes at the collegiate level will be able to receive endorsement deals for their image, name, and likeliness. The opportunity and innovation would be that these student-athletes have the right to receive the money that are being made for their talent. In order for them to receive this amount of money, they have to go through some type of management class that will show them how to manage their money properly throughout their college years. Each athlete will be responsible for putting certain amount of money away so they have some after they finish their collegiate career.

Opportunity

This opportunity has been a topic for the NCAA for years. NCAA athletes have been used for their talents to gain satisfaction of the audience. Every year, there are reports of athletes borrowing money in their previous years in order to have some type of money throughout the year. Yes, each student-athletes receives food, clothes, and brand new jerseys from their institution. But that doesn't mean they have the money to survive throughout the school year. Even though some of these athletes may be on a full scholarship, most of them aren't. A standard football team varies from 45 to 65 athletes and from my realization, each Division I football program can hand out 25 scholarships whether they are full or partial. With the opportunity that the athletes are able to make some type of money through their athletic years at the collegiate level, they will have money throughout their four years and they will have money after they finish as well. This would be a major step for the NCAA. This "window of opportunity" will constantly be open and I don't think it is going to shut at any time. There will constantly be talk about this until it comes to a conclusion.

Innovation

The innovation for this type of opportunity will be all over the nation. It is an opportunity for college athletes at the Division I level to make money for the image, name, and likeliness. What would be happening is that the big name brands, such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armor or Puma, can sponsor these selected athletes based on them wearing their merchandise. If Nike wants the best player from Stanford to wear their shoes for a game, they will wear those shoes and receive a certain amount of money for advertising them. It can only work for that brand and athlete if the school signed a deal with that certain brand. The amount of money is going to be based on how much the brands want to offer the athletes.

Venture Concept

The opportunity will be addressing athletes who are being used for their talents and are not getting any compensation for it. The customers that would want to buy in this type of opportunities believe that these athletes deserve what they are working for. They are playing a sport that they love but it feels like a job to them. If they are going to be doing this full time, then the customers would have to believe that they are going to buy in to a good opportunity for young athletes.

23A Venture's Unfair Advantage

1) College sports as a family - College sports bring together athletes from around the world and treats them as if they have another family or a family all together. An example is Roy Williams from UNC and what he does for his athletes.

2) Charity - Many Division I programs reach out to the community and help a local charity in need. This puts their image out into the world and has them looked up to.

3) Coaches - The coaches within the program are there to encourage you and to help you become a better athlete and student. They are also there to help you prepare for the future and your life outside of college sports.

4) Brands (Nike, Adidas, Puma) - These brands are the brands that each team uses throughout the nation (including other brands). Each brand makes some type of money off of the teams and the merchandise that the team and institution wears.

5) Knowledge - Each athlete has to go through certain requirements by the NCAA that they have to follow before they start playing at the institution. With their knowledge of each rule and each requirement, it will help them be a successful athlete as long as they follow the rules that the NCAA makes them follow.

6) Athletes in the NCAA - The athletes of the NCAA are students who are looking to either pursue their career outside of college or use it to help them be a better student on and off the court/field.

7) Publicity - Each NCAA team gets public knowledge at some point throughout their season. With the people that I know within the press and the people that I know who work within NCAA teams, I would be able to learn the insides of the teams. I would also be able to give information to the people that I know that work with the teams social networking sites.

8) Money - With the Fair Pay to Play Act coming together, this would allow the student athletes to get paid for their image, name, and likeliness through the program. With this act, athletes can start earning up to a million dollars in endorsement deals starting fresh out of high school.

9) Money set away - If/When the act goes into play, each athlete needs to have some time of money put away for them. Receiving a high amount of money at a young age could mess with their egos and they get rid of it all within the next several months. This will allow the athletes to have some type of money after they graduate or if they don't make it to the professional level.

10) Talent - Having the talent to play where you are offered endorsement deals can make you feel like you are on top of the world. In order to keep those endorsement deals, the athletes will have to be up to par on their talent and continue to be successful.

I think the most important on out of these ventures is knowledge. You have to have some type of knowledge of what you're going to be put into as an athlete and what you are going to be going through with endorsement deals. It is not a cake walk. Even for coaches, they have to knowledgable of the right and wrong with these deals.

20A Growing Your Social Capital

1) Pervis Caldwell, high school basketball coach
Terry Thimlar, former Indiana State basketball coach for Larry Bird, athletic director

2) Domain-Pervis
Market - Terry

3) Pervis - current coworker for the high school, contacted him via face-to-face
Terry - former boss, contacted him via e-mail

4) Pervis - There is no return favor. He understands the help I need with my classes and is willing to help me out.
Terry - Same thing for Terry. He understands the help I need as well.

5) Pervis - Pervis is the type of person who knows a lot of people in the sports industry. He knows people from the elementary level to the professional level in the states and overseas. His connections have helped me with my homework today and have helped me with my career as well. I believe by utilizing him will allow me to network outside of my comfort zone and allow me to meet people who have the same beliefs as me.

Terry - Including Terry and his networking abilities with this assignment will allow me to network with more people in the professional world. He was previously a coach for Larry Bird and knew Magic Johnson very well. He is able to use his contacts and help me get insides for a potential job or for a future assignment. With his knowledge of people, he is able to help me get closer to finalizing my idea of the business plan that I have.

With this assignment, I did find it difficult to try to "target network" with these kind of people. I couldn't think of anyone that would be the supplier. I sat and thought about it for days and no one immediately came to mind. The first person that did was the California Senator but that is a long shot and I am sure they won't get back to me right away. This assignment did differ from networking in the past because you had to ask people with certain qualifications for the topic.

19A Idea Napkin No. 2

1) I am Nicole Papley. I am a bartender, a full-time student, and a high school basketball coach. My skills and experiences are quite similar but with different fields. I am people-oriented, outgoing, and love to adventure. My aspirations are to provide a better future with female athletes in the years to come. With this business concept, I believe that it'll effect my life in a positive way. As a high school basketball coach, I come across players each year that ask me for help with the next coming school year and where they think they should go. It will help open up opportunities for the athletes who talk the sport seriously compared to the athletes who do not.

2) I am offering the opportunity for student-athletes to be compensated for their image and their name at the collegiate level. With this business plan, the student-athletes will be making their own type of money while playing the sport they love and getting the education that they want. They will be making a profit off of jersey sales, tournaments, brands, etc.

3) All of my customers are middle aged and older men that are higher up in the NCAA. They have been around the league for decades and plan on making a difference. They are the type of people you go to for information when it is needed with an issue or an opportunity. Most of these individuals will be the type to live in the suburbs and have a small family and some grandchildren. They drive a nicer Lexus for a Mercedes-Benz. They also are previous college athletes and are still somewhat in good shape.

4) I believe that these individuals will care because they have a family of their own. They have children or grandchildren who love playing sports everyday and talk about it all the time. They watch their children or grandchildren grow up and the individuals that they are and see the fame that they get. It is only fair that if they are the top of their class and plan on excelling very well in their sport, then they should be compensated for their name and image that they are giving to the institution that they chose. They would be treated fairly in hopes of making a name for themselves and using the money wisely.

5) What sets me apart from everyone else is that I have a goal and I intend to reach it. Yes, people always say that they will reach their goal but in the long run they aren't taking the steps that they need in order to make the goal. I will continue to fight and help each of my athletes reach their dream as they are continuing to help me pursue mine (even if they don't realize it).

I believe that all of these elements fit together in a certain way. If you take who I am and what I believe in and add it in with the demographic of who I intend to reach, you will see that I believe in success for athletes just like these individuals believe in success in their own family. My student-athletes that I work with everyday are my family. I see them more than my own family most of the time and in order to get them where they want to be, I will break my back for them. Just like parents or grandparents would for their children or grandchildren.

Feedback) I incorporated the same stuff that I used in my previous idea napkin as I did in this one. My classmates said that they enjoyed reading mine. Since the last post, I have gained more insight on the act being set in play and I have had quite a bit of experiences happen with my athletes as well that are going to make me a better coach and make them want to get where they are.

17A Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb4z1f4fJkQ&feature=youtu.be

I used the feedback I got from the last pitch we did and used that at the beginning of this video. If I state facts, that I might catch someones attention and make them realize that something does have to be done. I thought all the feedback that I got previously was great and it helped me with this elevator pitch!

18A Create a Customer Avatar

The customer that I would be attracting are the people who believe that athletes should be compensated in some type of way. These customers look exactly how the avatar I created would look like. Simple hair cut, nice face structure, and a little bit of a mustache. Most of them would be men being that most of the people that decide higher up in the NCAA are men. They work for the state and have some type of ties to the NCAA involved in their state. They live in the suburbs and have two kids that are younger than 18 years old. They drive a newer Lexus or a Mercedes-Benz. Most of these customers have kids who are playing sports and have the dream of playing for their favorite team when they go to college.

I don't think I have anything in common with these customers. The only thing that I MIGHT have in common would be having kids that want to go to their dream college and play their favorite sport. When I say having kids, I don't mean my own kids because I don't have any. I mean my high school kids that I coach. I know that they work hard everyday to reach their end goal and that is to play at the collegiate level and beyond that.

15A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #2

For this assignment, I was able to interview three athletes. Two of them which are currently playing in college and one that is currently playing in high school. With these athletes being on the "buying" end of the Fair Pay to Play Act, they answered questions about how they would buy into the act and how it would effect them.

When discussing the Fair Pay to Play Act, you immediately think about the money that athletes will be receiving. Of course, each athlete pictures themselves receiving millions of dollars each season from sponsorships and assume that they are going to be "rich" at a young age. When selecting the right school to attend, they are no longer deciding based on the academics or the sports team. They are deciding on who is going to sponsor and who isn't going to sponsor. The athlete in high school said they would be more likely to pick a school in a state that follows this act rather than a school in a state that does not. What mattered most to these customers was the money. Not the academics that the school is going to give them, it was the money that they are going to be receiving for doing what they do as athletes. What makes them decide on what is good and bad is going to be on the coaching staff. Two of the athletes said their parents weighed out the good and bad things about the school when they were deciding on where to play. But at the end of the day, these athletes are going to end up going where the sponsors are going to go and where the coaches sell them the best.

16A Secret Sauce

1) I believe the things that make me different from everyone else is that I care way too much about what I'm doing and the people in my life. Everyone always says they "care too much" but when I say it, I mean it. I work in a high school to teach female athletes about becoming better athletes and better students and it's what I love to do. Not many people can say they enjoy being a coach for the younger generations being how society is today but I can say I enjoy every second of it. I am passionate about the work I do and how I do it. There are times when I will get really angry if things aren't done properly but I will get over it and continue moving on to be better. With anything I want to do, I try to do it the best I can be and I will try to be better at all costs.

2) When it comes to interviewing people for this class, it gets difficult for me. I work 60 hours a week and on top of that I am a full time high school basketball coach. For these interviews, I asked people to record themselves with questions that I wanted them to answer about me.

- This is one of my closest friends since the 6th grade. She states the type of person I am and how I connect well with others. I personally don't realize how well I can network within my field or even outside my field until someone tells me about it.

- This my coworker who I have worked with for the past three years. He talks about the passion and knowledge that I have for sports. Sports is everything that I know and everything that I will continue to know until I retire. He relates to me with sports and the care in the world.

- This is someone I have known for the past two years and I have grown close with him. He said that I am on a goal to be successful, which is true. I work towards what I want and I won't finish until I'm done.

- This is someone I have been friends with for the past three years. She knows me better than most people. She understands the reason why I am in school and why I work within the high school.

3) I see myself in a way that others see differently. I know the three people that I uploaded videos of know that my knowledge for things that I'm interested in goes above and beyond. I think my interviewees are correct about me because they see the true side of me and they get the same Nicole everyday no matter what the day is or what kind of day I am having. I don't think I would change anything from the first list because I know who I am and I am true to that.

14A Halfway Reflection

Some behaviors that I used for this course was to definitely manage your time wisely. So far through the semester I would get certain assignments done ahead of time and leave them in my drafts and look over them the night before they are due to make sure I have everything done properly and have answered all of the questions. The coursework is a lot and it may be overwhelming but timing the assignments out weekly will definitely help in the long run.

I definitely felt like giving up when the interviews starting to come up. I thought I wasn't going to get them done in time because of the people I had interviews with. I said to myself "should I even do it or should I just take the zero"? I did it and I'm glad I did because it will help me in the long run. What really pulled me through the tough times was the light at the end of the tunnel. If I perform well and get a good grade, then it will turn out well for me in the long run. I definitely feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude within the last two months because I have been focused on getting my schoolwork done and making sure everything is done correctly.

Three tips that I would give in order to develop the tenacious mindset and the skills to support it would be to have some type of motivation. If you are motivated towards a goal, you will most likely work hard towards achieving that goal rather than nothing having something to look forward to. In order to develop a tenacious mindset, ignore all the negative feedback you might receive. Not everyone is going to agree with your posts or comments. You have to be able to take it and not take offense to it at all. Lastly, stay up to date on your work and be ahead of the game! If you are ahead of the game and are always ready for what is coming at you (especially the cupcakes) then you will succeed in this class.

In this photo you see Emily Meeseman holding the WNBA Finals MVP trophy. She has worked all season to get where she is and she has the tenacious mindset and it paid off in the end.

12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

The three people that I interviewed are people who are working on the business side of sports whether it is a minor league team for the MLB or just working in the ticket office for a local college. All of them have been around college athletes at some point and understand the blood, sweat, and tears that go in to playing the game everyday.

The people that I interviewed are around my age (mid 20s) and have friends that are playing college sports at this very moment and who have friends that are coaching college sports. They all agreed that at some point their close friends who play college sports have admitted that they are suffering when it comes to having money to eat, drink, or just survive. All of them are aware of the image that these athletes are putting out to the NCAA and are not getting any compensation for it. They believe that there should be some type of money coming in to the athlete that should allow them to survive. When discussing the money management process, one of the interviewees discussed a possible savings account or investment account that these athletes should have to put a certain percentage away into. Of course, they all agreed that there has to be some type of knowledge when it comes to the deals. The athletes cannot go into them blindsided and need to be educated on how to go about it. The people I interviewed agreed that there should be some type of money management class and that these athletes should receive some type of money.

11A Idea Napkin No. 1

1) I am a Sport Management major, a bartender, a basketball player, and a high school basketball coach. I have played basketball for the past 20 years of my life and I will continue to do so until my knees say otherwise. My talents go both hand and hand with my jobs. I use the kindness and positive attitude I have while coaching and use that behind the bar at my night time job. I have experienced coaching in all levels from elementary to professional. My aspirations are to make female figureheads and female athletes more noticeable when it comes to sports. But also they are to help college athletes and incoming college athletes get the money that they deserve. I see this business concept playing a role in my life because I plan to be a coach at the collegiate level and this would effect my players coming in to my program and the players involved with my program as well.

2) I am offering the ability for the college athletes to receive money for the service they are providing for their institution and the NCAA. College athletes would no longer have to feel like they are struggling with money during the school year. Many colleges in the SEC, ACC, BIG 10, etc, offer meals for them throughout their college time but think about the money they need to have in order to survive outside of their college expenses. Sports teams throughout the NCAA have to spread out their scholarship money between each team and not every team can offer the players all full scholarships. With the endorsement deals and the sponsorship money that these athletes would be receiving, they would be able to afford a car payment if they have it, utility bills if they live off campus, rent if they live off campus, or even their own phone bill if they have to pay for it. Of course, putting these athletes through a money management class and giving them the possibility to only have access to a certain amount of money would be ideal for the students. This would help them with financial planning so that they will feel financially stable when they are done with their athletic career.

3) I will be offering this to incoming and current NCAA Division I athletes. It will only pertain to athletes who are the face of their institutions team. The athletes who have the most media time, most playing time, most experience, and most likely to bring in the most money to the school.

4) The athletes that would be eligible for the endorsement and sponsorship deals should care about it because they are going to be the ones who are putting on a show for the institution and should want to get something out of it. Instead of all the money going to the institution or the NCAA, they should care whether or not they get a certain percentage for allowing their name and image be presented for them.

5) What sets me apart from everyone else is that I believe they should have some type of money management class or at least be able to sit down with someone and talk about how they can manage their money properly. Many of the people that want this to become a thing could careless whether they manage their money properly because most of the athletes will be fresh out of high school and not know any better. The media wants them to fail and I want the athletes to show the media otherwise.

I strongly believe that these elements fit together because there are some points that need to be taken care of before this goes into effect fully. I mention the money management course because it is important that these athletes learn the ins and outs of the money. When you are playing a college sport, you are signing your life away to that institution and to the NCAA, NJCAA, or NAIA and allowing them to use your image for their pleasure and for them to receive money. It is only right that the athlete should receive something in return.

10A Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR39ZAzh8Ow

9A Part 2

Who:

I was able to conduct some interviews of some people that fall outside of the boundary for the Fair Pay to Play Act but still have some type of relation to it. Two of the people that I interviewed are people who don't necessary need to the Fair Pay to Play Act to come into effect because they believe that there are better people who do deserve to make the money rather than them. Another person that I interviewed was a coach in a Division II program. They feel that the Act would have a lot of negativity from other Divisions because they would be taking all of the talent. He also believes that it's not fair that the Division I athletes would be getting paid when the Division II athletes have the same type of skill and some type of publicity as the Division I athletes. The last two people that I interviewed are people who are a fan of sports and someone who isn't. They believe that the money could help the students through college especially for food, water, any bills that they have to pay outside of living on campus, etc. They also believe that they should enjoy their college experience rather than having to worry about sponsorships and money deals.

What:

Everyone that I interviewed had their own opinion on the Act but also had some points that they all agreed on. They all agreed that each student-athlete should have to go through some time of management money class that would help them properly manage their money throughout their college athletic career. The people who want the Act to happen are the people that work within the college athletics department. The people who are against it are the people who don't see it happening it fairly and equally between athletes.

Why:

The need for this Act is so that there are people who don't do what Terrelle Pryor and almost cost themselves their entire athletic career. This need will help the most well-known athletes be successful as they enter their professional careers and will help them not be blindsided by the money coming in. It will help them understand money management and how to properly invest in their money rather than constantly spending every dime that they have on things that they don't need.

	Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who	Division I Athletes Division I Coaches Former College Athletes	Division II & III Coaches People who believe they should live their life as college students
What	Sign sponsorships and endorsement deals based on their image and style of play	Athletes in different divisions who have the same type of skill set and publicity
Why	The need to reward the college athletes of their image and skill set being used for entertainment	Work on their own time and make money outside of sports and learn the old fashioned way

8A Solving the Problem

There is no real solution to the opportunities that I have listed. With the Fair Pay to Play Act, there will always be limitations and people who want to say otherwise. The people I have interviewed all had amazing point of views of the Act. At some point, they were all involved with college athletes and understand what it is like to receive no money and go to a institution that will cost them thousands.

In order for this act to go into effect properly, there will have to be some solutions to it. While sitting down and being able to talk to Robert, we came up with some solutions that will help the act if it does come into effect.

Services

• Equally disburse the sponsorships and endorsements between athletes
• Ex: jersey sales; if the university is making an estimated $500,000 in jersey sales per year, there needs to be a certain percentage that is going to go to the athletes and this includes EVERYONE! Including the third string quarterback.
• The act is only for Division I athletes so most athletes will be aiming for those certain schools in California. Try to break it up with Division II and III. The difference between each division is tremendous and will only get worse.
• There will have to be a bill in each state in order to allow the fairness in conferences to happen. If there is only certain states with this bill, the competition will not be evened out.
• Put the athletes through some type of financial planning. They would be receiving millions of dollars at 18 or 19 years old and will have to be educated on how to manage your money.
• Lastly, they would have to go to school for two years minimum. No more "one and done" rule. These athletes signed with the school and the sponsorships so they must have some type of education even if it means just an Associate's Degree. This will help the athlete secure a job after they are doing playing and not be standing in the dark.

7A Testing the Hypothesis

I would like to pursue the Fair Pay to Play Act produce in California.

Lawmakers in California produced a "Fair Pay to Play Act" which will allow NCAA Division I student-athletes to receive sponsorships and endorsement deals through their time at the institution.

-WHO: California Divison I Universities
-WHAT: They want to allow college athletes to receive money for the service they are doing for the nation, university, and NCAA.
-WHY: They believe that creating the opportunity for the student-athletes to have this type of deal then it will make the university more money and the athletes will have more money throughout their college career.

-TESTING THE WHO: Will there be other states that want to produce a bill for their institutions in within the state? Will other NCAA divisions want to do the same?
-TESTING THE WHAT: What are the limitations? What will the sponsorships or endorsement deals contain? Will there be any financial background on how to use the money wisely for the athletes?
-TESTING THE WHY: Why did they only propose this bill for Division I institutions and not Division II or III?

For my interviews, I was able to talk to individuals who have a big impact with college sports whether they have played, coached, or just love to watch in general. I asked these individuals four questions and each of them had a different reply.

Anthony Papley - Defensive Line Coach/Director of Football Operations at Duquesne University

1)    What is your general opinion on the Fair Pay to Play Act?

I believe that the student athlete receives fair compensation (tuition, room & board, cost of attendance) for their role in the collegiate athletics.

2) Being that California is the first state to create a bill like this for college athletes, do you believe that there will be other lawmakers within the nation that will take sides with California and produce their own bill?

Most definitely there will be other lawmakers that try to piggyback off of this model.

3)    Do you believe that the NCAA has the right to allow the institutions to not participate in NCAA competitions? Why or why not?

Yes, the NCAA has a strict guidelines that prohibits student athletes from receiving compensation in addition to room, board, tuition, etc. If California would allow their players to receive compensation that would change the landscape of recruiting and potentially a shift in quality of teams.

4)    Allowing the student-athletes to receive money and sign for their endorsements would put these athletes in the same category as professional athletes. Based on your point of view on the act and the interaction you have with sports and athletes, do you think, in a way, that these athletes will get too much pressure from the sponsorships and eventually try to overrule the act?

There is no question. Once these athletes are signed to sponsorships, it will create a slippery slope. For example say running back A signs a deal for sponsorship then gets suspended due to team rules not only will that individual have to hear from the coaching staff but now the company who is sponsoring him because they are not holding their part of their agreement.

Camary Williams - European Professional Basketball Player/Cape Coral Girl's Basketball Coach

1)    What is your general opinion on the Fair Pay to Play Act?

     I believe this act should be put in place in state. The student athletes bring the university a lot of money and I think they deserve those incentives if they are good enough. I don't think they shouldn't be allowed to compete because of the new bill. 

2)    Being that California is the first state to create a bill like this for college athletes, do you believe that there will be other lawmakers within the nation that will take sides with California and produce their own bill?

            I think there will be other lawmakers who follow suit, but I also believe some lawmakers will                tweak this bill and add their own touches to it. 

3)    Do you believe that the NCAA has the right to allow the institutions to not participate in NCAA competitions? Why or why not?

      I don't think the NCAA should be able to control whether they compete or not when it comes to this bill because the law was passed in the whole state and the university should follow suit. If they are not allowed to compete within the NCAA then who will the schools compete against? The teams deserve to compete and still receive the benefits that the state has allowed them to reap. 

4)    Allowing the student-athletes to receive money and sign for their endorsements would put these athletes in the same category as professional athletes. Based on your point of view on the act and the interaction you have with sports and athletes, do you think, in a way, that these athletes will get too much pressure from the sponsorships and eventually try to overrule the act?

            I don't think the athletes will try to overrule the act unless they aren't allowed to compete. If               that part of the deal follows through I believe some teams will be against this law. Athletes                 will be under more pressure than normal and I feel as though there will be some players who             overdo it because they want to gain sponsorship or more money and that may hurt the team               altogether. 

Robert Zientek - Manager at Ford's Garage/Former college volleyball coach

1)    What is your general opinion on the Fair Pay to Play Act?

      I don't believe this act should be put into place because it will cause an even bigger difference between the NCAA divisions.

2)    Being that California is the first state to create a bill like this for college athletes, do you believe that there will be other lawmakers within the nation that will take sides with California and produce their own bill?

      Yes I believe that they will try to but most might not succeed due to the fact that not every state has a big amount of Division I colleges and that good at sports. For an example, New York. They don't have many Division I programs that are even well known other than Syracuse and Buffalo.

3)    Do you believe that the NCAA has the right to allow the institutions to not participate in NCAA competitions? Why or why not?

     No because if they don't compete then there's no competition. Southern California has some of the best athletes that come out of there after college. They will be taking away from the students.

4)    Allowing the student-athletes to receive money and sign for their endorsements would put these athletes in the same category as professional athletes. Based on your point of view on the act and the interaction you have with sports and athletes, do you think, in a way, that these athletes will get too much pressure from the sponsorships and eventually try to overrule the act?

     I don't think so because in all honesty, these students that are receiving this type of deal will be the top of the top in the nation so they are already having millions of eyes watch them wherever they go.They will be used to it.

Ralph Coleman - Current basketball player at Ave Maria University

1)    What is your general opinion on the Fair Pay to Play Act?

      I don't disagree on it. I think with the way athletes get paid now with refunds, it will help them throughout their college career.

2)    Being that California is the first state to create a bill like this for college athletes, do you believe that there will be other lawmakers within the nation that will take sides with California and produce their own bill?

      I think other states will follow California. I don't know how many but I believe some will.

     3)    Do you believe that the NCAA has the right to allow the institutions to not participate               in NCAA competitions? Why or why not?

            I think of they got enough states to change the way how the NCAA views it, then i                  don't believe they have a right to do that. But with one state, I can see why they                    would do it. If that's the case, then incoming freshman or transfers should just go                  overseas for sports and earn the money that way.

4)    Allowing the student-athletes to receive money and sign for their endorsements would put these athletes in the same category as professional athletes. Based on your point of view on the act and the interaction you have with sports and athletes, do you think, in a way, that these athletes will get too much pressure from the sponsorships and eventually try to overrule the act?

       I can see that happening. It goes back to how they will break up the endorsements that could effect the athletes.

Brittney Garner - Former Island Coast Coach/State College of Jacksonville Assistant (I was only able to get two questions out of her due to an emergency at work)

1)  What is your general opinion on the Fair Pay to Play Act?

             I think it takes away the value and true meaning of being a college athlete. Being a college                   athlete teaches you so many things about life and how to survive. Being a college athlete                     means being apart of a team and working together to achieve goals as a TEAM. The Fair Pay               to Play Act takes all that away. It becomes more of a "ME" and not an "US". It will become                 more about the image and the name instead of watching true raw talent and true competition.               Takes away RESPECT from the game. Respect is earned! The act just gives respect easily                   without any work required. I feel like that's the issue in today's athletes. Everything is given,               nothing is earned anymore.

4)    Allowing the student-athletes to receive money and sign for their endorsements would put these athletes in the same category as professional athletes. Based on your point of view on the act and the interaction you have with sports and athletes, do you think, in a way, that these athletes will get too much pressure from the sponsorships and eventually try to overrule the act?
 I think that the biggest issues is going to be making the markets fair no matter what school you go for. For an example, the Nike factory is housed out of Oregon so athletes may be more likely to go to some school who have markets that can allow them to get sponsorships easier. I think that as an athlete, how are they going to make it fair all the way across the board? I don't think the athletes have built a plan on how they are going to determine who gets paid and who doesn't. How many sponsorships can one athlete get? I think those are the questions that are going to overwhelm the athletes. I think it will end up being too much because adding with classes and practices and they would now be adding PR events and charity events for the brand. I think that may be a little too much to add to their already full plate.