Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott testified this week in a federal antitrust trial that student-athletes should not be paid, marking the second time in as many days a prominent college official publicly opposed compensating players beyond scholarships.
Scott said Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., that giving students money to play sports would taint the "kind of purity" that exists in college but is not present in professional leagues, according to Law360.com. Scott argued that student-athletes participate because they’re passionate about sports and their schools, not because they want to be paid.
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Scott also testified that, in his view, student-athletes' support for amateurism increased after the NCAA voted in 2014 to allow athletic departments to provide unlimited free meals and snacks.
Additionally, he argued that time devoted to practice and travel is not too much of a burden on student-athletes.
“I assure you, if anyone is spending 50 hours (per week) on their sport,” Scott said, “a significant amount of that is voluntary.” NCAA rules limit student-athletes to 20 hours of in-season activity per week.
The Pac-12 distributes about $31 million annually to each of its member schools, Scott testified. He said he received $4.5 million in salary and bonus from the conference in 2016.
Scott testified a day after University of Wisconsin chancellor Rebecca Blank questioned the school’s ability to offer NCAA Division I sports if players were paid.
The 10-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken will decide a lawsuit by former Division I athletes who claim the NCAA's restrictions on payments are illegal.