Throughout the long history of college sports, football in particular, athletes have played directly on scholarships or as extras. The NCAA generates millions without paying athletes a dime. The last few years have caused huge problems in the country regarding paying athletes to play. Scandal after scandal has rocked the image of college football, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from receiving improper benefits and selling memorabilia for profit when they should be paying their own athletes. Since the early 1900s, when college football first became an NCAA sport, it has had a history of paying its athletes and improperly paying benefits. Around 1910, Camp Walter came under fire for having a players fund of over $100,000. Camp was one of the early pioneers of football who brought the game to where it is today. In the 1950s, scandals struck the College of William and Mary for hiding its players' low grades to allow them to be eligible all season long. (Branch 83) This is important because that season the University of William and Mary was competing with powerhouse football programs for a national title. All of this shows that even 50-100 years ago collegiate athletics was already dealing with improper benefits for players. For the past 30 years, the NCAA has dealt with a new improper benefits case virtually once a year. The first time this rule was brought to national attention was in the early 1980s. According to an ESPN 30/30 documentary, SMU or known as Southern Methodist University had doled out a lot of money to running back Erik Dickerson, now in the hall of fame. Dickerson had been a top prospect nationally and initially had no intention of playing at SMU... middle of paper... because he had sold his college memorabilia won for the Tattoo, further demonstrating the stubborn rules of the NCAA. The NCAA needs to find a way to make its athletes profit from their game. With the NCAA still maintaining the rule of banning athletes from profiteering, problems will continue to occur every season. The NCAA has proven that if an athlete dares to try to profit from something while in college, the athlete and the university will be in serious trouble. If problems continue to occur and scandals continue to occur, we can expect a change in NCAA rules in the near future in favor of student-athletes. Branch, Taylor. “The Shame of College Sports.” Atlantic Monthly, The. 01 October 2011: 80. eLibrary. Network. October 24, 2013. Murschel, Matt., writer, staff.. "Manziel mess highlights problems with NCAA." Orlando Sentinel. 09 August 2013: C1. eLibrary. Network. October 25. 2013.