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AMATEURISM AND PROFESSIONALISM IN EARLY SPORTS DEVELOPMENT

In the early days of sports development in the United States, the difference between a professional athlete and a nonprofessional athlete was not as obvious at it may seem, but it was determined to be an important distinction for those participating in school-based sports and later helped define the separation of education and professionalism. In the early stages of college sports contests in America, it was not unusual for nonstudents to be allowed to participate in college sports contests. This use of “ringers” to gain a competitive advantage was frowned upon by university hierarchies, and to university administrators a different definition was needed to ensure that games were played only between actual enrolled students (Crowley 2006; Falla 1981; Gaul 2015). The primary role of a school-based athlete, at least in theory, was being a student first and foremost. Those athletes were not allowed to receive any compensation or anything that would resemble a tangible benefit for their efforts lest they become less focused on their studies and no different from the ringers and nonstudents that institutions were attempting to eliminate. Sports in the schools were designed to be an avocation and not a vocation. One could play professionally and earn money for one’s sports skills, but school-based sports and most international competitions clung to the notion of amateurism and playing for the love of the game.