Throughout the long history of college sports, football in particular, athletes have played without scholarships or as substitutes. The NCAA generates millions without paying a dime to athletes. In recent years, the country has experienced enormous problems paying the athletes who play. Scandal after scandal, the image of college football has been shaken and does not seem to be improving. The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from receiving improper benefits and selling memorabilia for profit when they should be paying its athletes. Since the early 1900s, when college football became an NCAA sport, it has had a history of paying its athletes along with benefits. Around 1910, the Walter camp was criticized for endowing a players' fund with more than $100,000. Camp was one of the early football pioneers who brought the game to where it is today. In the 1950s, scandals hit William and Mary College for hiding the poor grades of its players in order to allow them to be eligible for the entire season. (Branch 83) This is important because the University of William & Mary was battling powerhouse football programs that season for a national title. All of this shows that as early as 50 to 100 years ago, college athletics was already dealing with inappropriate player benefits. Over the past 30 years, the NCAA has dealt with about a new improper benefits case once a year. The first time this rule was really brought to national attention was in the early 1980s. According to an ESPN 30/30 documentary, SMU, or as it was known as Southern Methodist University, had distributed a lot silver to running back Erik Dickerson, now a Hall of Famer. Dickerson had been one of the nation's top prospects and originally had no plans to play at SMU....... middle of paper ... because he sold his college memorabilia won against tattoos, proving the NCAA's stubborn rules. The NCAA needs to find a way to make its athletes profit from their game. While the NCAA still maintains the rule prohibiting athletes from making a profit, the problems will continue to occur every season. The NCAA has shown that if an athlete dares to try to profit from anything while in college, both the athlete and the university will be in serious trouble. If the problems and scandals continue to occur, we can expect a change in the NCAA rules in the very near future in favor of student-athletes.Branch, Taylor. “The Shame of College Sports.” Atlantic Monthly, The. October 1, 2011: 80. Electronic library. Internet. October 24, 2013. Murschel, Matt., writer, staff. "Manziel mess highlights problems with NCAA." Orlando Sentinel. August 9, 2013: C1. Electronic library. Internet. October 25. 2013.