Many people believe that college athletes have it easy, and who wouldn't think so? A free education, a free life; travel and practice the sport that many people would still like to be able to practice. Student athletes can also choose classes earlier than a regular student and have the option to be excused from classes to participate in games and special events. The life of a student athlete seems like an appealing thing to many people; especially those who are not student athletes on scholarships or walk-ons on a college team. The rising cost of attending college has forced the younger athletic population to work just as hard to receive a scholarship to play a sport, because they may come from poverty backgrounds where they otherwise couldn't afford to attend school, which is beneficial for them. Understand that college is a place where academics come first and everything else comes second; this includes athletics. But are these athletes treated fairly and given all the right things they need to succeed in life, let alone college? If you or someone else knows a college athlete, especially one who has a scholarship, you would think that they have it easy. Free tuition, room and board; meanwhile you have to work part-time and actually pay for your education. But in reality these people earned what they got, because many of these students did not come from wealthy families. According to USA Today, 85 percent of college athletes who receive scholarships live below the poverty line. So, receiving an athletic scholarship gives them a chance to improve their quality of life, and as human beings, we deserve to at least have some sense of self-worth. Athletes receive many accommodations while attending school, aside from the fact that they go for free; they do… half the documents… they are treated like a farm system for NFL, NBA or MLB. If these athletes started getting paid now, at the college level, the major leagues in these sports would suffer tremendously and lose marketability and money. A final solution to players not getting paid or receiving certain benefits is perhaps that these coaches at some universities should not receive on average $2 million a year for being a coach, in some cases more than the presidents of these universities . (Chicago Tribune) Great strides could be made simply by uniting the principles that athletes should not be paid full dollars, but should receive paid benefits where they would not have to worry about starving, losing scholarships due to injuries or a poor game. I think this would make the world for college athletes a better place, where both schools and players benefit.