College football players may have more demands placed n them over the summer months, depending on the head coach’s demands. According to The Oklahoman, summer workouts are now allowed to be mandatory if a coach desires it.
Updated NCAA bylaws now allow members of a coaching staff to supervise mandatory summer workouts, up to eight hours per week. These workouts were previously voluntary for all, but pressure to participate in those sessions always existed according to at least one former football player.
“As plain Jane as I can put it, we all knew that in the summer time, you’re gonna take six college hours (of classes), and you’re gonna go through eight weeks of summer (training),” J.D. Runnels, a former Oklahoma fullback, said to The Oklahoman. “There’s not even talk of what’s voluntary and what’s mandatory.”
There is obviously a benefit to allowing coaches extra access to players during the offseason. That extra time supervising workouts and training allows for more interaction and time to focus on key areas of development and improvement. Programs that take advantage of the extra eight hours -- and there are programs that will take advantage of the extra time available -- could stand to have a more physical and well-conditioned team.
The question is, because players are not paid and we are in the midst of a potential union movement, is it a good idea to allow coaches to take this sort of formal power? What does this say for the entire concept of amateurism, or does it say nothing at all one way or the other?