Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

I play volleyball at a mid-major, full scholarship, and I'm grateful every day. But let's be honest about what employment does to women's sports. When payroll becomes mandatory, athletic directors don't cut football. They cut the sports that don't generate revenue, and that's us: volleyball, softball, soccer, track. Title IX means you can't just pay the football team, so the math gets even uglier, and the easiest compliance move is sponsoring fewer women's sports, not paying more of them. The Knight Commission has been warning about this spending arms race for years. Employment status sounds like justice until your program is the line item that gets deleted to fund it.