Report sheds light on jobs

NCAA rules allows athletes to be paid a fair rate for work actually done.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Many Ohio State University football players cashed in the summer after the Buckeyes won the national championship, taking well-paying jobs from employers connected to the school, The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.
Athletic director Andy Geiger said the hiring is reported to the NCAA, and nothing was flagged as an institutional violation. The NCAA allows coaches to arrange jobs and requires only that athletes be paid a fair rate for work actually performed.
"The right things were done, and we moved on," Geiger said.
The newspaper studied football player employment records, heavily edited by the university to protect student identities under federal law, after the latest allegations by former tailback Maurice Clarett.
No longer at the school, he told the ESPN cable network and its magazine that coaches arranged high-paying, bogus summer jobs for players, among other perks.
The university also edited out the company names and specific job descriptions from the forms, submitted each year by employers that work through the athletics department to hire players.
Details
The records indicate coaches arranged jobs for 49 Buckeyes in the summer after the 2002 title win and 53 players the next year. The average hourly wage was $15.
The employers said two players they hired didn't show up for work.
Eighteen players made up to $18 an hour visiting nursing homes. The university has since ended its relationship with that employer, said Heather Lyke Catalano, associate athletics director for compliance issues.
Of the 35 employers who worked with coaches to hire players, 17 are members of university booster organizations and 25 are season-ticket holders.
The records show a former coach paid seven players $100 each for a one-day job described only as "instructors." Players can't get paid for teaching football techniques under NCAA rules, but they can be instructors at camps that don't focus on a specific sport.
Each employer receives a booklet that describes the NCAA rules they must follow. The booklet warns that businesses can't make a buck off the players' "reputation, fame or personal following that he or she has obtained because of athletic ability."
An additional 18 players landed jobs such as waiter or caddy on their own in both summers, with 13 making less than $10 hourly.
The coaches are liaisons between the players and employers, Catalano said. "How else do you get the word out?"