Do college football players get spring break?

College football players have to be some of the hardest-working college students. Most football players have to get up at ungodly hours for training and have to work through their summer break. It makes you wonder does a college football player get a spring break.

College football players get spring break from the NCAA. It is against the rules for players to practice together during spring break. This rule was only recently passed in 2017, but it ensures the mental health of players. The rule states that they cannot practice on or off campus.

As you can see the NCAA has protected the rights of college football players to have a break, but that does not mean all divisions or conferences support this decision. Continue reading to figure out which teams have a spring break.

Harbaugh Rule

In 2017 a new rule was passed called the Harbaugh rule. The Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh got a lot of public slack for holding football practice over spring break. He took his team to IMG Academy over spring break so they could get some extra practice. This caused people to question whether or not it was ethical to do this.

No rule was broken at the time, so they started to consider bringing in a rule to allow athletes to have their spring break. Not only is it necessary for their mental health, but athletes are so busy it is hard for them to stay up to date on their academics. Many athletes complained about why they could not get the spring break to spend time studying for the upcoming finals.

When this rule was brought to vote the results were 58-20 for the rule to be placed. Therefore the rule was passed. The shocking thing, though, was when the rule was brought up to the student-athletes who were their representatives they voted against it 11-4. They argued they wanted the extra practice time. They believed it would help them to be stronger athletes when playing professional football.

The coach of the Michigan team argued that this rule was wrong since the majority of students did not want this rule to be passed.

He argued that this was being forced upon them by administrators and that the students would not actually care if they continued holding practice during spring break. Yet, others argued it is fear of being left behind in the professional football world that is holding them back and that with the right support, they should be able to accept this break.

How much Time off a College Player Gets

The FBS division does not have such a rule in place and so their schedules can be a lot more grueling. While in general most of the FBS football teams do not play over spring break there is nothing stopping them from doing it. Also, there still is a large number of teams that will practice over the break, which takes away time from these athletes.

The NCAA has rules that protect athletes from being overworked. They have a rule that they can only practice for 20 hours a week. For the FBS, though many of the teams practice 42 hours a day. This barely gives them time for classes. Many of these players complain about their football obligations that are keeping them from studying and even more sadly from being able to go to class.

The FBS district also only grants their athletes six weeks at the beginning of the summer for a break. They are not given time to rest and have a break hardly at all, so their lives are revolved around football. It keeps them from being able to be well rounded. It keeps them in a one-set mind that football is everything, which will lead them to a poor mentality about life.

Research has shown that 38% of football players suffer from depression. They feel as if they have a lack of support from their industry. It also is because they are not given the time they need to balance their life when they are in college. They are overworked and not given the resources needed to be successful in areas outside of the field of football.

Spring Scrimmage

Now, why do football players need to work over spring break? Football season is not until the next fall, so you think that missing some practice in the beginning of spring would not be a big deal right? Wrong, football has a tradition set up called Spring Scrimmage. My first football game was actually a Spring Scrimmage.

The Spring Scrimmage is where the football team is split up into two teams and they play against each other in a stadium where people can pay to watch them play. This is a time when coaches show off their players. They try to gain fan support by showing them how great their team is. It also earns them extra money.

Football practice is held over spring break to prep the boys for the spring scrimmage. The extra practice helps them to look better together on the field, which brings in a better image for the team.

Coaches argue practicing over spring break is what helps their boys be ready for this game. They argue this time is essential to their player’s growth. Overall this publicity stunt is the reason why coaches are working their players over spring break.

Public Opinion on College Football Player’s right to Spring Break

When Jim Harbaugh traveled with his boys to have them train over spring break the public was outraged. Yet, they have not shown any interest in the past with the training schedule of football players.

Students have been recorded saying that the football players are working for their scholarships. They are earning the money they are making to go to school, so they deserve to have to work over the spring break since many students who work and do school have to do the same thing. This argument does bring in the hard question should football players get a spring break?

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