The recent ruling of the O'Bannon case is a 99-page long slap in the face to the NCAA, but what does it mean for our college athletes? USC football player Robby Kolanz, track and field athlete Allen Williams, and sprinter Jessica Davis shared their thoughts on the O'Bannon outcome that opens the door for financial compensation for the use of college football and basketball players' likenesses.

Q. Athletic Director Pat Haden said the "ruling [of the O'Bannon case] was expected." Would you agree?

Kolanz: I definitely was not surprised at the ruling of the O'Bannon case. I have tracked the case out of curiosity for the last several months and it just seemed like it was going that way. This was a good move for college athletics and something that was bound to happen. I definitely agree with Mr. Haden.

Williams: Yes. The NCAA should be doing everything that it can to improve the student athlete experience. The fact that the student athletes are going to be getting something back for all the hard work that they're putting in, all the sacrifices [they're making] as student athletes, is valid, is right, is supported. 

Davis: It's about time someone brought it up - I think [athletes] should have been getting paid!

Q. The NCAA isn't pleased with this outcome, to say the least. Where do you think this tension between the NCAA and the athletes derives from?

Williams: It's hard to see the NCAA have all the money that it has and make all the revenue [that it does] and then you have these athletes struggling out here who can barely eat, who can barely afford to live.

Q. Beyond the work athletes put in, why do you think they should be compensated?

Williams: I think it's about time the NCAA turned over some of the profits that they're making from us student athletes, to the student athletes.

Davis: We live in LA where the cost of living is extremely expensive. Then we go practice and put our 110-percent effort into what we're doing. It's a life changing job that we should be getting paid for. Not minimum wage, but six figures. I feel that if I'm working at that level, you need to pay me accordingly.

Q. Williams, do you find this outcome a bit biased, considering you are not a football or basketball athlete?

Williams: I think that other sports have to grasp and understand that football pays for all of the other sports. It's a tough conundrum to find a way to provide student athletes of other sports opportunities for receiving monetary compensation for their efforts. The fact is that, yes, for high revenue generating sports, these student athletes specifically should receive some of the revenue they're generating. 

Q. What do you think the future would, or should be, for other sports, in terms of the possibility for compensation for them as well?

Williams: The questions posed should be where this money would come from and what the NCAA is going to do to make sure that the money is fairly and adequately distributed. 

Q. Robby, as a football player for USC, a university where the athletic director already shows a great interest in his athletes, how much do you think the verdict of the O'Bannon case will change your treatment - if you think it affects you at all?

Kolanz: As for changing treatment for me, I don't think it will change it at all. I am no Marqise Lee or Cody Kessler so it's not like everybody is lining up to buy my jersey. For superstars in college athletics, I do think this will obviously affect them because they can now get compensated for their likeness. However, I don't think this is going to "ruin college football" like I keep hearing. I think college football will stay the same unless they somehow start paying players "salaries," if you will.

Q. Do you think salaries may be the next possibility?

Kolanz: I don't think [salaries] will happen in the near future.

Q. Opponents of this decision are concerned that sharing the revenues will damage the idea of the "amateur" student athlete. Do you believe this is a valid concern?

Davis: No! It wouldn't change anything, but it would make students want to come to college more. It will work hand in hand: as you put in more work that check is going to show you it pays off. 

While the NCAA may not support this outcome, at least to our athletes, the case is evolving positively in their favor. 

Reach Staff Reporter Durga Ghosh here.