257:, providing an outlet for players who have used up their NCAA eligibility and have no further use for maintaining amateur status. As a sport that normally plays only one game per week, American football is especially suited for semi-pro play and commonly known as "working man's" football; meaning the players have regular jobs and play football on the weekends. In the 20th century the term "semi-pro football league" refer to higher level amateur leagues, though the players do not get paid, the leagues and the games are run in a somewhat professional manner.
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149:. As a result, semi-professional players frequently have (or seek) full-time employment elsewhere. A semi-pro player or team could also be one that represents a place of employment that only the employees are allowed to play on. In this case, it is considered semi-pro because their employer pays them, but for their regular job, not for playing on the company's team.
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in some sports is still dependent upon maintaining a purely amateur status (although far less so than was previously the case), and such athletes may be supported by government money, business sponsorships, and other systems. At the same time, professional sports have become such a massive and
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often fielded baseball and basketball teams, with players receiving full-time salaries comparable to other employees. In theory, such players split their work week between athletic training and the normal duties of the company's employees, though highly competitive teams often evolved into
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both of parent male teams and of the female teams themselves. Full professionalism for women is still in the planning stages; top female players often depend on other sources of income (such as coaching and physical training), and many attend university or college while playing.
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and more obscure sports often operate at a semi-professional level due to cost concerns. Because the cost of running a fully professional
American football team is prohibitive, semi-pro football is common at the adult levels, in the outdoor or
264:, whose teams also typically play only one game per week, pays a salary that is enough to be considered fully professional, but players also are able to pursue outside employment to supplement their income. The lowest levels of
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but only a "semi" form of it, inventing the term "semi-pro". Although the
Amateur Athletic Union did not like the idea very much, it decided that clubs could indeed offer employment without losing their
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241:, in which the top level players (most of whom are teenagers still in, or just out of, high school) are paid at a semi-professional level. This is not the case in the United States, where
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dominates at that age group; the junior leagues in the United States generally operate as fully amateur teams to maintain the players' eligibility to play in college.
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In North
America, semi-professional athletes and teams were far more common in the early and mid-20th century than they are today. Large blue-collar employers such as
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team in 1890. That year, the
Olympic Club was accused by a rival club of enticing athletes to jump to its ranks with offers of jobs. An investigation by the
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forbade any sort of compensation outside of scholarships, including job offers tied to their playing, until 2020). Eligibility for participation in the
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are also effectively semi-professional, as the short summer seasons and low salaries require players to hold jobs in the offseason to make ends meet.
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have had one full-time professional division, with semi-professional divisions at the next level down. The second tier of union, the
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evolved out of these company-branded basketball teams. By the 1940s, baseball split off into separate truly amateur
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because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a considerably lower rate than a full-time
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are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not
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There are many benefits, such as collegiate eligibility and the attendant
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484:"Baseball's minor leaguers pursue their dreams below the poverty line"
457:"Love of the game drives semipro football players - The Boston Globe"
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438:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–6. Archived from
409:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–5. Archived from
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is semi-professional at the top levels, as finances depend on
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whose lower ranks included many former industrial players.
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21:"Semi-professional" redirects here. For other uses, see
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and each sports organization's specific regulations.
176:ruled that the Olympics' practice was not actually
58:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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237:In Canada, semi-professionalism is prevalent in
234:can afford to have fully professional athletes.
230:remunerative business that even many low-level
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276:There are several hundred semi-professional
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326:, with most teams below the second-level
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
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204:National Industrial Basketball League
185:status or compromising the athlete.
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677:Bodybuilding supplements
312:promotion and relegation
292:(the fourth tier of the
262:National Lacrosse League
131:Semi-professional sports
290:English Football League
429:"Five Hundred Reasons"
396:"When Did they Start?"
394:PFRA Research (1987).
370:High performance sport
333:Historically, English
174:Amateur Athletic Union
445:on 29 September 2010.
328:Scottish Championship
416:on 27 November 2010.
324:Scottish Premiership
147:professional athlete
52:improve this article
488:The Washington Post
355:Professional sports
694:Physical education
266:organized baseball
243:college ice hockey
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699:Physical activity
645:Athletic training
628:Strength training
580:Semi-professional
320:Scottish football
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463:. 26 July 2015
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63:Find sources:
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41:This article
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16:
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878:Cheerleaders
787:Broadcasting
682:Sports drink
650:Chriopractic
608:Biomechanics
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575:Professional
491:. Retrieved
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482:Babb, Kent.
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465:. Retrieved
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440:the original
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411:the original
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335:rugby league
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284:level. The
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219:scholarships
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50:Please help
45:verification
42:
15:
983:Flying disc
898:Memorabilia
807:Sponsorship
493:8 September
339:rugby union
168:fielded an
154:labour code
1124:Categories
1021:Regulation
1011:Ministries
1006:Sports law
988:Sportswear
925:Philosophy
835:Journalism
747:Postseason
665:Psychology
660:Physicians
623:Physiology
565:Parasports
550:Individual
467:26 January
381:References
282:non-League
248:Lower-end
78:newspapers
1042:Australia
955:Equipment
930:Rivalries
915:Numbering
908:Nicknames
857:Promoters
840:Magazines
802:Marketing
792:Economics
711:Sociology
672:Nutrition
280:teams at
199:shipyards
195:factories
137:in which
108:July 2008
1099:Category
998:Politics
978:Exercise
945:Violence
845:Podcasts
797:Industry
774:Business
689:Pedagogy
640:Medicine
613:Practice
603:Exercise
349:See also
278:football
227:Olympics
208:softball
139:athletes
1109:Outline
1062:Oceania
893:History
873:Betting
866:Culture
737:Leagues
595:Science
585:Amateur
288:of the
183:amateur
143:amateur
92:scholar
1052:Europe
1037:Africa
973:Caving
903:Naming
782:Agents
754:School
742:Season
655:Injury
635:Doping
365:Pro–am
160:Origin
135:sports
94:
87:
80:
73:
65:
968:Balls
850:Radio
812:Trade
759:Teams
727:Clubs
570:Women
543:Types
536:Sport
443:(PDF)
432:(PDF)
414:(PDF)
399:(PDF)
99:JSTOR
85:books
1047:Asia
555:Team
495:2016
469:2016
337:and
260:The
223:NCAA
197:and
164:The
133:are
71:news
888:Fan
318:In
54:by
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