This is Ask An Expert, where every weekday at 9:20am on KCBS we're giving you direct access to top experts in various fields.

Starting today, the top universities in California can begin paying their student-athletes directly. It's the result of a watershed legal settlement that is blurring the lines between amateurism and professional sports at the collegiate level.

To break it all down, KCBS Radio anchor Eric Thomas spoke with Michael Leroy, Labor and Employment relations professor at the University of Illinois. His research looks into the professionalization of college athletics, including unionization.