With recent comments from UConn guard Shabazz Napier and American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco sparking debate, and some confusion, concerning full-cost-of-attendance stipends for college athletes, we thought it might be worthwhile to expand on the topic.
Some links that touch on various aspects of the topic:
The NCAA conference in January led to the power conferences seeking autonomy, and hoping to provide for full-cost-of-attendance to their schools.
As eluded to above, Aresco has said the AAC is on board with that plan. Additionally, UConn athletic director Warde Manuel told Kevin Duffy of the Connecticut Post that the university supports the additional stipend as well.
For their part, UConn’s scholarships are already some of the most inclusive in the nation.
- UConn covers tuition and provides money for textbooks. Student-athletes are also given on-campus housing as part of their scholarship.
- Players eat meals provided by the athletic department after practices in the training room.
- Otherwise, they can eat in the dining halls, similar to other co-eds, with their meal plan provided by UConn.
- If they choose to live off-campus, they don’t receive a meal plan, but they do receive money meant to cover food and other expenses.
- For road games, players are giving a stipend for meals.
Speaking of food, from 2012, here’s the New York Times piece that brought attention to the issue of the NCAA and their rules concerning food for athletes.
Some bizarre incidents have occurred because of food-based restrictions. The late Utah coach Rick Majerus drew ire for sharing a bagel with Keith Van Horn after his father passed away. And as recently as Wednesday, when Oklahoma self-reported a violation for doling out too much pasta.
Silliness aside, Yahoo!’s Nina Mandell took a look at the financial problems players encounter under current conditions.
From several years earlier, in 2011, a report was released claiming the NCAA was trapping student-athletes in poverty.
Napier isn’t the only high profile player speaking up. Last month, University of Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron (with his collegiate playing career over), went on record saying the NCAA should pay their players.
NCAA President Mark Emmert is against paying players.
Members of the Northwestern University football team have taken it a step further, seeking to unionize.
Here is what Northwestern players are seeking, via the Chicago Tribune.
Hearings are going on that will determine if the unionization efforts are allowed. Here is an Associated Press story about testimony from a sports economist.
These are complicated issues that draw heavy opinions on both sides. TIME magazine recently ran a cover story titled “It’s Time To Pay College Athletes.” Forbes ran a rebuttal that you can read here.
A public opinion poll conducted by Marist College last April showed that only 27 percent of people asked would support student-athletes earning a salary or stipend above a scholarship.
