Bigger Grants For Athletes Are Discussed (for college athletics)

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

The N.C.A.A. president, Mark Emmert, said Monday that he supported a proposal that would let conferences increase grants to athletes by about $2,000, a move that critics say would escalate the financial disparity in college sports.

This funding would be in addition to tuition, room, board, books and other expenses that are already covered by athletic scholarships. The increase is not considered payment for participation. Rather, Emmert said, it would help cover costs that student-athletes are unable to offset, because most do not have time to work part-time jobs.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Well, you want to do this $2,000 cost-of-attendance thing to reduce the probability of students breaking rules,’ and that’s nonsense,” Emmert told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics during a three-hour meeting at the Ritz-Carlton. “People break rules because they break rules.”

Emmert said a final plan would be presented to the N.C.A.A.’s board of directors by the end of the week. If it is approved, individual conferences will have the option of adopting the policy.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/sports/ncaafootball/ncaa-president-favors-bigger-grants-for-athletes.html

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Meanwhile, about 300 college athletes from schools like Arizona and Georgia Tech signed a petition to the NCAA seeking greater portion of TV revenues.

[Lucian]

1. So not only do they get a full-ride in college...

the athletes will also be getting essentially a $2,000 stipend? :wtf:

Meanwhile, non-athletes like myself have to keep taking out federal loans to pay for school. :eyes: :grr:

[dd2003]

2. I dont even understand why MOST go to school

They dont attend class and are clearly there to only bring revenue for the school...

[Lucian]

7. Their degree is a waste and their spot in the college...

could go to someone who actually gives a damn about getting an education.

[Nihil]

9. +1 (n/t)

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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[joeglow3]

26. Are you saying the non-athletes are wasting a spot?

I went to Nebraska. The graduation rate is 63.7%

https://www.collegetoolkit.com/colleges/browse/4-Year_graduation_rates/nebraska/31/results/60_to_69/60.aspx


Football players graduation rate is 78% (and this includes player who leave early to make money in the NFL):

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2010-10-27-ncaa-graduation-rates-study_N.htm


I would bet at most universities, the graduation rates among athletes are better than the university as a whole. Additionally, I would bet the vast majority of student-athletes come from poor neighborhoods with extremely poor schools. In MANY cases, an athletic scholarship is the only means for them to get to a university.

Plus, as much as football haters HATE to admit it (and we all knew them in college), it provides a lot of intangibles for the unversity and student body beyond just dollars and cents.

[Freddie Stubbs]

16. 89% of Penn State Football players graduate:

http://live.psu.edu/story/43722

[classysassy]

38. Phony stats put out by the NCAA

in order to sooth the nay sayers so they can continue their high paying positions,( positions ,not jobs,scam artist).

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

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[alp227]

27. Do realize though that student athletes have academic standards too! nt

[karynnj]

11. This makes sense if you consider the hours they put into their sport as a job

I don't know whether the price of tickets and other revenue from sports is higher or lower than the costs - and it is even possible that it varies by school and sport. What is clear is that schools do consider that the sports team contribute to the school. (This written by a person who did not attend even one basketball game at IU)

A bigger concern is that many schools really did not actually provide the university education to the athletes - though they seem to have tried to deal with this. This will hurt many who are not good enough for professional sports.

[Le Taz Hot]

14. And yet music majors who must attend

MANY extra rehearsals, are expected to play for other students' recitals (more rehearsals and performances), travel to concert sites, including out of the country, and provide their own "uniforms' (choral groups) are expected to pay for everything themselves. They're held accountable for their attendance and grades just like everyone else. Athletes? I took classes with athletes that would earn a "C" and never attend a class and got a full ride. Sorry, but a university is for learning, not some farm group for the professional sports teams on the taxpayer dime.

[joeglow3]

19. My friend got a full ride for music, same as an athlete.

Sure, some people love it enough that they elect to try out and participate, on their own dime (just like there are athletes who walk on and do the same thing).

And just because you don't enjoy athletics, it does not mean it doesn't provide other intangible benefits for the university, enrichment/unity of the student body, etc. A group of us LOVED to go to the women's volleyball and soccer matches. We made it to most of the baseball games. We never missed a football game. At all of them, we were surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of other students enjoying the activity together.

[Le Taz Hot]

22. Total number of athletic scholarships

that go to athletes run into the 100's every year in any given university. There were a total of TWO, count 'em, TWO, music scholarships given out last year at our local university -- the exact same number they were giving out in the 1980's. My issue isn't with athletics my objections have to do with:

1) the NFL and other professional sports organizations using the universities as farm groups at taxpayer expense,
2) athletes not being held to the same academic standards as everyone else which does them NO favors,
3) scholarships not being passed around more evenly to other departments,
4) the excuse given is that these athletes are bringing in money to the university -- money that goes right back into the athetic department and which should NEVER be a consideration in the first place and finally,
5) a university is an institution of learning and all departments should receive equal scholarship consideration.

[joeglow3]

25. Some comments

1) the NFL and other professional sports organizations using the universities as farm groups at taxpayer expense,
- I agree, to an extent. However, the university I went to (and worked in the business office of the atheltic department), MADE money off of atheltics as a whole (i.e football revenues paid ALL OTHER sports, with money left over).

2) athletes not being held to the same academic standards as everyone else which does them NO favors,
-This is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be, as the NCAA has recently tightened requirements and are looking to increase standards again:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/October/DI+Board+could+change+academic+standards,+financial+aid+opportunities

3) scholarships not being passed around more evenly to other departments,
-I don't understand this one. Which departments?

4) the excuse given is that these athletes are bringing in money to the university -- money that goes right back into the athetic department and which should NEVER be a consideration in the first place and finally,
-Again, not true of all universities. The university I worked at actually gave money to the school EVERY year.

5) a university is an institution of learning and all departments should receive equal scholarship consideration.
-What is the criteria? I would bet more money is given out for academic scholarships at most schools than is given out for athletic scholarships.


All that said, look at the demographic the WAAY over-represented in academics (poor). Do you not think there is value for providing individuals in this group hope and an opportunity, even if it is done through an academic scholarship?

[karynnj]

24. Good points

[Lucian]

28. + infinity

I hate how athletes get full rides while the bright, intelligent students have to get thousands of dollars in debt to pay their way through school.

[classysassy]

37. Put on the pads and go long or block one of those 300 pounders

and you too will get $2,000.00.Athletes are hired to perform in order to generate money for the schools,what do you do to generate revenue?

[provis99]

3. they need to quit hiring students to crew their sports teams.

Instead of students, they might as well hire professional athletes for their college teams, and drop this fraudulent pretense that football players are there for an education, rather than as a stepping stone to the NFL.

[laconicsax]

4. +1

[joeglow3]

20. I bet you hate football

You clearly know very little about it and I would bet you personally few, if any, actual college football players. The VAST VAST VAST VAST majority realize they will NEVER make it to the NFL and are taking full advantage of the opportunity afforded to them to get a college degree they could not otherwise afford and make something of their life. When all you do is rely on the few cases that make the media and ignorantly assume that is the case for most of the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of student-athletes nationwide, you do no one a service.

[provis99]

36. actually, I tutored the football team at Indiana University.

every one of those players figured he was going to the NFL; they played on an 11th place team in the Big Ten, and they ALL thought they were going to the NFL.

[joeglow3]

40. Amazing. I worked in the athletic department at Nebraska and it was different with their players

Maybe it was the coaches selling them a pile of shit.

[BiggJawn]

42. Purdue supposedly did that about 120 years ago.

Hired some big burly guys from the Monon locomotive shops across the river to play football for them. That's where the name "Boilermakers" is supposed to come from.

[laconicsax]

5. Those poor student-athletes!

Not only do they get full-ride scholarships, but an extra stipend to cover beer money.

[SoapBox]

6. Absolutely not....

stupid.

I'm sick and tired of the meat heads getting stuff....

[joeglow3]

21. Jesus fucking christ, I am DISGUSTED by you bigots here

Let me know the groups you are comfortable with stereotyping and pre-judging.

[liberal N proud]

8. Why not just call them pro's

This charade they play with scholarships and grants is so phony.

College athletes are as close to professional athletes as you get.

[ehrnst]

10. I wonder if the Berkelely Young Republicans will have a bake sale now

and give the baked goods to star athletes free....

[Blue_Tires]

12. The athletes just need to go to the Supreme Court

multi-billion dollar industry, corrupt to the core, and they aren't even getting pennies...

[classysassy]

39. Going to the Supreme Court Jesters

is a waste of time,just go from high school to the pros like the basketball players,cut out the middle man.

[bulloney]

13. The NFL especially gets a free ride, using our public colleges as a farm system.

They don't have to pay for maintaining minor league systems the way baseball does. They can just cherry pick the best from colleges if available, many of which come from taxpayer-supported state colleges and universities.

The stipend is a stupid idea. Who can afford such a thing for its athletes? Your major college conference schools. That will revert college athletics to where the mid-majors will get nobody while the majors get everyone. Also, $2000 won't be enough in some schools, so they'll sweeten the deal by pushing to pay their athletes even more. They'll argue that $2000 doesn't go as far in Los Angeles as it does in Columbus, Ohio, or something. You know that will inevitably happen.

Such a move would have to cover ALL athletes at a school, not just football and men's basketball players. How's that affordable?

I'm sorry, but these athletes are getting a free college education which most of us borrow tens of thousands of dollars to obtain. After a while of getting the free education and the $2000 stipend, you'll hear the drumbeat from the idiotic ESPN gerbils and others on why THAT's not enough. Where does it end?

[Bill McBlueState]

15. Good move

These football and basketball programs recruit impoverished black men with the (usually) false hope of a lucrative pro career, then they enforce all sorts of byzantine regulations to keep them from capitalizing on their talent. This helps a little.

[AngryAmish]

29. Do all athletes get these stipends or just revenue sports?

1. Most colleges take money from students as fees to fund sports.

2. Only a very few universities have sports as a money maker.

3. There are only two college sports that make money: football and men's basketball.

4. The vast majority of college sports "cheating" is in football and men's basketball - because there is an incentive to cheat.

5. The entire athletic department at most universities depend on the revenue for football and men's basketball to exist or else the student fees would be even higher. Thus even the women's swimming coach needs a money making football and men's basketball program. This is even more true with real enforcement of Title IX.

6. Where is all the money going to come from if all the non-revenue sports students get a stipend.

7. COLLEGE ATHLETICS EXIST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ADULTS WHO RUN ATHLETIC PROGRAMS, NOT FOR THE ATHLETES.

It is a scam and should be done away with.

[classysassy]

31. The greedy big schools are destroying college sports

With the television revenue generated by big colleges(pro sports minor leagues),why not compensate the players for their time spent on the court and fields?Coaches don't generate revenue, players do.The trend in basketball is for players just out of high school going into the NBA,just a matter of time before the football players do the same.When they do good bye fat salaries for bone headed coaches.

[AngryAmish]

34. Imagine the lawsuit if men's sports got paid and women did not.

So nobody gets paid. If they get paid then they get worker's compensation. That is too expensive.

They are called student -athletes so you don't pay them and don't give them worker's comp.

I would submit big time coaches: the Paternos and Krychevskis (sp?) DO generate income. But all the other hangers on must also get paid. There has to be pay parity among the non-revenue sports. The guy mopping the floors of the gym is most likely unionized and costs a ton. The athletic administrators get paid heroically. It feeds on itself and the student gets to take on nondischargeable debt to pay for it usually.

scam scam scam

[classysassy]

30. Call it what it is.

College football and basketball generate revenue for the universities,the schools pay coaches millions of dollars a year and now they want to give the players $2.000.00 a year,how generous of them.When fans pay big bucks and television viewers turn on their TV's to watch coaches stand on the side lines and look like they know what's going on without the players on the field then they will be worth the money being paid them until then they are worthless.The source of the income should share in the money generated by their blood,sweat and tears,PAY THE PLAYERS.

[coalition_unwilling]

32. 'Athletic scholarships' - my favorite oxymoron - n/t

[Odin2005]

33. Oh for fucks sake. College is for EDUCATION.

[truebrit71]

35. THANK YOU!!! How about increasing the grants for SMART kids...you know...

...the ones that are actually going to USE their spot on campus to get, you know, EDUCATED?????

[and-justice-for-all]

41. Well isn't that a mega fucking fail...

absolutely fucking pathetic.

[BiggJawn]

43. 2 kilobucks on top of everything they already get?

Full scholarship, books, tutors, meals at the "Training Table" (good stuff, cooked by a Chef) clothes, usually a car (maybe an Escalade), nice apartment off-campus, plenty of girls, little bit of "pocket money" from the grateful members of the Booster Club...

Of course, the Athletic department is making a buttload of money off them in TV fees, product endorsements, etc.

None of that money trickles down into academics or goes to buy toilet paper for the University.