NCAA approves $2,000 player stipend.
The NCAA approved an initiative that allows athletic conferences the option of giving full scholarship athletes a $2,000 annual stipend to help defray the high cost of college. The notion behind the move is to line the pockets of players who are in financial need and cannot obtain a part-time job due to the commitment involved when playing college sports.
The $2,000 stipend would be in addition to the athlete’s full scholarship (which is currently limited to room, board, tuition and books) and the Pell Grant. An athlete on partial scholarship will not qualify for the stipend.
5-Star recruit Mike Bellamy posed with a lot of cash in hand.
Opponents argue that the $2,000 stipend is a new recruiting tool which puts big time programs at a huge advantage. Smaller programs will certainly feel the recruiting pinch if they cannot afford to pay players the $2,000 stipend.
NCAA president Mark Emmert ensures fans that, “this is most certainly not pay for play.” “It’s for covering more of the legitimate expenses of attending college for our student-athletes.”
To temper the “pay for play” attitude, the NCAA passed a measure that will ban schools from postseason play if their student/athletes don’t graduate at a mandated rate. Additionally, JUCO transfers must now have a 2.5 GPA up from the current 2.0 GPA requirement.
