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If you're for this, and I won't say that I am *absolutely* against it, how much per month do you think each athlete should receive?

I went to Texas A&M from 1990 to 1994. My parents paid for tuition, meal plan, and books. They did not want me to work as I majored in Meteorology, and that was a very tough program. My mom gave me $50 per month for spending money. I did have a car that my grandparents bought for me, and my parents paid the insurance. I paid for gas.

I spent my first two years at A&M in a non-air dorm. The first day of classes, it was 104F. I learned to sleep with a fan pointed directly at my head. My parents loved the setup as the cost of my dorm was $384 per semester. One of the benefits of living in a non-air dorm (ok, really the only benefit) was that we all had to keep our doors open for air flow. I knew almost everyone in my dorm.

I had a blast those first two years. Almost all of the guys in my dorm were there because they didn't have money to pay for something nicer. None of us went to movies. We rented movies and usually piled into my room to watch them on my roommate's 13" TV. None of us went out to eat. We all had meal plans. Our dorm even had an unofficially reserved table in the dining hall, so you almost always wound up eating with a friend. When we wanted to splurge, we would buy Keystone Light at $9.99 per case and order 12" Gumbys cheese pizzas for $3.89. We would usually tip in beer.

My roommate (I had the same one all four years at A&M) talked me into moving into an air-conditioned dorm my junior year. It was fine, but I never enjoyed it as much as I did those first two years.

What I am getting at is that this current generation of college kids has a massive sense of entitlement. There is nothing wrong with being a poor college kid. It's a phase in life. Enjoy it, and you will have great memories.

I would support this plan if they limit the new money to kids who aren't claimed by someone with a household income over a certain amount and limit it to transportation and a small amount of spending cash.

One more question. My favorite sport is college baseball. A travel roster is 27 kids sharing 11.7 scholarships. Would a kid on 1/4 scholarship receive 25% of this benefit? This kid is still 100% barred from working during the season.

Yes, but they should all be paid the same amount.

Ramy said:

Yes, but they should all be paid the same amount.

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Most are, in the form of a free education.

msmith198025 said:

Most are, in the form of a free education.

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And food as well.

Gas and car money, sorry, but neither of those are required for school, freshmen weren't even allowed to have cars on campus at Ga Tech. So I have no sympathy there. As for getting home during that holidays, lots of non-scholarship students are in the same boat, so again no sympathy. Should have thought of that before going to a school hundreds/thousands of miles from home.

As for getting home for a family emergency, there is the NCAA Special Assistance Fund.
NCAA Special Assistance Fund

1. Medical and dental costs not covered by another insurance program (e.g. hearing aids, contact lenses, glasses, off-campus psychological counseling);

2. Costs associated with student or family emergencies;

3. Costs of expendable academic course supplies (e.g. notebook, pens) and rental of non-expendable supplies (e.g. computer equipment and cameras) that are required for all students enrolled in a course;

4. Cost of clothing and other essential expenses.

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Derwin0 said:

And food as well.

Gas and car money, sorry, but neither of those are required for school, freshmen weren't even allowed to have cars on campus at Ga Tech. So I have no sympathy there. As for getting home during that holidays, lots of non-scholarship students are in the same boat, so again no sympathy. Should have thought of that before going to a school hundreds/thousands of miles from home.

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That has been one of my points as well. Unless you are going to start giving the entire student body "spending money", they need to leave this alone.

msmith198025 said:

That has been one of my points as well. Unless you are going to start giving the entire student body "spending money", they need to leave this alone.

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Again, the entire student body does not have the, and I do not know if this is the right word, the responsibility, to HAVE to perform in 2 areas, school work and athletics. UNLESS you have been in that spot coming from extremely poor families like I did, you have no clue how tough that is.

But plenty of the student body knows what it's like to subsist on ramen noodles, because they have to pinch pennies for food, since they don't get 3 meals served by the athletic association.

Since the scholarship athletes are being fed and have their schooling paid for, what needs for money are there? I've already covered the NCAA Special Assitance Fund for true hardships.

salsadancer7 said:

Again, the entire student body does not have the, and I do not know if this is the right word, the responsibility, to HAVE to perform in 2 areas, school work and athletics. UNLESS you have been in that spot coming from extremely poor families like I did, you have no clue how tough that is.

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Be honest. Not all athletes have the responsibility to perform in the classroom. I wasnt one in college, but I was in high school and had several college classes with football players. If you were good, in some (not all) cases, simply showing up was the extent of that hard work. You would pass. Hell we had a guy that went to our local high school, and just finished his playing career at Ole Miss (on the way to the NFL) that went into college and couldnt even read. This was recent, so I am sure most of our sports fans here know of Jerrell Powe.

Not to mention that some of the "normal" students may also have responsibilities beyond classroom performance as well. They may come from an equally poor family, have to work full time to pay their own way, and be no better off, or worse when it comes to spending money.

Life isnt fair, sometimes hard. Getting a free $100,000+ education (in some cases) is compensation enough IMHO.

Will94 said:

If you're for this, and I won't say that I am *absolutely* against it, how much per month do you think each athlete should receive?

I went to Texas A&M from 1990 to 1994. My parents paid for tuition, meal plan, and books. They did not want me to work as I majored in Meteorology, and that was a very tough program. My mom gave me $50 per month for spending money. I did have a car that my grandparents bought for me, and my parents paid the insurance. I paid for gas.

I spent my first two years at A&M in a non-air dorm. The first day of classes, it was 104F. I learned to sleep with a fan pointed directly at my head. My parents loved the setup as the cost of my dorm was $384 per semester. One of the benefits of living in a non-air dorm (ok, really the only benefit) was that we all had to keep our doors open for air flow. I knew almost everyone in my dorm.

I had a blast those first two years. Almost all of the guys in my dorm were there because they didn't have money to pay for something nicer. None of us went to movies. We rented movies and usually piled into my room to watch them on my roommate's 13" TV. None of us went out to eat. We all had meal plans. Our dorm even had an unofficially reserved table in the dining hall, so you almost always wound up eating with a friend. When we wanted to splurge, we would buy Keystone Light at $9.99 per case and order 12" Gumbys cheese pizzas for $3.89. We would usually tip in beer.

My roommate (I had the same one all four years at A&M) talked me into moving into an air-conditioned dorm my junior year. It was fine, but I never enjoyed it as much as I did those first two years.

What I am getting at is that this current generation of college kids has a massive sense of entitlement. There is nothing wrong with being a poor college kid. It's a phase in life. Enjoy it, and you will have great memories.

.

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I would never give up my "poor" years. In high school I had to work if I wanted a car and the latest clothes. Graduating high school in 1961 I didn't go to college but out to work for a buck an hour. On $32 take home I had an apartment, a car and a occasional date, usually after which I ate Bologna on white till payday. They where most educational and enlightening years.I met life long friends during those few years that still appreciat the later successes we achieved. Never taking anything for granted nor feeling we where owed anything but the freedom to fail.. I met my business partner of 40 years during those poor years..I worship this country for the opportunities it put before me that I never saw in any other country I worked in or visited.

I don't think these kids should be deprived of that opportunity to be creative and make do or better with what they have.. It will make them better people with a character not generally found in the entitlement class. They already are getting far more in "compensation" and feel entitled for their "talent" than they should. I even question if schools should even offer compensation like scholarships etc.as it is for sports. Just because the "team" is good doesn't make the school any better. Most of the money brought in by sports go right back into the program.

I remember Salsa saying once he got hurt and lost his scholarship. Had he not been dependent on the scholarship he might have gone to a more affordable school and finished with a degree with the rest of the poor kids..Then too maybe great schools wouldn't need to charge a $120,000 a year to support their athletic programs either.,

One issue that arises from compensating players is: How do you control how much is actually doled out?? Once you allow cash payments to players how can you track how much is actually given out by the schools?? This would probably make for more abuse than we're seeing now.

One suggestion was to have the NCAA pay the players, bill the schools, and not allow the schools to pay the students directly. I'm sure the NCAA would not like this option....

I left out top ramen! You could buy those seven for a dollar as of 1991. I have not eaten that since the end of my freshman year, May 1991. I have permanent ramen burnout.

Salsa, I would be okay with the NCAA (or the universities) giving something like $100 per month spending money to a true hardship case and a free bus pass if the athlete is living off campus. The one thing that you've stated and that most don't seem to have noticed is that student athletes are barred from working, so if you don't have *any* money coming from home, I am okay (in principle) with this.

However, I have a sneaking suspicion that it would make the system even more corrupt than it is now. Students who aren't hardships would receive payments. Students would get multiple $100 deposits per month, and so on. I don't know the answer to make it work in practice. If you could create a system that ensured that only needy kids got the money, that they got it only once per month, and that it was available to athletes in all sports (including all non-revenue sports), I would support that.