In a report that came out from USA Today, the NCAA has decided to increase the value of scholarships which was voted on by representatives of the Power 5 conferences. In what the report calls a “landmark action”, Division I schools are now allowed, but not required, to expand the amount of compensation a student-athlete is allowed to receive via scholarship.
NCAA increases value of scholarships in historic vote http://t.co/b1F8pRtxxn
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 17, 2015
Under previous regulations, student-athlete scholarships had only covered tuition, room, board, books and fees. Scholarships are now allowed to include “incidental costs of attending college” which translates to covering the cost of transportation and personal expenses.
The decision was a near unanimous 79-1 vote as 65 school representatives and 15 athlete representatives (three from each of the Power 5 Conferences: ACC, Big Ten Big XII, Pac-12 and SEC) voted on the decision which will cover all sports. The new regulations will take effect August 1, 2015.
As the report goes on to outline, there are three additional issues that were approved by the vote:
UCLA Bruins
- Athletes can purchase “loss-of-value insurance” and borrow against future earning in the event of an injury.
- Prevention of schools and coaches from choosing not to renew scholarships.
- Regulation of time demands between academic and athletic commitments.
With the recent scrutiny of student-athlete regulations that the NCAA has been subject to, this comes as no surprise that these measures are now put into acton. Though there is a lot more that the NCAA has to answer to, especially in regards the matter of paying student-athletes, this is a positive step in the right direction.
With the amount of money that the NCAA, the Power 5 Conferences and the individual schools themselves make (especially with the various television deals that have been made in the last several years), it is good to see that all student-athletes will be supported during their collegiate careers.