Last week, the NCAA took the long-awaited and necessary step of allowing universities to provide stipends to student athletes. This move has the right intentions, but UNC and its fellow Atlantic Coast Conference members must ensure that the timing is right given the steep financial implications of providing scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance.
The Thursday vote gave conferences the option of allowing their member institutions to provide annual stipends of $2,000 for athletes on full scholarships. It was inspired by the belief that athletic scholarships should be similar to full academic scholarships, like the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, which help with additional living expenses.
Last year, the Morehead-Cain Scholarship gave its in-state scholars $19,708 of the total $20,660 cost to attend UNC, paying for every expense but health insurance. Many students on need-based aid also receive similar amounts. In contrast, in-state student athletes at UNC only get $17,628, or the portion of expense derived from tuition and fees, room, board, books and supplies.
Chancellor Holden Thorp was part of the NCAA’s Student Athlete Well-Being Working Group which recommended this new policy. Thorp said the proposals sought to give athletes more money to cover a university’s full cost. His stance reflects that of athletic director Dick Baddour, who said a “student-athlete with a full ride is not getting a full ride.” But it will be necessary to devote resources toward ensuring appropriate use of this stipend.
A “pay for play” plan in college athletics has been discussed for years given the multimillion-dollar TV contracts and lucrative coaching salaries found in the NCAA. Both Baddour and Thorp were quick to clarify that the newest policy is not “pay for play.”
Thorp was unsure of the exact financial effects the new rule, if enacted by the ACC, would have on the University. Baddour estimated that the extra stipends would cost the athletic department around $450,000 extra per year.
With the athletic department’s recent proposal to raise student fees to pay for scholarships and preserve programs, now is not the time to incur this additional cost.
The athletic department has been strained by the N.C. General Assembly’s vote this summer to repeal a waiver giving in-state status to out-of-state students on full scholarships. The possibility of a stipend on top of full scholarships underlines the need to reinstate this waiver — and the need for UNC and fellow ACC member N.C. State University to make a concerted lobbying effort.
There is no reason for athletic departments to have an extra burden on their shoulders, especially when unneeded expenses are keeping N.C. public universities from providing necessary benefits to athletes who deserve them.
