GBMWolverine: Mailbag Question -- Michigan Football -- Scholarships, Stipends, and Extra Money to Players

Posted at 6:00am — 6/17/2011

GBMWolverine: Mailbag Question — Michigan Football — Scholarships, Stipends, and Extra Money to Players

Thanks for all the good “insider” info.

My question:
How are scholarships actually handled? Is there a prescribed procedure put forth by the NCAA or B1G?

I know the athletes generally don’t live in dorms after their freshman year. Do they receive monthly checks to cover food, rent, books etc.? If so, isn’t it possible for some schools to provide more money citing reasons such as higher housing costs? Also couldn’t some athletes be given more than others because their classes have higher book costs or lab fees? This seems like an area for lots of potential foul play and perhaps for many reasons does not get much press.

Any info you could provide would be enlightening.

Thanks from Tim an M Fan.

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GBMWolverine Response:

One could write a book on scholarships and the myriad of scenarios. But the reality is the NCAA already wrote the book that counts, the rulebook. Now before the discussion is put to bed this book is sometimes vague, confusing, and contradictory. Some disagree with the content.

Regarding the above questions the NCAA puts limits on amounts the student-athletes can receive.

The amount cannot be more than what the student-athlete who lives on campus receives.

You are clearly correct by saying that a lot of potential foul play could be thought through and carried out. In fact obvious instances the past couple of years regarding extra benefits are redoubtable. As with the current fabric of society, many hold the position that giving the players a few more bucks in their stipend checks would stop all the other extracurricular activities and provide a relief safety net.

Perhaps only a bigger pot will be created, with more people ready to stir and prepare alternative recipes.

The debate regarding level and appropriateness of scholarship and external aid is neither new nor resolved. Issue resolution will be near impossible, as seminal questions will likely never secure universal agreement. One question is the simplest, why give accelerating amount of finances to high profile athletes? We realize that college football is the lifeblood of most college programs and the “cash cow” for funding non-revenue athletic programs. Should a college football player be more privileged financially than a college tennis player, soccer player, hockey player, or cross-country runner? Major sports already receive far more benefits than non-revenue sports. Many sports have athletes very happy to receive a quarter ride.

An acceleration of extras to high profile type student-athletes would create a large gap and create have and have not categories. Take a program like Michigan and another program like Bowling Green. Both are Division One programs, but one program (Michigan) is adding sports to their varsity line-up while a program like Bowling Green is struggling to keep several varsity sports going, such as hockey that has been rumored for years to be a possible casualty of money limitations.

The recruits are aware of what schools have sports on firm financial footing before signing their name on a letter of intent to their college choice, providing high profile schools with high prestige that attracts most of the premiere athletes. Many of the football parents we have talked to at Michigan view it as fortunate that their kids were able to get a free education and a degree at Michigan that can open doors for their son the rest of their lives.

There are currently many ways to define extra benefits, and the debate will never be extinguished.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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