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Northwestern University Football Team Tries Joining Union . . .

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bda614 said

walty12 said

fauowl said

While I agree with Tim and Walty that I don't want to see Student-Athletes form a Union and get lots of money…I am not adverse to looking to see if a small amount of spending money makes sense. 

It is unrealistic for a college football player to get a regular job during their time in school.  There may be a few exceptions, but with practicing, training, studying, going to class, and sleeping, there is not much time left to work and not many employers who would want to work around a crazy and changing schedule. 

Do these athletes have enough money to put gas in their car?  I don't know how much they get currently so I don't know the answer, but if they did a realistic study and found that a few dollars a month makes sense, I am ok with that.

Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 8:15 AM #327182
If they want spending money above all else recieved (mind you eligible kids from families without much money get a pell grant of over $5,000.00 a semester, which is a lot of spending money when all else is paid for) they can take student loans.

Lets remember FAU doesn't turn a profit, the all-inclusive stay the players recieve for 4-5 years to play football is a heck of a deal.
Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 10:02 AM #327188
Just because FAU football doesn't turn a profit does not mean it provides no value to the school.  People are taking FAU a lot more seriously than in the past, and that is a part of it.  What would be the harm in providing a small stipend for every football player each semester since they are unable to work?  I understand there is great value to what they receive (training, coaching, education, etc.), but that doesn't put gas in their car or pay for a trip home.
Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 10:39 AM #327193
Get off the board and get a haircut.  Here's your gas money and trip home...

A Des Moines Register analysis shows that needy athletes in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences alone received financial benefits beyond scholarships of nearly $5 million, with individual grants sometimes exceeding $5,000 during the 2010-11 school year.


Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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I knew the average career of a runningback in the NFL was short - didn't know it was that short for all players.

Tim has a good point about how few programs generate a profit so by instituting another cost will drag down more programs. I also agree that if you stretch these stipends (of say, $2000/players because that's the number I've seen thrown around) across all our Div.1 sports, it very well may collapse the system. We'd have to pare down to just the 3 revenue sports and either the students (via a rise in athletics fees) or the ticketholders (or both) would be burdened with the responsibility of covering that cost. That money has to come from somewhere.

I'm still concerned about the race to offer the best stipend mirroring the race to offer the highest coaching salary. Maybe it starts at $2,000 and what if it escalates from there? What if a place like Alabama is offering $5,000? Don't think these programs won't want control over the stipend level once they get the ok to offer a stipend, because they will. That's really what this is about, from the school's perspective. Everything is an arms race.

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owl2Doc said

I knew the average career of a runningback in the NFL was short - didn't know it was that short for all players.

Tim has a good point about how few programs generate a profit so by instituting another cost will drag down more programs. I also agree that if you stretch these stipends (of say, $2000/players because that's the number I've seen thrown around) across all our Div.1 sports, it very well may collapse the system. We'd have to pare down to just the 3 revenue sports and either the students (via a rise in athletics fees) or the ticketholders (or both) would be burdened with the responsibility of covering that cost. That money has to come from somewhere.

I'm still concerned about the race to offer the best stipend mirroring the race to offer the highest coaching salary. Maybe it starts at $2,000 and what if it escalates from there? What if a place like Alabama is offering $5,000? Don't think these programs won't want control over the stipend level once they get the ok to offer a stipend, because they will. That's really what this is about, from the school's perspective. Everything is an arms race.


Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 10:56 AM #327195

Read the stat in the post above…they already collect a stipend.

Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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Here are some further telling statistics/facts so we can all see the big picture clearly:

The Register's look into finances revealed that 1,064 football players at the 23 responding schools last year received a combined $4.7 million through Pell Grants, a federally funded program "that provides need-based grants to low-income students," according to the U.S. Department of Education.


At Iowa during the last school year, 22 football players received Pell Grants worth a combined $94,334 — an average of $4,287 per recipient. At Iowa State, 40 football players received Pell Grants worth a total of $180,121 — an average of $4,503 per recipient.


Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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Lets continue to add to that:

Clothing Money
If a football player qualifies for a Pell Grant, they also get $500 of clothing allowance each year. My memory fails me, but I am almost certain this money is from the conference. Football players can buy whatever clothes they want as long as they bring back $500 worth of receipts to their Compliance department showing the clothes they bought. Now, many football players will spend this money on new Nike’s, hats, jeans or t–shirts. This money could be spent on buying a nice suit, or a few pairs of khaki pants and some button down shirts, but rarely is that the case.

Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund
According to Bylaw 15.01.6.2 in the NCAA Manual, each athletic department can use the student-athlete opportunity fund money for anything but financing salaries, scholarships (though paying for summer school is allowed, but a football player’s scholarship covers summer school), capital improvements, stipends, and outside athletic development. The NCAA gives each school a chunk of money each year…roughly $200,000 to help student-athletes out with whatever needs they may have deemed fit by the senior staff member in the athletic department in charge of the money. This money is not just for football, but the entire athletic department. Regardless, if a football player needs money to pay for gas, more new clothes, or a plane ride home, they can legally get money for that.

The typical non-freshman Arkansas football player received the cash listed below in 2010-11:
$5,500- Pell Grant
$500- Clothing Fund
$8,024- Fall and Spring Room and Board
$3,016- Summer Room and Board

$17,040- Grand Total

Remember, this excludes any money from the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, the Special Assistance Fund, and any occasional meals provided by boosters. Monthly, football players are looking at $1,420 cash in their pocket without having to buy books or pay tuition and fees. Did you have $1,420 of cash every month in college? If football players were to work a job paying a respectable $10 an hour, they would need to work 36 hours a week for 50 weeks to make $1,420 before taxes to make what they get from their football scholarship and other available money sources.


Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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[drops mic and walks off stage]
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walty12 said



The real cancer of this whole pay me for play in college attitude is that while it has a good chance of working out for the all-american at Alabama, it crushes the safety at FAU.


Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 10:36 AM #327192

And lets point out…a GREAT year for Alabama athletes going to the NFL would be around 20 guys…20 out of 85.  Those are still pretty slim odds.

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owl2Doc said

I knew the average career of a runningback in the NFL was short - didn't know it was that short for all players.

Tim has a good point about how few programs generate a profit so by instituting another cost will drag down more programs. I also agree that if you stretch these stipends (of say, $2000/players because that's the number I've seen thrown around) across all our Div.1 sports, it very well may collapse the system. We'd have to pare down to just the 3 revenue sports and either the students (via a rise in athletics fees) or the ticketholders (or both) would be burdened with the responsibility of covering that cost. That money has to come from somewhere.

I'm still concerned about the race to offer the best stipend mirroring the race to offer the highest coaching salary. Maybe it starts at $2,000 and what if it escalates from there? What if a place like Alabama is offering $5,000? Don't think these programs won't want control over the stipend level once they get the ok to offer a stipend, because they will. That's really what this is about, from the school's perspective. Everything is an arms race.


Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 10:56 AM #327195

It's not what if it escalates…whatever the initial stipends is, it will increase…that will be like death and taxes.
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walty12 said

Lets continue to add to that:

Clothing Money
If a football player qualifies for a Pell Grant, they also get $500 of clothing allowance each year. My memory fails me, but I am almost certain this money is from the conference. Football players can buy whatever clothes they want as long as they bring back $500 worth of receipts to their Compliance department showing the clothes they bought. Now, many football players will spend this money on new Nike’s, hats, jeans or t–shirts. This money could be spent on buying a nice suit, or a few pairs of khaki pants and some button down shirts, but rarely is that the case.

Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund
According to Bylaw 15.01.6.2 in the NCAA Manual, each athletic department can use the student-athlete opportunity fund money for anything but financing salaries, scholarships (though paying for summer school is allowed, but a football player’s scholarship covers summer school), capital improvements, stipends, and outside athletic development. The NCAA gives each school a chunk of money each year…roughly $200,000 to help student-athletes out with whatever needs they may have deemed fit by the senior staff member in the athletic department in charge of the money. This money is not just for football, but the entire athletic department. Regardless, if a football player needs money to pay for gas, more new clothes, or a plane ride home, they can legally get money for that.

The typical non-freshman Arkansas football player received the cash listed below in 2010-11:
$5,500- Pell Grant
$500- Clothing Fund
$8,024- Fall and Spring Room and Board
$3,016- Summer Room and Board

$17,040- Grand Total

Remember, this excludes any money from the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, the Special Assistance Fund, and any occasional meals provided by boosters. Monthly, football players are looking at $1,420 cash in their pocket without having to buy books or pay tuition and fees. Did you have $1,420 of cash every month in college? If football players were to work a job paying a respectable $10 an hour, they would need to work 36 hours a week for 50 weeks to make $1,420 before taxes to make what they get from their football scholarship and other available money sources.


Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 11:16 AM #327199

At no point in time while I was in college did I ever pull in $1,500 per month in excess of schooling and living expenses…actually a LOT of my expenses accumulated on a credit card, which took several years after college to pay off.
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teambeer said

[drops mic and walks off stage]
Posted On: Jan 29th 2014, 11:25 AM #327200

 :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:
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