Study of Scholarship Shortfall Numbers Reveal College Athletes Pay to Play
‘Full scholarship’ can leave college athletes with as much as $30,000 in expenses
With the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball tournament heating up, the National College Players Association (NCPA), formerly known as the Collegiate Athletes Coalition (CAC), released results of another significant study revealing the estimated shortfall between college athletes’ full scholarships and the actual cost of attendance at each Division I university.
The NCPA asserts that, by and large, universities have been deceiving recruits, many of whom are under the age of 18 and from disadvantaged backgrounds, into unknowingly being responsible for paying thousands of dollars while on “full” athletic scholarship.
“The fact is, coaches fill high school recruits’ heads with promises of free rides and full scholarships, when in fact no such things exist. The NCAA designs full scholarships to fall short of the advertised price tag of a school, leaving recruits scrambling to make ends meet,” stated United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard.
NCAA rules prohibit universities from providing athletic scholarships that equal the cost of attendance. That means that a full scholarship athlete is expected to pay out of pocket for expenses that are not covered by a full scholarship.
“It’s deceptive to call it a ‘full’ athletics scholarship when it doesn’t fully pay for a university’s estimated price tag. These same universities offer ‘full’ academic scholarships that do cover the price tag of a school. This appears to be a deliberate attempt at misleading young high school student-athletes, their parents, and current college athletes,” stated NCPA President Ramogi Huma.
The NCPA partnered with Ellen J. Staurowsky, a professor of sport management and graduate chair of the department at Ithaca College in New York, to calculate the estimated scholarship shortfall at every Division I university that offers athletic scholarships.
Staurowsky stated, “The mythology that college athletes receive a free education in exchange for their athletic labor is a powerful one, fueled in part, by a public perception that athletes have an easy path to being admitted into college and a privileged path through school once in. The database we’ve compiled begins to debunk this myth and serves as an important public disclosure mechanism to aid athletes as they consider their scholarship offers. Athletes and their families should know that this gap exists and that their expenses will be greater than the promise a free ride suggests.”
The data revealed that NCAA scholarship limitations can leave a full scholarship athlete with expenses ranging from as low as $200 per year up to more than $6,000 per year. That means that, NCAA rules mandate a “full” scholarship athlete to pay up to $30,000 over the course of five years.
The average amount an athlete on “full scholarship” would be required to pay out of pocket amounted to $2,763 per year, or more than $13,800 over the course of five years. Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis had the highest scholarship shortfall, amounting to over $6,000 per year, followed closely by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, East Tennessee State University, Saint Louis University, University of Louisville and Charleston Southern University, all with a greater than $5,000 per year estimated shortfall.
The University of South Carolina Upstate recorded the smallest scholarship shortfall at $200 per year. Other universities with the smallest scholarship shortfalls include: Gardner-Webb University; Colgate University; College of the Holy Cross; Providence College and Tulane University, ranging from a $700 to over $900 per year shortfall.
As a service to high school recruits, their parents, and college athletes, the NCPA made all 336 schools’ estimated scholarship shortfalls available on its web site at www.ncpanow.org.
“Every college athlete, recruit and parent should go to the NCPA web site and look closely at these shortfall numbers. Otherwise, they will find that their ‘full’ scholarship is leaving them buried in unexpected expenses,” said Huma.
With the $6 billion that the NCAA is receiving from CBS alone, there is more than enough new money to eliminate these scholarship shortfalls for the players who generate over $4 billion each year.
NCAA rules mandate a scholarship shortfall at every school that offers athletic scholarships in Divisions I and II. “With hundreds of thousands of athletes participating in NCAA sports, how many athletes have been unfairly burdened with debt in the last few decades due to the misinformation that they have received?” asked Gerard. “How much debt have they put on high interest credit cards that will take many years to pay off?”
Because there is such a wide range of scholarship shortfalls among schools across the nation ($200/yr – $6000/yr), the results from this study give schools with lower scholarship shortfalls an enormous recruiting advantage among recruits who want to avoid higher out-of-pocket expenses.
The NCAA’s position is clear. Although it is supposed to eliminate recruiting advantages, it has fought tooth and nail to subject unsuspecting players to scholarship shortfalls. “If I was a coach or fan of a school with a large scholarship shortfall, I’d be very worried about the future of my athletic program,” Huma stated.
The United Steelworkers have helped back the NCPA since 2001. The NCPA has established itself as the voice for college athletes, and has helped bring forth important reforms including:
- Helped establish a $10 million fund to assist former athletes who wish to complete their undergraduate degree or attend a graduate program
- Elimination of limits on health care for college athletes
- Increase in the NCAA death benefit from $10,000 to $25,000
- Expansion of the NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Policy so that college athletes who suffer permanent, debilitating injuries can receive adequate home health care
- Implementation of key safety guidelines to help prevent deaths during workouts
Complete NCPA study results and additional studies are available on the NCPA web site: www.ncpanow.org
Shortfall estimates are the sum of expenses that cannot be covered in a full grant in aid athletic scholarship per NCAA rules. The data used to calculate shortfall numbers was taken from information published by the schools in the study as well as information made available by the US Department of Education. The NCPA says actual shortfall numbers will vary according to each individual student. The NCPA reached out to all 336 colleges and universities to offer an opportunity to provide any data disputing their school’s scholarship shortfall calculation. Of the 11 athletic programs that contacted the NCPA about their shortfall estimates, four had general inquiries, four had their concerns resolved, two did not respond to NCPA clarifications, and one wrote a letter disagreeing with their school’s estimate without providing any supporting data.
Source: United Steelworkers (USW); National College Players Association
CBSSports.com Brings NCAA March Madness on Demand to the iPhone and iPod Touch
Full Featured Experience for iPhone and iPod touch Delivers Live Video of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, announced they have launched an NCAA March Madness on Demand application for the iPhone and iPod touch that will provide fans live streaming video and audio from the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, beginning Thursday, March 19 and continuing all the way through the Men’s Final Four(R) from Detroit, MI.
Developed by CBS Sports Mobile with partner MobiTV, the application uses MobiTV’s streaming technology to deliver live video over a Wi-Fi connection. The NCAA March Madness on Demand iPhone and iPod touch application will provide live video of all 63 games from the first round of the tournament through the semifinal and final games of the Men’s Final Four, as well as access to tournament brackets updated in real-time with up-to-the minute scores, and the ability to click directly from brackets into live video. It will also provide exclusive CBSSports.com Edge Matchup game previews, including team breakdowns and matchup comparisons to prepare fans for each step on the Road to the Final Four(R).
During live game action, NCAA March Madness on Demand application users can access in-game box scores and player stats — even as an overlay on top of the video. Following each game, they can also view a full tournament scoreboard, including game recaps, player and team stats and video highlights of every tournament game. All games from the Final Four will also be available for $1.99 each on Apple’s iTunes Store the day after they are completed.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand application is now available for $4.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand application is the latest in a series of applications that CBS has made available for iPhone and iPod touch users. The recently launched TV.com app along with the CBS EyeMobile and Last.FM applications allow iPhone and iPod touch users to access some of the world’s best content. All CBS applications are available from the Apple App Store.
NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) is the Emmy award-winning video player that provides live streaming video and audio of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Since its inception in 2003, MMOD traditionally provided live video of the first 56 games, starting with the first round, of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as they were broadcast by CBS Sports, with local broadcasts being subject to blackouts. Beginning in 2008, MMOD started showing all 63 games, from the first round of the tournament through the semifinal and final games of the Men’s Final Four making it the only major sporting event that is broadcast live and in its entirety for free on the Internet.
NCAA March Madness on Demand’s standard video player will launch on March 10 with historical highlights from past NCAA tournaments and be available at NCAA.com (ncaa.com/mmod) as well as via NCAA March Madness on Demand links on CBSSports.com.
Click here to view images of the NCAA March Madness on Demand application for the iPhone and iPod touch:
Image 1 (http://images.cbssports.com/images/info/ir/2009/mmodappvideo.jpg)
Image 2 (http://images.cbssports.com/images/info/ir/2009/mmodappgames.jpg)
Image 3 (http://images.cbssports.com/images/info/ir/2009/mmodappbracket.jpg)
* NCAA March Madness on Demand will not show the Opening Round Game on March 17.
Source: CBS Interactive
Think You Can Set the Field of 65? NCAA.com Offers Selection Sunday Challenge
Unique challenge gives fans a chance to be the NCAA(R) Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee
NCAA.com, the official home of NCAA sports on the Web, is offering fans of NCAA basketball a unique opportunity as Selection Sunday approaches: Become a one-person Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee.
Located at ncaa.com/games/selectionchallenge, “Selection Sunday Challenge” provides fans with an interactive Web application that allows them to choose the 65 teams they think will make it into the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Designed to teach the fan the selection process and get inside the minds of the Selection Committee, the game allows fans to create their own bracket of 65 teams, or join groups so they can play against their friends.
With NCAA.com’s “Selection Sunday Challenge,” fans use a highly interactive online application to stack the field with their favorite teams, randomly choose from all 330 eligible Division I men’s basketball programs or use the research and tools that the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee puts to use such as RPI, schedules, recent results and more.
“For years, NCAA Basketball fans have wanted a chance to set the field of 65 and ‘Selection Sunday Challenge’ gives them admission to their own selection room,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA, senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. “Time and pressure from all directions will make for a realistic experience for fans to set their own field – and compare it with the actual bracket once announced.”
Fans have until 6:00 PM ET Sunday, March 15, to submit their predictions for the field of 65, which will include 31 conference champions and 34 at-large teams. At that time, the official field of 65 will be unveiled by the Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee on CBS and fans can compare their predictions to the real results.
Participants receive points based on correctly selecting teams that make the Tournament, seeding the teams, and placing them in the correct region. A leaderboard displays who is the best at predicting the bracket.
CBS Interactive is the official Online Interactive sports partner of the NCAA and produces NCAA.com.
NCAA
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