Big Ten Wants to Pay Players

[WestWYOPoke]

Article on ESPN discussing how the Big Ten wants to give a little more scholarship money to players to help "bridge the gap" between scholarship and living expenses. Says it would be between $2,000 and $5,000 per player. Also says it would cost schools an additional $300,000 just for Football and Mens Basketball.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6564134

In my experiences (worked in 2 D-1 Athletic Depts, one in the Big Ten), this is unnecessary. I usually saw student-athletes on full rides with extra money instead of not enough. Sure they weren't making as much as a student that can have a full-time job but they weren't exactly living on PB&J either. If you're going to do this, give it to the kids that are on partial or no scholarship, not the full rides.

The worst part about this is how Ohio State's AD says schools that can't afford it shouldn't do it. Good work Gene Smith, I'm sure one school paying more than another won't affect recruiting at all...dumbass.

 

[MrTitleist]

They're probably being paid already.. by boosters... so I guess they just want to make it legal now?

 

[Asmodeanreborn]

This is all about making sure the big schools never get beaten by the smaller ones. There's definitely a war going on against non-BCS schools.

 

[Fullback41]

They're probably being paid already.. by boosters... so I guess they just want to make it legal now?

i think does way more than just make it legal, it makes it easier to cheat. if you make some legal it will make any excess easier to hide. as an accountant, it is much easier to hide paying an extra 20k to a kid if 5k is legal than it is to hide paying 5k to a kid when 0 is legal. pandoras box, man. plus some of us (myself included) will feel the game has lost some of its appeal if you start legally paying these kids, and the kids will have even more pressure put on them by fans. just imagine the response the boise st kicker would have had if he was being paid, it would have been a thousand times worse than it was. i enjoy the college game in part because the kids have promise and are working toward a goal. the pro game loses its appeal to me when guys are getting paid millions and dont perform, etc. i dont want that feeling to filter into the college game, oh ive got my 5k im not running hard in a game or practice, etc.

 

[mrtnt3x]

They're probably being paid already.. by boosters... so I guess they just want to make it legal now?

i think does way more than just make it legal, it makes it easier to cheat. if you make some legal it will make any excess easier to hide. as an accountant, it is much easier to hide paying an extra 20k to a kid if 5k is legal than it is to hide paying 5k to a kid when 0 is legal. pandoras box, man. plus some of us (myself included) will feel the game has lost some of its appeal if you start legally paying these kids, and the kids will have even more pressure put on them by fans. just imagine the response the boise st kicker would have had if he was being paid, it would have been a thousand times worse than it was. i enjoy the college game in part because the kids have promise and are working toward a goal. the pro game loses its appeal to me when guys are getting paid millions and dont perform, etc. i dont want that feeling to filter into the college game, oh ive got my 5k im not running hard in a game or practice, etc.

+1

 

[WYCowboy]

This is all about making sure the big schools never get beaten by the smaller ones. There's definitely a war going on against non-BCS schools.

This is exactly the attitudes of some of these low-lifes. They are willing to completely ruin college athletics is order to insure they are always on top. :thumbdown:

 

[Subcanis]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

Why should athletes get extra money to "bridge the gap" over someone on a full academic scholly? Granted physics and pre-med don't have the booster support but still... Student-athlete, not athlete-student.

GO POKES!

 

[McPeachy]

College sports in general, is on the verge of major change (as we all know it). Used to be about school pride, who your coach was, loyalty, etc. Not any more. All about the $$$$ now. And we can all say goodbye to UW athletics being relevent if this happens.