NCAA Changes Tune, Will Pay Travel Expenses for Families of Athletes
The NCAA is taking a step away from hard line amateurism and is now going to pay for travel expenses of families of athletes competing in the Final Four and College Football Playoff.
This spring, the NCAA will pay up to $3,000 in “travel, hotel, and meal expenses’’ for family members of each student athlete competing in the men’s and women’s Final Four in basketball. The NCAA will tack on an additional $1,000 for family members of the athletes that advance to the national championship games, which are held in the same city two nights after the Final 4 games.
Additionally, the College Football Playoff may now pay up to $3,000 in expenses for the family of each student athlete involved.
“Championship experiences like the Final Four create memories of a lifetime for student-athletes, and we want to make sure their families are there to support and celebrate with them,’’ NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement.
It’s another big win for big money royalty programs in the NCAA. Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith spearheaded the charge for reform after Ohio State’s win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Day. Now, fans of Buckeyes football as well as Oregon football will have some help traveling to Dallas for the National Championship Game Monday, January 12th.
The NCAA decision has been met with mixed reviews, and opens up a new set of questions in terms of NCAA ineligibility rules and financing athletes and their families.
It isn’t coincidental that the NCAA is willing to pay for college football and basketball families. Those sports are by far the most lucrative in the NCAA’s multi-billion dollar industry. Smith is one of the most powerful Athletic Director’s in the country, and Oregon athletics are backed by Nike kingpin Phil Knight.
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