Big changes could be afoot for the student athletes at Cal and other NCAA institutions. SBNation College Football has some info on it:
The Board also adopted legislation giving student-athletes who receive full athletics scholarships the opportunity to receive additional athletics aid up to the full cost of attendance or $2,000, whichever is less.
The working group that made the recommendation told the board the $2,000 figure is meaningful in addressing the miscellaneous expenses student-athletes now have. Institutions will not be required to offer the benefit, but conferences are encouraged to consider common application within their membership.
$2,000 a year doesn't sound like a lot of money, but it is quite a bit higher than the current $0 a year. What do you think about this? Here is the official story from the NCAA website. It looks like they are working on plans to keep certain teams out of the post-season, if their academics are not high enough. However, the biggest story is clearly the proposal to pay the student athletes. The article states that the NCAA will have cost of living increases built in over time, but will not revisit the $2,000.00 number for 3 years. The NCAA article states this, which is somewhat confusing to me:
The new rule makes the additional aid available to student-athletes in head-count sports (football and basketball) and those in equivalency sports who reach the value of a full scholarship.
What is an equivalency sport? Oh well, I'm sure more details will emerge soon!
Tell us your thoughts in the comments!