NCAA pushes $2K increase for athletes

[gangrene]

NCAA pushes $2K increase for athletes

This doesn't come close to helping eliminate the payments by boosters, but I guess it's a start. If nothing else, it's a tell-tale sign that the NCAA does realize a change is necessary.

[BDPG]

I doubt this will effect or FB players. As it is now, they get very little money for food on days that the campus cafeterias are closed, and those that live off of campus don't get enough to eat the way a FB player needs to eat. It would be good information for the coaching staff to know how much weight our players lose during the season.

[untgirl04]

I doubt this will effect or FB players. As it is now, they get very little money for food on days that the campus cafeterias are closed, and those that live off of campus don't get enough to eat the way a FB player needs to eat. It would be good information for the coaching staff to know how much weight our players lose during the season.

Wait... When I was in school, there was at least one cafeteria open 7 days a week (Kerr), and all cafeterias were all-you-can-eat. So at least one cafeteria was open 24/7. When my sister was in school a few years later, they moved to a healthier selection, so nutrition shouldn't be as much of an issue. My understanding was that athletes get a 7 day meal plan. Is that not the case?

[LakeTravis]

Kerr and Victory are 7 days, obviously Victory for all the athletes and Kerr since its the biggest cafeteria on campus

[BDPG]

They get some kind of perdium (SP) for food, I think it is for game day or Sunday after the game. As for the food, I have heard that the food at Victory is so good. Overall, the comparison between what our players receive versus what Texas Tech players get for food and off campus living is way less. I have even heard Mike Leach, on his radio show, say that what Tech gave the players was low when compared to other universities.

[Big Green]

Most football players move off campus after their Sophomore year and therefore they no longer have a meal plan. They are paid a monthly allowance that is to be used to cover living expenses and food. UNT's monthly allowance is much lower than many other schools and therefore some players struggle to get by.

[bstnsportsfan3]

Victory is only 5 days...has been since 2010. I would know as a former ra.

[UNTDude]

Most football players move off campus after their Sophomore year and therefore they no longer have a meal plan. They are paid a monthly allowance that is to be used to cover living expenses and food. UNT's monthly allowance is much lower than many other schools and therefore some players struggle to get by.

In most cases the cost of off campus housing (rent & utilities) is less than the dorms, and athletes still have the option to purchase on campus meal plans (could be a more economical option depending on how much they eat). The logistics of driving from their off campus housing to Victory or another dorm is typically what deters them. I also agree the NCAA is starting to move in the right direction. Fortunately for my UNT athlete daughter she has had a generous booster for her 4 years at UNT...... ME

[untgirl04]

All students have the opportunity to purchase a meal plan with the school, even if they don't live on campus. Many students in apartments choose the "8's Enough" plan, which gives the students 8 meals per week at any cafeteria. I'm sure that if the players preferred to have a meal plan on campus, that could be arranged.

I don't know how much the players receive, but I imagine it's more than enough to feed them, as long as they don't eat at Outback every night. I understand the struggle/concern for living expenses when you aren't allowed to have a separate source of income, so if the players are truly struggling, they should bring it to the attention of the AD. If they're just being frivolous with their money, then perhaps the AD could provide a class to teach them about budgeting and spending their money wisely. It's a life lesson that is well worth learning early anyway.

[Big Green]

All students have the opportunity to purchase a meal plan with the school, even if they don't live on campus. Many students in apartments choose the "8's Enough" plan, which gives the students 8 meals per week at any cafeteria. I'm sure that if the players preferred to have a meal plan on campus, that could be arranged.

I don't know how much the players receive, but I imagine it's more than enough to feed them, as long as they don't eat at Outback every night. I understand the struggle/concern for living expenses when you aren't allowed to have a separate source of income, so if the players are truly struggling, they should bring it to the attention of the AD. If they're just being frivolous with their money, then perhaps the AD could provide a class to teach them about budgeting and spending their money wisely. It's a life lesson that is well worth learning early anyway.

If a football player lives off campus and purchases the same meal plan that was provided by his scholarship, it would take over half of his monthly room and board allowance thus not leaving enough to pay for rent and utilities. Meal plans are not an attractive option for off campus football players.

The sad thing is that UNT's monthly allowance is over $200 less than other Division 1 football programs. This causes a real hardship for many players. One would think that with the recent sizable financial gifts, this allowance would be brought up to where everyone else is.

[GrandGreen]

I would guess that the NCAA must have some kind of formula for computing off campus housing allowances or else there would be players living in luxury hotels in some programs. So I doubt that NT is just providing less aid because they are cheap.

Back to the original point, it is very hard to deny players more funding based on the outrageous salaries many programs are paying coaches. For example, UT's extra expenditure for the whole team would be about 2 weeks salary of Mac Brown. The bad thing is this would be a real hardship for borderline programs to fund. I would hope a compromise could be developed such as limiting the extra funding to revenue sports and making it need based.

[KRAM1]

Most football players move off campus after their Sophomore year and therefore they no longer have a meal plan. They are paid a monthly allowance that is to be used to cover living expenses and food. UNT's monthly allowance is much lower than many other schools and therefore some players struggle to get by.

How does this compare to other scholarship students at UNT? Are academic scholarship students afforded stipends for food and housing as well? What about the players in the sports such as volleyball, soccer, swimming, diving, track, tennis, softball, etc? Do they get meal plans and campus housing or stipends should they choose to live off campus? Do our walk-on athletes get meal plans and stipends like their scholarship teammates who "struggle" with the money they are given?

How many of these "hardship" cases have no other source of income? Parents? Summer jobs? Just asking. Is any of this "hardship or struggle" a matter of choice such as choosing to live off campus and give up meal plans or choosing not to get a summer job and actually saving some money for the fall and spring?

I am not saying our athletes do not need more funds...of course they do. I would certainly favor getting ALL our scholarship and non-scholarship athletes additional funds, but the idea of a "hardship" is an interesting concept for me when it comes to scholarship athletes...especially those in football and basketball. I recall that as a student i was quite resourceful when it came to food and such things. I also recall running low on cash when I used available cash for other things I thought at the time were very important.

Again...agree 100% that our athletes...all of them...deserve more cash, but I am finding the "hardship and struggle" thing a bit hard to understand. I am more than willing to be further educated on the matter.

[BDPG]

You don't fuel an athlete's body on two or less meals per day. Some of the players living off campus are not getting the nutrition needed to perform and increase strength. I am all for requiring all athletes to live on campus and have dorm cafeterias serve higher octane food. There are many concerns when you are building a program and this is just one example.

[KRAM1]

You don't fuel an athlete's body on two or less meals per day. Some of the players living off campus are not getting the nutrition needed to perform and increase strength. I am all for requiring all athletes to live on campus and have dorm cafeterias serve higher octane food. There are many concerns when you are building a program and this is just one example.

So, you are saying that UNT has scholarship athletes who are going hungry and not getting proper nutrition because they are scholarship athletes and their stipends are too low? Do the athletes not get weighed and checked on a regular basis by the strength coach? Are UNT athletes having their health put at risk because their stipends for food are not adequate? I find this an amazing situation if true. I cannot imagine that Coach McCarney is allowing this happen. Has anyone brought this to the attention of our HC and AD?

I'm serious here folks...you can -1 me all you please...but I am asking a serious question here. If someone has this kind of claim to make against UNT than I want to get to the bottom of it. If it is more of what I was asking in my previous post, well, that's another matter all together.

IF BDPG, or anyone else, believes our scholarship athletes are being abused I want to know and I want to be part of finding a solution. To not have adequate food is a much biggter problem than just not spending stipend money wisely or choosing to spend it elsewhere.

I find this idea amazing and incredible on its face, but if true it is something we should all be working on to correct.

Once again...I am in 100% agreement that stipends to scholarship (and non-scholarship) athletes should be increased.

[Big Green]

There are several different ways, per the NCAA, to calculate the maximum monthly allowance for scholarship athletes that live off campus. It basically boils down to the average that all students pay for room and board (meal plan).

The average room and board plan at UNT for all students(per the UNT Housing website)is approximately $3,666 per semester divided by 4 months = $916.00 per month. The current monthly allowance paid to football players living off campus is $758.00 per month. It doesn't appear that we are paying as much as we are allowed to pay our off campus athletes.

[untgirl04]

There are several different ways, per the NCAA, to calculate the maximum monthly allowance for scholarship athletes that live off campus. It basically boils down to the average that all students pay for room and board (meal plan).

The average room and board plan at UNT for all students(per the UNT Housing website)is approximately $3,666 per semester divided by 4 months = $916.00 per month. The current monthly allowance paid to football players living off campus is $758.00 per month. It doesn't appear that we are paying as much as we are allowed to pay our off campus athletes.

Just thinking this through... I'm not sure what the current apartment housing rates are, but I would guess $600 or so per month (for a cheap place). That would leave $158 per month for groceries. I spend ~$300 per month for a family of three (although the little one doesn't really eat that much yet). Now, my husband and I are active, but not elite athletes, so I could find it reasonable that an athlete would need ~$200 per month for adequate food.

That would put players at around a $50 deficit for each month.

Just out of curiosity, do scholarship athletes who do choose to stay on campus past freshman year lose weight as well? I'd be very interested to look at average weight gain/loss of on campus vs off campus athletes. I'm with KRAM1 - if the students are underfunded and undernourished, then that needs to be corrected immediately.

[Big Green]

Just thinking this through... I'm not sure what the current apartment housing rates are, but I would guess $600 or so per month (for a cheap place). That would leave $158 per month for groceries. I spend ~$300 per month for a family of three (although the little one doesn't really eat that much yet). Now, my husband and I are active, but not elite athletes, so I could find it reasonable that an athlete would need ~$200 per month for adequate food.

That would put players at around a $50 deficit for each month.

Just out of curiosity, do scholarship athletes who do choose to stay on campus past freshman year lose weight as well? I'd be very interested to look at average weight gain/loss of on campus vs off campus athletes. I'm with KRAM1 - if the students are underfunded and undernourished, then that needs to be corrected immediately.

Football players burn a lot of calories. How do you expect them to get by on $200 a month? Lets figure 75 meals a month (that's 2 meals per day and third meal every other day). Just at $6.00 per meal, that's $450 just for food. That leaves $308 for rent and utilities.

[KRAM1]

Football players burn a lot of calories. How do you expect them to get by on $200 a month? Lets figure 75 meals a month (that's 2 meals per day and third meal every other day). Just at $6.00 per meal, that's $450 just for food. That leaves $308 for rent and utilities.

The cost of meals at Victory is not $6.00 when the cost is figured through a meal plan...is it? And, can not the Victory students go through the line more than once or is it a one time through and done thing? I really am trying to get to the bottom of this "our athletes on scholarship don't have enough to eat thing"...as that seems to say that the non-scholarship athletes and partial-scholarship athletes somehow do have enough to eat. Something is out of whack here. How do players getting a stipend have fewer funds than those NOT getting a stipend for food? Seriously?

Are we trying to say here that scholarship athletes are somehow missing meals that non-scholarship athletes seem to not miss? I see a good number of our football (and other athletes) on a fairly regular basis, and i don't recall any looking like thy are malnourished.

If this is just an argument or an attempt at the justification for an increased stipend to scholarship athletes I think there is a very good case to be made for that, but to claim it is because scholarship athletes at UNT are underfed, losing weight and performing poorly because they don't have enough to seat, seems both silly and counterproductive.

Having been the parent of a college player, I have some knowledge of the calorie content these kids consume and some small...yes, small idea of how the whole college athlete thing works, but for the life of me, I have never seen it purported that scholarship athletes are underfed and undernourished as a reason to support an increase in stipend. Silly.

Maybe some need a Dave Ramsey course to go along with their math and science. Just sayin....still looking for the facts here as I do want to take this issue up with Department personnel at UNT. It is disgraceful if true that our scholarship athletes are going hungry.

Please PM me with some specifics...names, etc. of athletes known to be undernourished and/or who lack adequate food. I will not give away the source, but if this is true...I am more than happy to see what the Athletic Dept. has to say about it.

PM me with the info of how this is happening and to whom and you will have me like a "bull in a china cabinet" trying to find out why and what can be done about it.

Seriously.

[GreenBat]

The Monthly Social Security payments average $1,082. This is from an Oct. 22 AP article. Just for information.

[Big Green]

The cost of meals at Victory is not $6.00 when the cost is figured through a meal plan...is it? And, can not the Victory students go through the line more than once or is it a one time through and done thing? I really am trying to get to the bottom of this "our athletes on scholarship don't have enough to eat thing"...as that seems to say that the non-scholarship athletes and partial-scholarship athletes somehow do have enough to eat. Something is out of whack here. How do players getting a stipend have fewer funds than those NOT getting a stipend for food? Seriously?

Are we trying to say here that scholarship athletes are somehow missing meals that non-scholarship athletes seem to not miss? I see a good number of our football (and other athletes) on a fairly regular basis, and i don't recall any looking like thy are malnourished.

If this is just an argument or an attempt at the justification for an increased stipend to scholarship athletes I think there is a very good case to be made for that, but to claim it is because scholarship athletes at UNT are underfed, losing weight and performing poorly because they don't have enough to seat, seems both silly and counterproductive.

Having been the parent of a college player, I have some knowledge of the calorie content these kids consume and some small...yes, small idea of how the whole college athlete thing works, but for the life of me, I have never seen it purported that scholarship athletes are underfed and undernourished as a reason to support an increase in stipend. Silly.

Maybe some need a Dave Ramsey course to go along with their math and science. Just sayin....still looking for the facts here as I do want to take this issue up with Department personnel at UNT. It is disgraceful if true that our scholarship athletes are going hungry.

Please PM me with some specifics...names, etc. of athletes known to be undernourished and/or who lack adequate food. I will not give away the source, but if this is true...I am more than happy to see what the Athletic Dept. has to say about it.

PM me with the info of how this is happening and to whom and you will have me like a "bull in a china cabinet" trying to find out why and what can be done about it.

Seriously.

I am not stating that football players are going hungry or are malnourished. I am stating that the players that live off campus(upperclassmen) are given $758 per month to cover rent, utilities and food. The cost of a 7 day meal plan is $1,550/semester or $387/month. That leaves $371/month for rent and utilities. That's why a lot of players are running out of money each month. I would like to see UNT increase the monthly allowance to the maximum allowable by the NCAA. I think this is more important than crosswalks and wind turbines.

[KRAM1]

I am not stating that football players are going hungry or are malnourished. I am stating that the players that live off campus(upperclassmen) are given $758 per month to cover rent, utilities and food. The cost of a 7 day meal plan is $1,550/semester or $387/month. That leaves $371/month for rent and utilities. That's why a lot of players are running out of money each month. I would like to see UNT increase the monthly allowance to the maximum allowable by the NCAA. I think this is more important than crosswalks and wind turbines.

I agree with the comment regarding increasing stipends. The idea that you think crosswalks and turbines are in any way related gives me pause to wonder how much you know about funding in college athletics and what "pots" money comes from for what purpose. I believe upperclassmen choose to live off campus, correct? If they have trouble with rent/food, could they not stay in Victory and have that covered for them? I'm just asking as I do not know how that works for underclassmen vs upperclassmen. If it's a choice, then sometimes folks just have to find a way to deal with the choices they make. As hard as that seems as a concept for some folks to understand, it pretty much is what these young men will face the rest of their lives. You have the freedom to make choices...with that freedom comes the responsibility to live with the results of the choices one makes.

Now, if the upperclassmen are REQUIRED to live off campus and the funds they receive for doing so are inadequate that, sir, is another matter entirely and should be addressed immediately!

[Big Green]

I agree with the comment regarding increasing stipends. The idea that you think crosswalks and turbines are in any way related gives me pause to wonder how much you know about funding in college athletics and what "pots" money comes from for what purpose. I believe upperclassmen choose to live off campus, correct? If they have trouble with rent/food, could they not stay in Victory and have that covered for them? I'm just asking as I do not know how that works for underclassmen vs upperclassmen. If it's a choice, then sometimes folks just have to find a way to deal with the choices they make. As hard as that seems as a concept for some folks to understand, it pretty much is what these young men will face the rest of their lives. You have the freedom to make choices...with that freedom comes the responsibility to live with the results of the choices one makes.

Now, if the upperclassmen are REQUIRED to live off campus and the funds they receive for doing so are inadequate that, sir, is another matter entirely and should be addressed immediately!

First of all, upperclassmen are not required to live off campus but living off campus is something that most all players look forward to. This holds true for players all across the country. I agree with your statement on choices and all that but the players are having trouble understanding why money is coming in to the athletic department ($900,000.00/Alabama game) and they don't receive as much (workout gear and allowances) as athletes at other Texas schools and other schools across the country. My previous posts explain what is allowed by the NCAA and what is actually given to the players here. One of the questions JUCO recruits ask when being recruited is "What's your monthly allowance for living off campus?"

The numbers are clear as referenced in earlier posts. This is my last post on this topic.

[KRAM1]

First of all, upperclassmen are not required to live off campus but living off campus is something that most all players look forward to. This holds true for players all across the country. I agree with your statement on choices and all that but the players are having trouble understanding why money is coming in to the athletic department ($900,000.00/Alabama game) and they don't receive as much (workout gear and allowances) as athletes at other Texas schools and other schools across the country. My previous posts explain what is allowed by the NCAA and what is actually given to the players here. One of the questions JUCO recruits ask when being recruited is "What's your monthly allowance for living off campus?"

The numbers are clear as referenced in earlier posts. This is my last post on this topic.

Please do tell...which players are having trouble understanding and to which "other" schools are they comparing UNT with? You cannot bring up this stuff and then just run off saying I through posting. If you have some inside knowledge...spill it! If not, let us know it's your opinion like most of the postings on this board.

Do the athletes in question understand athletic budgets at all? I doubt it as they are pretty busy being students and athletes. Lots of "holes" money needs to fill...do they realize what travel costs are to move a team to an away game? Do they know what the coaching salaries are across the entire athletic dept.? Do they know what the scholarship costs are for football players vs basketball players vs the other "Olympic" sports? Do they know what it takes to operate the entire range of athletic facilities on campus and pay the salaries of all the department staffers that support both football and the other sports in which UNT participates? What I am getting at here is that the athletes themselves probably have little to no "real" understanding or knowledge of the financial workings of an athletic department as big as UNT's. To see UNT gets a big payday from one game and then think there is "money to burn" and it should be passed out to the players or that UNT is "holding back" on its players while other schools lavish them with stipend dollars is just foolish and smacks of a lack of information.

Speaking of choices....they could have played elsewhere I suppose...maybe those other Texas schools you refer to were also offering them a scholarship. Must have been some reason they chose UNT over all those other schools offering them a college education in return for their service as players. I'm glad they chose UNT, and I'll bet they are as well. Complaining is normal...perhaps you should not take it so serious.

[Big Green]

Please do tell...which players are having trouble understanding and to which "other" schools are they comparing UNT with? You cannot bring up this stuff and then just run off saying I through posting. If you have some inside knowledge...spill it! If not, let us know it's your opinion like most of the postings on this board.

Do the athletes in question understand athletic budgets at all? I doubt it as they are pretty busy being students and athletes. Lots of "holes" money needs to fill...do they realize what travel costs are to move a team to an away game? Do they know what the coaching salaries are across the entire athletic dept.? Do they know what the scholarship costs are for football players vs basketball players vs the other "Olympic" sports? Do they know what it takes to operate the entire range of athletic facilities on campus and pay the salaries of all the department staffers that support both football and the other sports in which UNT participates? What I am getting at here is that the athletes themselves probably have little to no "real" understanding or knowledge of the financial workings of an athletic department as big as UNT's. To see UNT gets a big payday from one game and then think there is "money to burn" and it should be passed out to the players or that UNT is "holding back" on its players while other schools lavish them with stipend dollars is just foolish and smacks of a lack of information.

Speaking of choices....they could have played elsewhere I suppose...maybe those other Texas schools you refer to were also offering them a scholarship. Must have been some reason they chose UNT over all those other schools offering them a college education in return for their service as players. I'm glad they chose UNT, and I'll bet they are as well. Complaining is normal...perhaps you should not take it so serious.

I have posted facts concerning allowances paid to football players living off campus. You need to direct your questions to Scotty Conley or Chad Leblanc.