The NCAA has introduced some welcome changes to collegiate athletics — most notably, tougher academic standards. It makes sense to seek good academic performance from college athletes, because most of them will not go on to a career in the pros and will need to rely on their education for their livelihood.
But we wonder about the wisdom of another of the NCAA’s recent decisions: to give conferences the option to let their colleges provide students who are on “full” athletic scholarships up to $2,000 per year in spending money beyond what they get through the scholarships for tuition, room, board, books and fees.
The head of the NCAA insisted that the $2,000 does not amount to “pay for play.” And perhaps that is not the intention behind giving the money. Maybe the goal is merely to cover reasonable, incidental expenses for athletes — particularly for those from low-income families.
But we have to wonder whether that newly permitted $2,000 per year will grow over time. If it does, it seems likely to up the ante in schools’ efforts to attract talented young athletes. It may disadvantage smaller schools that simply cannot afford to offer the money.
If colleges and universities are going to offer student athletes extra cash on top of full scholarships, it would seem to be time at last to drop the label “amateur” from college athletics.