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Author Topic: Clemson: Fans won’t pay for athletic stipend  (Read 2225 times)

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Clemson: Fans won’t pay for athletic stipend
« on: January 28, 2015, 09:16:55 AM »
Clemson: Fans won’t pay for athletic stipend
By Mandrallius Robinson, geenvillenewssc.com


The cost of attendance legislation was a telegraphed punch. According to Clemson University associate athletic director of finances and facilities Graham Neff, his department saw it coming and has been prepared to absorb the blow And to shield its impact from fans.

On Jan. 17, representatives from the five major NCAA Division I conferences voted to expand the athletic scholarship to include the full cost of attendance. In addition to tuition, room, board, books and fees, schools are allowed, but not mandated, to cover incidental costs, including travel and personal expenses.

According to Neff, Clemson University instantly adjusted its scholarship model. He said, starting next season, Clemson will offer all 450 scholarship athletes a cost-of-attendance stipend.

The University of South Carolina preemptively committed to expanding scholarships in September as part of theGamecock Student-Athlete Promise. According to senior associate athletic director Charles Bloom, USC administrators still are developing a definitive plan to implement the new legislation.

At Clemson, full scholarships will include an annual stipend, which Neff estimated at $3,608 per athlete according to figures calculated by the admissions department for the current academic year. Neff said athletes on partial scholarships will receive a benefit proportionate to the percentage of the scholarship.

According to Neff, the stipends impose an additional annual expense of approximately $800,000. Neff said a twoyear head start has aided Clemson’s fundraising arm, IPTAY, in managing the expense.

“When I got here to Clemson in March of 2013, one of the first things we did was sit down and assess this potential expense increase,” Neff said. “We needed to make sure we put it on our five-year forecast.”

According to figures compiled byUSA TODAY , last year, Clemson generated $69.1 million in revenue and $67.1 million in expenses. The stipends would increase those expenses by 1.2 percent.

According to Neff, Clemson fans will not feel the impact of the increase. He asserted that no additional fees or ticket price increases are planned in conjunction with the expanded scholarships.

Neff said revenue increases expected from the College Football Playoff and television rights agreements will assist athletic departments in covering increased costs.

“There’s certainly revenue generating and cost increases that go on with the rest of our business, but none of that is directly tied to the cost-of-attendance expense,” Neff said. “It is not a small cost and needs planning for, but we feel like we're in a good spot to certainly begin to support this as comprehensively as we can.”

In October, the University of Texas announced that it was prepared to pay a yearly stipend of $10,000 to each athlete. In addition to the full cost of attendance, a portion of that stipend would be awarded in exchange for the school’s use of players’ names, images and likenesses.The NCAA has not yet granted schools authority to compensate athletes in that manner.

“The NCAA’s governing structure continues to change, and never before has the focus been so squarely on the needs of the student-athletes and their experiences while in college,” Virginia Tech president Dr. Timothy Sands said last week, after announcing the university’s plans to award a stipend of approximately $2,500 to each of its full scholarship athletes.

The NCAA legislation stipulates that admissions officers must calculate the cost of attendance for athletes by the same federal guidelines used to determine cost of attendance for all students. Thus, stipend amounts will vary from program to program.

The U.S. Department of Education authorizes financial aid officers to use their professional judgment to assess the cost of attendance on a case-by-case basis. However, Neff asserted that he does not expect coaches, administrators or players to influence stipend increases, because adjusting those figures could affect aid opportunities for the general student body.

“Sometimes we in athletics need to understand our role, at least financially, within a larger institution,” Neff said. “The idea that coaches or athletic departments could significantly influence that cost of attendance number I think might be a little naive in a sense that we are part of such a bigger organization that has much more magnitude of financial impact and potential.”

The NCAA has granted governing autonomy to the Power Five Conferences, the Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Pacific 12, Big12 and Big Ten. Their vote on the cost of attendance extends that liberty to all Division I programs.

Yet, some smaller programs may not manage the expense as smoothly as Clemson, Virginia Tech and Texas. Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond have announced plans to add stipends, but only for men’s and women’s basketball.

Neff said he hopes discrepancies in stipend amounts will not be utilized as recruiting pitches.

“There’s all this payfor- play discussion and professionalism of amateur athletics,” he said. “But I think what a lot of college administrators and coaches and athletes keep coming back to, as ground zero, would be the value of a four-year education. Really, that's the value.”

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