“Deregulating the feeding of the student-athletes”

I thought the dumbest thing about the NCAA’s arcane food rules was the bagel topping nonsense.

It’s the NCAA; I should have known better.

“Not many kids growing up in Texas eat a bagel in the morning with nothing on it,” said University of Texas sports dietician Amy Culp.

It wasn’t that three meals wasn’t enough. It was that the athletes’ packed schedules often had them missing one or several of the dining hall time frames each day. The NCAA allowed one “training table” — a meal specifically geared for athletes — per day, but if a player had a class then he missed that window for the biggest meal of the day. When players missed their meals, they had to use money from their living stipend to find something on their own, which often resulted in bad decisions like fast food or pizza, like any college student would do.

The more often players had to use their own money, the less they had to do other things.

Stupid me, thinking the NCAA was aware student-athletes have to go to class.  D’oh!

30 Comments

Filed under The NCAA

30 responses to ““Deregulating the feeding of the student-athletes”

  1. DawgPhan

    And yet someone is bound to comment on this post that football players get unlimited food and why do they need money.

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  2. Argondawg

    So we have established that NCAA is out of touch with the needs of the student athletes and it appears that at some point we are going to start paying these athletes to play. Senator how would you go about this? I seriously want to know how we could possibly implement a system that is free market based? I am not being cynical I really want to hear the ideas out there. I haven’t found anything on the net that gives me any confidence on this topic.

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    • DawgPhan

      it’s been talked about on here to death. Lots of different ways of doing it. You and Cojones act like no one ever says anything about it. Even when the answers are in replies to your own posts.

      Allowing the players to seek payment for their name and likeness would be a free market approach that has been talked about on here for a while.

      But please feel free to complete ignore that and keep asking the same question over and over again. It’s awesome.

      Also dont bother putting any thought into yourself, just sit back and wring those soft little hands, sweetheart.

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      • Cojones

        Hey, tough guy, you still didn’t answer his question. When I mentioned Pandora’s Box long ago, I didn’t think you would infer sex.

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      • Argondawg

        Is this your blog? My question was to Bluto and you didn’t even address it. I spend most of my time reading the posts and lurking (not commenting). Do you have a plan? If so share. If your just gonna be a dick. Piss off.

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        • 3rdandGrantham

          Not to be a dick, but it’s “you’re.”

          Oh, and that particular sentence wasn’t a complete one. Also, commas are your friend.

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        • DawgPhan

          It’s awesome that you both replied to a post where I gave an example of a way to allow students to earn income while playing sports. Even better than you both complained that I didnt give an example.

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    • reipar

      A system that is a free market cannot be implemented. However, it would be very easy to follow the lead of the professional sports organizations and have a collective bargaining agreement. This would eliminate the cost of attendance nonsense that is currently being discussed and would also give the players an actual voice for their concerns.

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      • Jeffrey Kessler disagrees with your first sentence. However, if he were to prevail, I expect your prediction of the CBA would come true. (Unless the NCAA got that coveted antitrust exemption from Congress first.)

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        • reipar

          I will admit that it is a debated term, but I obviously fall on the side of any CBA negates the free market. At that point the actual changes in a market and ability to react to them is dead. I mean if the word union is involved then clearly not the free market. See Twinkies as a really good recent example.

          And please no antitrust exemption, which strangely enough is another derogation of the free market— See some times I am for free markets and some times opposed 🙂

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  3. Skeptic Dawg

    The student-athlete currently receives education, books, a dorm or housing allowance, meals, a stipend for meals on top of free meals provided in the event that he misses training table for whatever reason, clothing from the university and shoe company, elite training, medical care and personal exposure in return for his athletic ability. Now this student-athlete, who has been completely taken advantage of in this situation with zero returns in his favor, deserve to be paid? Huh. I guess that the 40K – 50k in education plus meals, clothing, training and publicity are just not cutting it.

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  4. BoroDawg

    Football players are not the only ones who get unlimited food. In Statesboro(GSU), where I live, students with meal plans can eat whenever they want, http://auxiliary.georgiasouthern.edu/eagledining/eagle-unlimited-dining-plans/
    they can eat all types of food, http://auxiliary.georgiasouthern.edu/eagledining/locations/diningcommons/
    and the hours of operation should not have a problem of meeting everyone’s needs, http://auxiliary.georgiasouthern.edu/eagledining/hours/

    I have ate at the Commons and it is good food, better than what they served at Tifton (ABAC) in the early 90’s. I am pretty sure that if football practice or tutoring got in the way of a meal, which caused an athlete to miss because it was closed, all it would take would be a phone call from the coach or AD and auxiliary services would extend the hours of operations. So basically I am not buying that student athletes go without eating when you can eat whenever you want and as much as you want Monday thru Sunday. But as far as the NCAA rules on bagels, yeah that is pretty dumb.

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  5. Gurkha Dawg

    I’ll tell you how to pay the athletes. Take 10% of the gross revenue their particular sport generates and split it up among the players. If football brings in 100 million the you split 10 million among the football players. If the girls softball brings in no revenue, then guess what? They split zero dollars. Sounds pretty fair to me. If the girls softball players want to make some money, they need to figure out how to increase revenue. Some people may think that is unfair, but I got a news flash: nothing in life is fair.

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    • DawgPhan

      And if there is softball player that could earn money from signing autographs or appearing at a local sporting goods store, she should be able to earn that money. Just because her sport doesnt earn money doesnt mean that she doesnt have value.

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      • Gurkha Dawg

        Agree 100%. If she can make some cash from appearances or running a clinic, then good for her. That’s what makes America great.

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      • Argondawg

        Right because a softball player is gonna make any real money on autographs. A second string linebacker will pull in more money than Hugo and Glasco would have combined. There is a reason that there is no cost for admission to a softball game. The disparity in pay and endorsements due to popularity and promotion are gonna be title IX nightmares. I understand your earlier statements a little clearer now. You have no idea how this could or would work. Next time just say I don’t know. At least that would be intellectually honest.

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        • DawgPhan

          If all players are free to trade on their name and likeness, then title ix doesnt apply. The outcomes dont need to be equal the access needs to be equal.

          But I am no lawyer, I certainly not a title IX expert, but that would be my interpretation. The school is not providing any extra benefit to any student. The student is simply free (as all other students are and there are no title IX issues) to trade on their name and likeness.

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    • AusDawg85

      Why 10% not 12%? Why gross not net? Devil’s in the details, which means either having agents, unions, etc. to force market-value negotiations or anti-trust exemption and a governing body that can set the rules.

      When the UGA Equestrian team wins the national championship, does that bring value to the school? If the school tauts that achievement in all sorts of promotional material and even merchandise, does that prove there was value? If that achievement results in additional Hartman Fund or other donations honoring the achievement, does that also prove value? If that does, indeed, prove value, then what is the 10% you share with the S-A’s on the Equestrian team?

      And how do you split up the money among the football players? Does the walk-on, 4th string long snapper get the same share as the Heisman winning RB? Can you provide incentive rewards to the formula if you are offering unequal shares. If you are sharing revenues, is that not considered compensation? If so, it’s taxable btw.

      I could go on…but you get the point. There is absolutely no simple answer, and each action will create another complex set of issues. I have no idea where this all ends, but no faith it ends well for fans who bought into the “traditions” of the game.

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      • I have no idea where this all ends, but no faith it ends well for fans who bought into the “traditions” of the game.

        You mean other than player compensation, it’s going well for us so far?

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    • I Think such a solution–while facially neutral–would not be viable. First and foremost, it would not alleviate policy concerns about giving wealthier programs an unfair competitive edge in recruiting. Second (just spit balling here), it’s a policy that would disproportionately favor male sports; at a minimum, this would likely invite title ix litigation. I doubt too many programs are keen on that.

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      • Cojones

        Besides, I enjoy girl’s basketball , volleyball and softball. That and our swim team and Gym Dawgs bring great value to our University. Spread the wealth like we do now.

        Guess DP will brand me as a soft commie now.

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