Football Team Meals
The paying football players topic has been pretty hot lately. The one story that keeps being mentioned that seems to "grind my old man gears" is the old we didn't have enough money to scrounge up a pizza on a Saturday night. I don't know so I'm asking for clarification if anybody has some insight on what do these kids get to eat?
Here is what I know from watching and reading about Michigan for 40 years. I know Barwis would give them chocolate milk, Bo would give them cookies, when they go to the bowl games they eat at the nicest restraunts. I see videos of trainig table and it appears they are eating some of the best catered food you can find. It seems like they get better food than 99% of the students usually can treat themselves to.
What I don't know is how many meals a day are provided to them? Do they have access to food all year round? Is it really as good a quality as it appears?
Thanks.
Is that Alabama spends $8,000 a day to feed their team. They also spend $8,000 a day paying various players like other SEC schools, but still... I think the team eats pretty nice meals.
Training table was served Sunday through Thursday. Pizza coupons for Cottage Inn Pizza used to be handed out for Friday and Saturday's meals. The regular cafeteria meals were available to those who lived in the dorms.
I don't know if that's changed, but that's how it was 25 years ago.
Same was true about 15 years ago and sounds similar to what I hear today.
Would you say the meals were top notch, a step above the cafeteria, same as cafeteria, or it was dog shit?
Training table was good. Plentiful and good.
If the trainning table is the side room in South Quad then it's a notch above the dining hall. My impression was better ingredients same quality of preparation. I would get some of the food on occasion when the dining hall didn't have anything I could eat (gluten-free diet).
the football players on our hall would let us share their pizza coupons, we just had to make the call and pick up the pizza when it was delivered.
But I've lived in South Quad the past two years and we pretty regularly get athletes in our dining hall (bigger, better hours than West Quad's). So they definetely get the regular meal plan that covers them for every meal but Saturday night.
They also get money to pizza house
From what I remember the training table is only allowed once a day except during fall camp two-a-days when they can have 3 training table meals a day.
I worked for the team in 2007. There is more food than the players know what to do with. On top of training table, which provides three meals a day during the week, the players get:
1) Food coupons (Chits) for meals during the weekend. They can go to 3-4 different resturants in the ann arbor/campus area. I think there were 5-6 coupons and each was valued at $15. I don't remember the exact dollar amount. I do remember there was more than they could use. A few of us managers would get their leftover coupons at the end of the week.
2) There's usually avaliable food at Schembechler hall
I remember watching players come into training table, get 3 o 4 take out boxes, and leaving with enough food to feed 10 people. No one every went w/o food.
To sum up...All these stories about having nothing to eat and no money to go out on the weekend is complete bull shit. If they need cash I assume it is pretty common for them to sell their $15 food voucher to a guy on their floor for $10 and they have quality food available to them pretty much anytime.
Each chit has the players name on it so you must show ID when buying a meal with it, preventing anyone but the specific player from using it
Having plenty of food provided and "being able to go out on the weekend" are two completely different issues.
They are definitely fed.
That doesn't meant they have money to "go out", as the school doesn't provide them with means to take their girlfriend to dinner, or go to a movie.
They still get the money they would have gotten for the dorm food in their grant in aid. It all depends on whether they spend it on a 5 bedroom apartment for one person, or live like other college student, 5 to a 2 bedroom, and have the money for food.
So yeah, no one's going hungry at least.
The football team had a seperate side of the dining commons. They went up the same steps as the rest of us, but went into the left door instead of the right door. The quality and quantity of their food was much better than ours. I know this because a friend worked in the cafeteria.
When they were done, if there was massive amounts left unserved they would bring it to our side of the cafeteria. If hamburgers were on the menu, we got the shitty Soy/Mystery Meat burgers with bonechips. If they brought theirs over it was 1/3 pound real beef patties.
That's just one example.
Very telling.
as a food runner for the company (sodexo) that did the catering for the suites and special events that were help in club levels in the stadium last season... one of thing that was done for the football team was team dinner every friday night during before the season (fall practice) and during the season... i worked the team dinner after the beanie bowl, and spread of food that they got was amazing, the only complaint was there wasn't any hot sauce... the main people at sodexo met with the foootball coaches during the summer to put together a menu for the team dinners...
I mean, getting pizza on saturday nights isn't about being fed per se. I'm sure they all have great access to south quad deliciousness with pretty flexible hours. It's about being in a college town and having pocket money for all the little things students spend money on (pizza, beer, coffe, ice cream on dates, ect.) The situation is especially pronounced for a lot of athletes who don't come from backrounds where their parents can afford them much cash for being a young adult on a college campus, and not a lot of time to work at the CCRB swiping cards or the jug serving drinks to make spending money of their own.
look at the room/board and the personal expenses budget given out by the university for financial aid purposes for ALL students:
http://www.finaid.umich.edu/financial_aid_basics/cost.asp#2009-2010
once the player moves out of the dorm, these expenses are given in a monthly amount (around 1100 or so) so the athlete can pay for food (outside of training table, which they are "charged" for), rent, bills etc.
I know many athletes who after rent and bills pocket around $600 a month for their personal use.
don't think that's enough?
I went to a Division 1 school in the MAC and we would normally get around $1300/month if you lived off campus and were on full scholarship. Most of my buddies lived with three other roommates, so they'd each pay around $250-$300 for rent and another $50 for utilities. Athletes are already paid enough, no reason to pay them any more.
The athletes that you have to feel even worse for are the ones in the non-revenue generating sports. They are typically on less than half a scholarship, so not only do they have to pay for some tuition, but they can't work because their sport is already more demanding than a 40 hr per week job. Look at kids that are getting books only. If your family doesn't have money already, you're pretty much screwed for four/five years.