Paps

April 15th, 2014 at 6:51 PM ^

And I still don't see how this changes things... I'm still on the meal plan, and can get as much food as I want when the dining halls are open. Don't see how this is any different than before

massblue

April 15th, 2014 at 6:56 PM ^

there were some football players in our dorm, West Quad. Their dinning room was separate and if was open much longer than ours.  Basically they could almost all day with their meal plans. Is UM as exception? Or BIG?

MGoBender

April 15th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^

The three-meals-a-day previously allowed was in addition to a standard dorm meal plan, if I understand correctly.  If students elected to live off-campus, they were on their own other than the 3-a-day, plus the room/board stipend that they are supposed to use for rent and food.

In other words, Napier was full of shit with his "hungry" comments.

funandgun

April 15th, 2014 at 6:56 PM ^

I do like the fact the kids can eat anytime.  Some of these athletes go through a stunning amount of food for training and eating late can be almost necessary.  I was a college athlete and was always super hungry after 10 due to the calories I burned during training.  I think this is a small step the right direction.  I don't think kids should be paid, but they really should be able to eat when they want to...especially at places like Michigan.

LSAClassOf2000

April 15th, 2014 at 7:13 PM ^

Jon Solomon of AL.com had the breakdown that apparently was on the agenda at the NCAA committee meeting - the full article is (HERE).

Among other things, it allows for meals and snacks incidental to participation in times outside the season, including vacations provided there is a reason (like workouts) for the student to be on campus. Meals and snacks are also now unlimited at all conditioning, skill training and film review so long as they do not replace meals allowed as part of the scholarship. There are other details too in the article. 

Bando Calrissian

April 15th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^

There was a really amazing article a few years back (I think it might have been on Grantland) about what it was like to be a walk-on football player. They used Ohio State as an example, and went with a walk-on to the McDonalds down the street from the Horseshoe to watch him pay for and eat his dinner while his teammates went to after-practice training table. The whole thing was pretty damn sad.

This is a step in the right direction.

Tater

April 15th, 2014 at 8:43 PM ^

It's as though the NCAA is saying, "Let's stop stealing food from the mouths of those who came from disadvantaged backgrounds and maybe they won't vote for the union."

Fat chance...

JayMo4

April 15th, 2014 at 9:17 PM ^

Well this is just great.  Don't they realize that giving the players a few extra dollars worth of food destroys the purity of amateur athletics?

tdcarl

April 16th, 2014 at 2:20 AM ^

So Shabazz was "starving" becuase he couldn't afford food, meanwhile he walks around with arms full of tats and $200+ headphones. Ok.

 

Medic

April 16th, 2014 at 4:49 AM ^

Exactly. 

That said, is it possible there are a few schools that treat their athletes like total shit? Sure. 

Are the *vast* majority of schools providing their athletes everything they need food wise? Absolutely. I am glad to see walk ons getting added but I call bullshit on any scholarship athlete like Shabazz saying that he is going to bed hungry. Plan your meals better. 

West Quad had everything we needed and no one frowned if we took food back to our rooms. We'd load up on bananas, mini cereal boxes, fruits, snacks, etc. I probably spent less than $20 a week on food and drinks outside the meal plan. I would wager most D1 schools are similar even for their non revenue sports. 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

April 16th, 2014 at 8:47 AM ^

I'll anecdotally confirm the notion that Napier was full of shit.  One of my housemates in college was a football player.  He constantly brought home food from the training table.  They had access to completely free and unlimited staple stuff, courtesy of the football program, like bread and milk.  Most of the milk ended up in White Russians, but hey.

Loid

April 16th, 2014 at 9:27 AM ^

I can't believe how the so called sports journalists are buying this story, and the knee jerk administrators are frantically revising things to stave off any image harm.  This story might be just a load of crap.  A university should have to pay no more than what it would cost them to otherwise house and feed a student who is living in the dorms.  Problem is, living in the dorm cramps the style of the would-be BMOC, and the athlete chooses to live off campus, even though he may not be able to afford to do so.  Probably takes it a step further and lives by himself with no roommates so as he can properly entertain his admirers.  While the NCAA may do some things wrong, beginning with how coaches can go from school to school without repercussion while athletes need to sit a year, this isn't one of the issues.  If you can't afford to live off campus, live in the dorm, where everything is free.  Pretty damn simple, but then again, with a 0% graduaation rate for their basketball team, maybe those concepts come a little tougher at UConn.  Oh, on the other hand, thanks for taking Kentucky down.

 

 

maizenbluenc

April 16th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^

living off campus Junior and Senior year, and spending less on food and housing than the room and board they charged for the dorms. That said I wasn't eating 6000 calories a day - nor mostly lean protein - while training.

I suspect it is a combination of money management issues, and the food bill associated with training nutrition requirements.

Either way, chalk one win up for the athletes.

The other interesting tidbit: I was visting Clemson with my son last week. The athletes' dorms there are apartments. Granted Clemson is in the middle of nowhere - a one street downtown - but I imagine more of their athletes live in campus housing on the all-u-can-eat meal plan then most schools.

Student football tickets were free and every student was guranteed a seat, but you had to sign up for them each week. I am assuming their student section expands and contracts based on opponent quality, projected weather, and exam time week to week.

westwardwolverine

April 16th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^

Oh woe is the D1 college athlete. What a horrible life they must lead. Honestly, I dislike the NCAA, but I'm starting to dislike the ridiculous theme that college football players and basketball players somehow have it rough. 

Reader71

April 16th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^

It's a total load of bullshit, and it all comes from guys who think they are pros before, you know, going pro. Athletes have it made compared to the rest of the student body. That said, they are young and dumb. And entitled.

westwardwolverine

April 16th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^

We don't agree on much, but definitely on this. 

I played in college. I wasn't a D-1 athlete, but I received a full athletic scholarship. We got tuition paid for, three meals a day and free room and board. If you wanted to live off campus, you received a stipend that paid for rent up to a certain amount. It wasn't the most glamorous life you could lead, but it was free living. 

So when I hear guys like Arian Foster or Napier - who I'm sure has a much better deal than I did - say they are going to bed starving, I can't help but think "What a spoiled little punk". 

 

jdon

April 16th, 2014 at 11:27 PM ^

you guys, I think you would do well to think about the fact that you already see the players as recieving compensation.  That way when you might be able to understand the conflict more as haggling over just what is fair rather than spolied little punks...

just an idea.

jdon