A new school year is upon us and with it comes the dawning of a new age in college athletics.
For the first time ever, big-time colleges and universities are providing direct payments to their athletes. By that, we mean, legal and above-board direct payments.
That’s thanks to a settlement of a lawsuit filed by former athletes seeking to be properly compensated for their contributions to the collegiate athletic experience, as everyone else besides got their money, but not the people who make those fall Saturday afternoons possible.
Schools at the higher end of the sports food chain are all obligated as a part of the settlement to pay their athletes roughly $20 million annually.
Members of the big conferences, the Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Southeastern are all required to quote opt-in unquote to the terms of the settlement.
Meanwhile, smaller schools from smaller leagues, had the option to join in to the plan or stay out.
Most jumped in. The Washington Post reported that of the 366 schools that are a part of the NCAA’s Division I, the largest of the three divisions, 310 opted in.
So, to repeat, it’s a new day in the 100,000-seat football stadiums and 20,000-seat basketball arenas and in schools where the facilities are a lot smaller.
Amateurism, if it ever did exist on the college level, is dead and gone, replaced by a model that, in theory, is fairer and more equitable to the athletes.
No doubt, you’re wondering who is paying for all this. Well, the easy answer, in some cases, is television.
Those big conferences, especially the SEC and Big Ten, have billion dollar deals in place with multiple network partners.
Their wealth is distributed among the many schools in their leagues, thus the unwieldy size and unholy geographic alliances that, for instance, have Oregon and Maryland playing for the same conference championships.
The more difficult answer to the question of who’s footing the bill is, well, you, especially if you have a son or daughter who is enrolled in one of those 310 Division I schools.
Oh, you may not think so, but take a look at your kid’s bill. According to the website Front Office Sports, there’s a pretty good chance that your college or university of choice is peddling some of those costs onto you through the vehicle of student fees.
Here’s a dirty little secret of academia: Every student pays for things they may never use through student fees. Kids who never set foot in a stadium or arena for a game nonetheless help to prop up athletic departments through those pesky fees.
Well, some schools are taking a step further by introducing the concept of auxiliary fees. South Carolina and Clemson, two football hotbeds, are hitting their students with an additional $300 of auxiliary fees. And the Florida university system is permitting over $22 million in auxiliary fees to go to schools for athletics.
Don’t think your child’s schools haven’t or won’t do the same. After all, the cost of getting to that new frontier ain’t cheap.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan. I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.
