NCAA approves unlimited meals for athletes

[RunInRed 16,360]

Something Jay Jacobs lobbied for ...

Division I student-athletes can receive unlimited meals and snacks in conjunction with their athletics participation, the Legislative Council decided Tuesday. The rule, which applies to walk-ons as well as scholarship student-athletes, is an effort to meet the nutritional needs of all student-athletes.

The provision of meals approved today is in addition to the meal plan provided as part of a full scholarship. Prior to this change, scholarship student-athletes received three meals a day or a food stipend.

Council chair Mary Mulvenna, associate commissioner of the America East Conference, said Tuesday’s decisions underscored the commitment to student-athletes.

“Today we took action to provide meals to student-athletes incidental to participation,” Mulvenna said. “I think the end result is right where it needs to be.”

No action is considered final until the Division I Board of Directors meets April 24.

The adoption of the meals legislation finished a conversation that began in the Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet. Members have worked to find appropriate ways to ensure student-athletes get the nutrition they need without jeopardizing Pell Grants or other federal aid received by the neediest student-athletes. With their vote, members of the council said they believe that loosening NCAA rules on what and when food can be provided from athletics departments is the best way to address the issue.

Members also voted to:

• Require strength and conditioning coaches to be certified from a nationally accredited certification body;
  
• Require a school staff member certified in CPR, first aid and arterial external defibrillation to be present at all physical, countable athletic activities;
  
• Reduce the penalty for a first positive test for street drugs during championships; and
  
• Require football players to rest for at least three hours between practices during the preseason. Film review and team meetings will be allowed during this period.
  

The penalty for testing positive for street drugs, including marijuana, will be reduced to half a season from a full season. Street drugs are not performance-enhancing in nature, and this change will encourage schools to provide student-athletes the necessary rehabilitation.

All of the adopted proposals are effective August 1, with the exception of the strength and conditioning coach certification requirement. The council members voted to delay until August 1, 2015 to allow coaches time to achieve their certification without their jeopardizing their employment.

http://www.ncaa.org/...ell-being-rules

[alexava 6,973]

i think a lot of schools were doing this anyway.

[AUbritt 611]

So now they can be breakfast, lunch, and supper athletes.

[AUFan21 58]

Soooo, do they get an unlimited food stipend? I mean they get unlimited meals.

[around4ever 4,139]

Soooo, do they get an unlimited food stipend? I mean they get unlimited meals.

Doing it this way would be a major opportunity for inappropriate benefits. I'm not sure how it will be handled but unlimited stipend won't be the way to handle it.

[WarEagle84 0]

Soooo, do they get an unlimited food stipend? I mean they get unlimited meals.

Doing it this way would be a major opportunity for inappropriate benefits. I'm not sure how it will be handled but unlimited stipend won't be the way to handle it.

I can see schools providing a stipend and unlimited "extra" food to the point that kids don't need to spend their stipend on food. They need to be careful on wording the rule so it can't be abused.

[Kisstheowl 0]

I would think the stipend stays the same while the unlimited meals will be provided for by the university.

[bdc81 89]

Nap time, really.

They don't need to treat the players like employees or children. The NCAA just needs to treat the players well, with their best interests at heart. I think the Ivy League schools got it right.

Little doc

[alexava 6,973]

i have heard various players fb and bb,(not just auburn) say (during pay for players debates) that they can literally eat from 5am to 9pm everyday. then seems like i saw they were only supposed to get 2 meals a day. i dont know about stipends but on campus they should be fed from 5am to 9pm. i think a lot of schools skirted this rule and fed the athletes anyway.

[CJBas 4]

Soooo, do they get an unlimited food stipend? I mean they get unlimited meals.

Doing it this way would be a major opportunity for inappropriate benefits. I'm not sure how it will be handled but unlimited stipend won't be the way to handle it.

It would seem the obvious way to handle it would be a cafeteria for the athletes and ID cards.

[cptau 169]

I think the ncaa was getting embarassed by the meal stituation. We make millions, but you can't have 3 meals a day 7 days a week. remember the uconn players comment on going to bed hungry?

That said some atheltes show up out of high school married or soon get married and have a couple of small children. those guys are in over their heads at a very early age and can't support their families without help. I don't think it's the school's responsibility to bail them out anymore than is done for any other student. I suppose that's where stories about food stamps/ EBT cards being used by students come from.

http://www.cnn.com/2...-napier-hungry/

CNN) -- He's one of the best basketball players in the country, and he led his team to victory in Monday night's NCAA championship game. But the University of Connecticut's Shabazz Napier recently told reporters he sometimes goes to bed "starving" because he can't afford food, despite that UConn's student-athlete guidelines include provisions for meal plans.

The remark got the attention of state lawmakers in Connecticut, who are now exploring legislative ways to allow athletes at UConn, a state institution, to unionize -- much like athletes are attempting at Northwestern University.

Rep. Matthew Lesser said he and other state lawmakers are considering legislation. Unlike at Northwestern, a private institution governed by the National Labor Relations Board, Connecticut law governs whether employees at a public institution can unionize.

"He says he's going to bed hungry at a time when millions of dollars are being made off of him. It's obscene," Lesser said. "This isn't a Connecticut problem. This is an NCAA problem, and I want to make sure we're putting pressure on them to treat athletes well."

Napier recently called the Northwestern union ruling "kind of great" and said that although he appreciates his basketball scholarship, it doesn't cover all of his expenses.

Shabazz Napier: A promise kept Ex-athlete sues NCAA for cut of profits Northwestern football team can unionize

"I don't feel student-athletes should get hundreds of thousands of dollars, but like I said, there are hungry nights that I go to bed and I'm starving," he said.

Asked whether he felt like an employee -- a key distinction cited in the labor board's Northwestern ruling -- the Huskies point guard responded, "I just feel like a student-athlete, and sometimes, like I said, there's hungry nights and I'm not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities. ... When you see your jersey getting sold -- it may not have your last name on it -- but when you see your jersey getting sold and things like that, you feel like you want something in return."

The Huskies played the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA men's basketball finals in Arlington, Texas, on Monday night. Connecticut won 60-54, fueled by a game MVP performance from Napier, who had 22 points, six rebounds and three assists.

UConn's student-athlete handbook lays out provisions for dining and says athletes can eat in any residence hall between 7 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.

"If you live off campus and your grant-in-aid includes meals, you may use your stipend to purchase an on-campus meal plan. ... This will entitle you to eat in any of the facilities," the handbook states (PDF).

Phil Chardis, a spokesman for UConn athletics, issued a statement to that effect, telling CNN that "Napier, like all our scholarship athletes, is provided the maximum meal plan that is allowable under NCAA rules. UConn does not have a cafeteria devoted specifically to student-athletes, but they have access to the same cafeterias which are available to all our students."

The comments come after a flurry of chatter about Northwestern football players challenging the long-established NCAA amateur model.

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Northwestern football players should be considered employees because of the hours they put in, the control the university has over them and the revenue they generate.

But reaction was mixed, even among those who support NCAA reform.

On Saturday, for the first time, two leaders on the Northwestern team said after a spring practice that they won't vote to unionize, and head coach Pat Fitzgerald said he told his players he didn't believe a union was in their best interest.

Hours later, NCAA President Mark Emmert called the idea "grossly inappropriate."

"It would blow up everything about the collegiate model of athletics," he said.

The players at Northwestern, led by former quarterback Kain Colter and Ramogi Huma, founder of the National College Players Association and the College Athletes Players Association, say they want better medical coverage, concussion testing, four-year scholarships that cover the entire cost of attendance and the possibility of being paid.

Northwestern is appealing the ruling to the National Labor Relations Board national office and maintains that student-athletes are not university employees but "students, first and foremost."

Huma has said the Northwestern ruling would have national implications, but he would not talk about whether other schools' teams were planning to hold union votes.

At private schools like Duke and Stanford, the process would be similar to the path taken by Northwestern's players. There have been indications that officials at those schools are closely monitoring what happens at Northwestern.

However, at public schools, the process would vary from state to state.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

Emmert has no room to talk about a "collegiate model of athletics" until he cleans up that cesspool of cheating at bammer.

[tigerman1186 537]

Back in the day we received a laundry check each month ($15), along with 3 meals at the dinning hall…don't recall anyone losing weight or being hungry….Mrs. Graves and her staff could really prepare the meals….so I don't understand this???

[PatBoCamRob 30]

I like the change. Let them eat and keep a food check, too. Would be a nice face-saving way to get them some cash for walking around, without all the violations.

[AUTUmike 79]

This new allowance extends to walk-on athletes too--which is outstanding.

[quietfan 233]

At least it eliminates things like this, which seemed ludicrous to me at the time:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10484741/oklahoma-sooners-penalized-three-student-athletes-eating-too-much-pasta

[keesler 5,923]

I like the change. Let them eat and keep a food check, too. Would be a nice face-saving way to get them some cash for walking around, without all the violations.

+1 I agree!

This new rule includes walk-on's as well, which is a GREAT thing.

[keesler 5,923]

Emmert has no room to talk about a "collegiate model of athletics" until he cleans up that cesspool of cheating at bammer.

What? These new rules are fantastic and specifically for the health and well being of every student-athlete including walk-on's. I think unlimited meals/snacks, certified S&C staff, trained staff in CPR & first aid/defibilators present during ALL activities, and requiring a 3 yr rest period between practices during pre-season training are all steps in the right direction to aid and protect the athletes. I dont' understand what the hell "bammer" has to do with this thread?

[cooltigger21 0]

I would think the stipend stays the same while the unlimited meals will be provided for by the university.

I don't know about the stipend. They get unlimited meals at university facilities. It also now extends to walk on athletes who were not eligible under the old system.

[JFDTiger80 790]

I wonder if this will mean more work for Coach Russell. Will he have to worry about the kids eating too much. Time will tell.

[WarTim 3,456]

little nicky in west vance will use the stipend to buy each 4 and 5 star player a Dodge Charger. Hey, you can't walk through a MCd's drive through......

[Weegle777 78]

One thing that people don't understand is that athletes need way more food than a normal sedentary college student. These guys' bodies are processing so many calories each day because they are burning them so fast. This is a good rule change.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

One thing that people don't understand is that athletes need way more food than a normal sedentary college student. These guys' bodies are processing so many calories each day because they are burning them so fast. This is a good rule change.

I agree with you. I hate to think of a kid going to bed hungry.

Also...as the mother of a 20 year old son in college I can tell you that he is never really full. My son works out a lot and plays intramural sports, and even he could eat 10 meals a day if he had the time. He's 6 ft. tall but he's not a really big kid by any means.

Young men that age just have huge appetites anyway, and playing demanding sports like football and basketball at that level definitely takes a lot of fuel.

[Weegle777 78]

One thing that people don't understand is that athletes need way more food than a normal sedentary college student. These guys' bodies are processing so many calories each day because they are burning them so fast. This is a good rule change.

I agree with you. I hate to think of a kid going to bed hungry.

Also...as the mother of a 20 year old son in college I can tell you that he is never really full. My son works out a lot and plays intramural sports, and even he could eat 10 meals a day if he had the time. He's 6 ft. tall but he's not a really big kid by any means.

Young men that age just have huge appetites anyway, and playing demanding sports like football and basketball at that level definitely takes a lot of fuel.

Oh yeah, I remember when I was young, I could put away pounds of food and never could gain weight.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

Soooo, do they get an unlimited food stipend? I mean they get unlimited meals.

Noooooo, they just get an extra big plate, with seconds.