NCAA Vote Expands Athletic Scholarships: Latest Details and Reaction

Concluding what has been a busy week for the NCAA, a momentous vote has changed what a scholarship will cover for student-athletes. 

According to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, representatives from the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) overwhelmingly voted to adopt a new policy that dramatically increases all of the items covered by a traditional scholarship:

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The vote, taken during the NCAA's annual convention, redefines an athletic scholarship so that it can cover not only the traditional tuition, room, board, books and fees, but also the incidental costs of attending college. That means a scholarship will now be able to pay for items including transportation and miscellaneous personal expenses.

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Berkowitz notes that the vote was 79-1 in favor of the new policy, with the 80 voters being made up of the 65 Power Five schools and 15 athlete representatives, three from each conference.

Prior to the convention, Berkowitz spoke with South Carolina president Harris Pastides about what the NCAA was looking to accomplish.

"I think it's an opportunity to, if I may say, re-plant the flag and say that the NCAA is an organization of universities that know what they're doing and can come together even with diverse perspectives and do what's right for student-athletes," Pastides said. 

Changes include a loss-of-value insurance, which "can help athletes if an injury while playing college sports results in an athlete getting less money from a professional contract than they might have otherwise gotten," per Berkowitz. There's also a new policy that prohibits schools and coaches "from choosing not to renew an athlete's scholarship for athletic reasons."

Per Ralph Russo of The Associated Press, two conferences were against the policy of guaranteeing four-year scholarships:

ESPN's Joe Schad noted this change may not be completely positive, at least from the perspective of the coaches and schools:

Berkowitz notes that these changes will go into effect on August 1, 2015. This is a huge change for the NCAA, and it's a positive one for student-athletes. It's not exactly paying players for what they do on the field or courts, but it's as close to that as this organization has ever been. 

Scholarships do cover the tuition costs to attend college, but according to the National College Players Association, athletes on a full ride still face a $3,000 annual shortfall. Credit the Power Five voting representatives for recognizing this reality and taking necessary steps to help.