Barack Obama Advocates for NCAA to Grant Guaranteed Scholarships for Athletes

In an interview with Sam Stein of The Huffington Post (via The Huffington Post's Dave Jamieson), President Barack Obama spoke about his desire to see the NCAA change the rules regarding scholarships for student-athletes.

The president advocated for guaranteed scholarships that would offer more security to student-athletes, saying:

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The students need to be taken better care of because they are generating a lot of revenue here. An immediate step that the NCAA could take—that some conferences have already taken—is if you offer a scholarship to a kid coming into school, that scholarship sticks, no matter what.

It doesn't matter whether they get cut, it doesn't matter whether they get hurt. You are now entering into a bargain and responsible for them.

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The idea of guaranteed scholarships appears to be a major sticking point for those trying to push for change. Some schools grant four-year scholarships to student-athletes, but a larger number continue to use one-year rolling scholarships that are renewed or declined annually.

Obama added that he doesn't understand how college coaches and athletic directors get paid hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of dollars, but student-athletes are barred from receiving a relatively minimal benefit from an outside source.

The president didn't indicate whether he believed student-athletes should receive financial compensation, though he did speak about one of the challenges the issue presents:

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In terms of compensation, I think the challenge would just then start being, do we really want to just create a situation where there are bidding wars? How much does a Anthony Davis get paid as opposed to somebody else? And that I do think would ruin the sense of college sports.

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Although Obama can't unilaterally make sweeping changes to the collegiate landscape, CBS Sports' Jon Solomon made the point that his opinions won't fall on deaf ears:

The idea of NCAA reform is one of the more hot-button topics in sports today. The tide seems to be turning in favor of change, and the NCAA has already made some tweaks to the rules allowing schools to provide additional assistance.

Perhaps most famously, Texas A&M paid $50,000 for an insurance policy that enticed offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to stay in College Station for another season.

Whether Obama's words lead to any substantial action or not, those in favor of reform in college athletics gained a big supporter on Saturday.