NCAA Approves Extra Funds for Athletes but We're Still Far from Pay for Play

The NCAA approved the increase of scholarship money to better cover the full cost of attendance, today by up to $2,000.

Schools are not required to participate in this but the NCAA suggested that each conference should “consider common application within their membership.”

This is a big moment in history for the organization and all of college athletics but some, think it isn’t enough.

Proponents of the “pay for play” system will still not be happy with this extra money because it pales in comparison to the money brought in by college athletics for the schools and NCAA.

Make no mistake about this plan, it does not mean we are any closer to a pay for play system.

NCAA president Mark Emmert has stated repeatedly that he is not for paying college athletes more than the full cost of attendance and the $2,000 was meant to better cover that and nothing else.

Unless Congress decides to launch an investigation into the NCAA, there is no way that it is happening until Emmert leaves, but he will probably be replaced by someone else who doesn’t believe in paying student athletes.

It is not a secret that college athletics has changed drastically since media groups like ESPN and FOX have paid huge sums of money in order to broadcast these games and the players want some of it. Just this week, over 300 athletes from Arizona, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Purdue and UCLA signed a petition to receive a cut of money brought in from television contracts.

The petition is likely nothing more than a piece of paper but it has gotten people talking about what is fair in paying student athletes. The thing is, this additional $2,000 does little to nothing to solve the issue of agents and still does not give the athletes any part of the television contracts, which is what the pay for play people want.

Unfortunately for them, this issue will not be discussed by the NCAA for at least three years.

Maybe then if Mark Emmert is gone, pay for play will become a possibility. Until then, this extra $2,000 will have to do.