NCAA NCAA proposes creating new subdivision (paying athletes $$$)

[gym_dad32608]

Not sure if anyone follows college football, but the NCAA has proposed creating a new subdivision specifically targeted towards the large Power 5 programs (Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, etc). This will create a division that allows the universities to directly pay student-athletes, NIL money versus the various NFP collectives that do that now.

You might be asking what does this have to do with gymnastics? The proposal outlines that to participate in this subdivision, schools must be willing to pay AT LEAST $30,000 per year per athlete for AT LEAST half of the school's eligible athletes following Title IX rules. This would mean female athletes should have equal access to these funds as the male. One would imagine the majority of the male athletes would be the 85 roster football team, meaning an equal number of female athletes would have to be paid similarly.

Not sure how to feel about this. Of course, it would only affect the large athletic programs but it certainly would benefit gymnasts at those schools. But what about schools that don't participate? Again, its a proposal and not sure if it would even pass, but something to think about.

 

[cmg]

My husband and I discussed this last night too. I don't see how national/regional championships would be on a level playing field since those schools not paying their athletes would be competing against those that are paying their athletes. There is no way to compete against $30k per year. NIL has definitely unleashed a whole can of worms in terms of being fair to athletes and keeping competition equal. I suppose this is just a brainstorming idea that needs a lot more work, but on the face of it, I think that you are just creating professional sports teams that are getting paid less than the current NFL, NBA, WNBA etc.

 

[skschlag]

I worry that this will lead to more elimination of the non-revenue sports than we are already seeing. I would have to research it more, as I am just hearing about it now for the first time, but that is my gut reaction.

 

[Lurker]

At least the article I read, I thought the problem they are trying to solve is how different states have different NIL laws that in turn harms or helps schools in certain states. And the ultimate goal is federal regulations for a level playing field. This was just one alternative thrown out there since that will most likely not happen. I think it gets the conversation started.

 

[gym_dad32608]

I think for once, the NCAA is actually trying to be pro-active on an issue. Them sticking their head in the sand about paying athletes is what created this mess in the first place, because the courts forced them to accept it and now we have a completely unregulated mess. To me, the NCAA is trying to create a spread the wealth model that includes other sports and womens sports as well as some regulation and an even playing field for programs that participate in this new subdivision. Otherwise if you follow the trendlines, the SEC and Big 10 are just going to leave the NCAA and do their own thing on the football side and all that football money will stay with the football programs. The NCAA has been wish-casting for congress to get involved, but I think they see that congress is not really interested at least at the moment to get involved.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

I'm not sure how I feel about this yet but ran across this article.

https://www.si.com/college/arkansas/hogs-football/razorbacks-ncaa-subdivision-nil-title-xi

 

[Dahlialover]

I wonder how this might impact men’s gymnastics?

 

[gym_dad32608]

I wonder how this might impact men’s gymnastics?

If it goes through, it would be negative to mens gymnastics in my opinion. Because of Title IX, all the men's slots would be taken by the football program. The women's programs would essentially be a cost of doing business.

 

[JBS]

 

[JBS]

This is really interesting and I really don't understand it. When my daughter was doing officials and listening to the scholarship offers... some of them already came with "stipends". For example... this $1,500/month is for food that you purchase.