Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 3, 2015
Much has been written about the stipend that will be granted by ?Power Five? conference schools beginning in 2015-16 as part of radical NCAA reforms. David Jones of Pennlive.com put together an interesting story and graphic on the subject.
Now, student-athletes will not just receive tuition, books and room-and-board but also an extra amount to be used toward incidental living expenses-Little Caesar?s crazy bread, gas for the Vespa, iTunes downloads, ?Cracked? magazine subscriptions ? stuff like that. It is known in university parlance as "cost of attendance." Me? I like to call it ?kicking around cash,? or "Friday night loot."
| Big Ten Stipends |
|||
| School | In-state | Out-state | Stipend |
| 1. Penn State | $34,506 | $47,456 | $4,788 |
| 2. Wisconsin | $24,475 | $40,725 | $4,265 |
| 3. Nebraska | $22,625 | $36,545 | $3,544 |
| 4. Indiana | $24,417 | $47,270 | $3,036 |
| 5. Maryland | $24,214 | $44,507 | $3,024 |
| 6. Rutgers | $29,875 | $44,653 | $2,763 |
| 7. Illinois | $29,568 | $44,194 | $2,500 |
| 8. Ohio State | $23,589 | $40,089 | $2,454 |
| 9. Northwestern | $65,844 | $65,844 | $2,326 |
| 10. Minnesota | $25,740 | $32,990 | $2,194 |
| 11. Iowa | $20,861 | $40,191 | $2,128 |
| 12. Michigan | $26,834 | $55,254 | $2,054 |
| 13. Purdue | $23,322 | $42,124 | $1,920 |
| 14. Michigan State | $25,286 | $47,051 | $1,872 |
Based on cost-of-attendance figures cited by CollegeData.com for the 2014-15 academic calendar, the table above is a look at the miscellaneous expenses for each Big Ten school, in addition to in-state and out-of-state tuitions for each institution.
I?m sure you?re thinking what I am thinking. You know, like: How can the ?cost of attendance? figures vary so widely between some of these schools? Here is a for instance: How can Indiana have a miscellaneous expense of $3,036 and Purdue have one of $1,920? Is living in Bloomington that much more expensive than West Lafayette? Really? What am I missing? Is there price-fixing on Red Bull and NOS in Monroe County?
Also know this: Schools with a higher ?cost of attendance? figure to use it as a recruiting tool. Heck, Jones of Pennlive.com says Penn State coach James Franklin is on record recently as saying the stipend is definitely a recruiting factor. (Man, I love Franklin.) So, will coaches at schools with a low stipend lobby their athletic directors to increase it?
You betcha, is my guess. Urban Meyer probably is knocking on Gene Smith's door as I type this.
I can?t imagine Michigan?s Jim Harbaugh and Michigan State?s Mark Dantonio would be too stoked if the stipend at their schools was at the above figures in 2015-16. By July, schools must designate what their allowance will be. I have a feeling you?ll see the ?big boys? have cost-of-living allowances near the top of the Big Ten when it?s all said and done. You just wonder how big this stipend will grow to-and how wide the chasm will be among schools.
Welcome to the new world of college athletics.
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| About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
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