The Pac12 Conference announced major changes regarding scholarships and medical benefits for student athletes on Monday. At LWOS, this subject has been discussed in the past in this piece by our Donald King, just prior to Judge Wilken’s decision in the O’Bannon case.
In a vote of the university presidents and chancellors throughout the conference, the Pac 12 announced that all athletic scholarships, in every sport, will now be guaranteed for four years. Historically, while the schools and athletes verbally commit to each for four years, the scholarships have been on a year-to-year basis and renewable at the unilateral discretion of the schools’ athletic departments. Student athletes are still free to leave early if they are draft eligible or want to transfer, but they are no longer at risk of losing their scholarships subjectively.
Major reforms passed today by @pac12 presidents and chancellors will support student-athletes http://t.co/B6wYIZgsyS pic.twitter.com/wDwsSWJXVa
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 27, 2014
Under the new provisions, any student-athlete who does leave prior to the conclusion of their eligibility, will have the reminder of their four year scholarship “banked” for them. They can return at any time and use the remainder of the scholarship account to finish school and earn their degree. Essentially, if a football player leaves after his junior year to go to the NFL, he is still welcome to go back to his university in his time and finish his degree at the school’s expense. While many football or basketball players who leave early can afford to finish their education at their own expense, the changes announced Monday cover all student athletes in every sport. If an athlete from a non-revenue sport leaves early for any reason, they can also return and finish, utilizing the remainder of the scholarship account.
The presidents and chancellors also approved extended medical coverage for student-athletes. Currently, athletes are covered by the school as long as they are still enrolled and participating in their sport. With the new provisions, any athlete injured while playing sports for the athletic program will have medical coverage for up to four years after they leave the school. This was an issue particularly supported by a committee of conference student-athletes that worked in advisory capacity with the presidents and chancellors. In the past, if an athlete was no longer able to compete in their sport due to an injury, they would lose their scholarship and their medical coverage. The new guidelines allow for both to still be maintained.
The committee announced a loosening of in-conference transfer rules. To this point, any NCAA athlete who transfers from one school to another has to sit out one year. The Pac 12 has had a long standing rule, intended to discourage intra-conference transfers. Any athlete transferring from one Pac 12 school to another had to sit out two years and was not on current scholarship rosters. The two-year sitting period still exists, but the athlete can receive their scholarship from their new school.
One of the scholarship issues not addressed by the conference with the changes is the five years athletes currently have to finish their four years of athletic eligibility. Under the new rules, the scholarships are guaranteed for four years. But under current NCAA rules, student athletes can redshirt one year, not play in any games, and still maintain their four years of athletic eligibility. The redshirt athletes are still on scholarship at the school. However, the Pac 12’s new rules guarantee a scholarship fund for four years, not five, for each athlete, which would be an issue almost exclusively for football.
The changes, similar to many being discussed in other conferences, are also an attempt by the Pac 12 to fend off the type of unified movement among student athletes for better financial and medical care, that led to the vote by Northwestern University football players to unionize this past Summer. That vote has yet to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott said the reforms are intended to address , “various health and financial concerns that student-athletes have expressed to me in many conversations I have had with them.” He said the conference’s goal was to ensure they are able to still have their collegiate sports experience while still working towards a college degree.
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