Texas announces plan to pay athletes, thanks to Supreme Court ruling

Texas announces intention to pay athletes; Other universities should follow

In June, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Alston v. NCAA that universities could provide financial benefits to athletes beyond the scope of scholarships and benefits such as food. The court ruled that financial rewards for academic achievement should be allowed, and judges Neil gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh the two cities establish antitrust laws in their opinions. Now schools, including the University of Texas, are taking advantage of this decision.

Beginning in the spring of the 2022 semester, Texas will be offering an “Academic Achievement Award” to “Eligible Longhorn Student-Athletes”. The prize will be $ 2,990 per semester or $ 5,980 for each academic year, but it is not known what the requirements will be to win this prize. Texas’ much-vaunted swim programs, including the reigning Longhorn National Champion Men, should be eligible for this award.

“We are delighted to be able to provide our student-athletes with the additional, but equally important, support to continue to launch programs focused on their academic engagement and success,” said the Texas athletic director. Chris Del Conté said in a Press release. “Our student-athletes have a wonderful opportunity to engage in a world-class academic experience while pursuing athletic excellence at the highest level.

“We take a holistic approach to the academic and athletic experience while strongly encouraging our student-athletes to pursue meaningful and beneficial coursework. “

Texas is not the only school that is considering implementing such a program that offers direct payment to athletes. A report of Illustrated sports last month revealed that Ole Miss had already started handing out funds to her athletes, and all athletes who met the academic requirements were paid $ 2,990, including guests (though some students had their checks to reimburse federal student loans). Ole Miss does not have a swim and dive program, so no swimmer has yet received these payments.

Other Power Five schools could announce plans to implement such programs in the near future, although there have been no public announcements at this point. Some schools fear that granting such payments to athletes could create inequalities in Olympic sports such as swimming, creating a wedge between schools with significant financial resources and schools without, but these payments are likely to become the norm. among universities with abundant resources over the next several months.

Related