Texas Tech Football And Full-Cost Scholarships

By VF Castro | Jul 29, 2015

One of the issues addressed in Dallas at Big 12 Media Days last week was full cost of attendance increases, and how the changes will affect Texas Tech Football players, and athletes from other major programs.

One thing fans have always grappled with is the idea that student-athletes are well compensated through what they’ve essentially declared as “free” room and board, “free” tuition, and other “free” benefits of being a student-athlete.

What most fail to realize is how few schools or conferences have increased stipends for the actual cost of attendance, given inflation, increased fuel costs, and the economy in general. Couple that with the fact that most student-athletes can’t have jobs because of scheduling demands and volunteer work, and many are left in a bind that could financially cripple them even after graduation.

For most, spending the majority of their extra time in high school on the field and in the weight room trying to add a higher star rating and more scholarship offers isn’t an option, because those scholarship offers are literally the only way they’ll ever be able to attend college. And for the longest time, the general public has vilified and called them “greedy” for complaining about their financial situations once they’ve enrolled in college.

We live in an era where players are filing class action lawsuits against video game manufacturers, and winning. We live in an era where the longterm damage athletes are suffering for entertainment value is being highlighted every single day, as brain tissues are being sampled, and former players are offering themselves up for science just to try and uncover answers to create a safer environment for future generations; for our children, and grand children.

So after decades of proposed legislation, there will finally be some harmony between those who make millions on the business and coaching side of the ball, and those who play.

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Starting this calendar year (2015-16), Power 5 conferences will be providing increased scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance, which will cover room and board, books, fees, and other miscellaneous expenses that end up on tuition bills each semester. In addition to the basic academic expenses, the increased stipend will allow student-athletes a little more cash for discretionary spending.

"Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal broke down the numbers for the stipend increases, “$4,820 — $2,300 earmarked for transportation, $2,120 for personal/miscellaneous expenses and $400 for academic supplies.”"

The Hub City is off the beaten path for many Texas Tech Football players, student-athletes in other sports, and the majority of Tech’s student body in general. With that taken into consideration, this is why the funds allocated for transportation are so high.

Texas Tech center Jared Kaster, told Williams that due to his hometown of Altair, Texas (Houston) being about 500 miles away, “I’ll probably be using that for food, most likely.”

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury used to be in the position of many student-athletes trying to navigate the waters of making responsible choices in college, and appears to support the reform, but with a caveat.

"“I’m always for as much as we can give the athletes, the better,” Said Kingsbury. “My only concern is where are the funds going to go exactly? Are they going to go to what we intend them to be used for, which is food, housing, clothing, bettering their experience as a college student-athlete and not on frivolous things?"

Like many coaches and administrators, Kingsbury wants to give this a trial run to see how student-athletes are handling themselves. But could adopt Texas’ model of putting some of the money into a trust for athletes for when they graduate or go pro. Again, the hope in all of this is not to allow student-athletes the flexibility to acquire NFL-caliber shoe closets, but to make sure they’re setting themselves up for success after sports, by learning how to make smarter financial decisions.

From August-May, Texas Tech student-athletes will receive a monthly payment of $482 dollars in addition to the numbers previously discussed. This increase will add an additional $1.2 million (give or take) to Texas Tech’s annual budget that’s expected to reach about $76.1 million, according to Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt.

With concern of potential corruption by universities increasing stipends as a recruiting advantage, Williams points out that the cost of attendance is determined by each institutions’ financial aid offices, and has nothing to do with athletic departments. And in trying to promote financial responsibility among student-athletes, ethical standards have to be set by institutions to ensure this model will work for the future.

Not too long ago, the NCAA was so restrictive in what it allowed member institutions to do, that even something as small as a single-use package of cream cheese was limited to one per recruit on visits.

Now, colleges are offering unlimited training table meals, snacks, nutritional supplements for optimal recovery, and nutritionists to help student-athletes maintain healthy choices on campus. Additionally, four-year scholarships are now the standard, as opposed to one-year renewable scholarships, so that alone shows recruits and their families how invested the team offering is to begin with.

College athletics and its business model is improving for all parties on a daily basis. And while there’s still much to be improved upon, most can agree that for the first time in a very long time, a solid path is being laid for the future.

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