Free Market Recruiting: A New Role for Cost of Attendance

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Free Market Recruiting: A New Role for Cost of Attendance

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[su_spacer size=”20″] In January , exercising their new found independence, the Power5 conferences gained approval for full cost of attendance scholarships. That’s great, schools throw student-athletes a bone and the athletes stop all of the silly unionization talk from last year – right? Unfortunately, the Power5 planners seem to have failed to consider one unintended consequence of the new legislation. Universities set their own cost of attendance number, leaving the (recruiting) foxes in charge of the henhouse.

 

Here’s a chart from Saturday Down South showing  current cost of attendance figures set by various schools around th Had with ad with e country:

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INSTITUTION OLD SCHOLARSHIP NEW SCHOLARSHIP DIFFERENCE
Tennessee $23,710 $29,376 $5,666
Auburn $23,578 $29,164 $5,586
Louisville $19,142 $24,344 $5,202
Mississippi State $17,294 $22,420 $5,126
Texas Tech $18,944 $24,044 $5,100
Penn State $29,810 $34,598 $4,788
TCU $50,940 $55,640 $4,700
Oklahoma $19,341 $23,955 $4,614
Oklahoma State $18,180 $22,740 $4,560
Ole Miss $18,204 $22,704 $4,500
Wisconsin $20,678 $24,994 $4,316
Texas $21,552 $25,862 $4,310
South Carolina $21,414 $25,565 $4,151
Kansas State $18,194 $22,306 $4,112
Arkansas $19,064 $23,066 $4,002
Florida State $17,800 $21,684 $3,884
Baylor $50,278 $54,160 $3,882
Nebraska $19,762 $23,448 $3,726
Missouri $21,040 $24,704 $3,664
Clemson $23,304 $26,912 $3,608
Utah $19,448 $23,022 $3,574
Cal $28,616 $32,168 $3,552
Washington State $24,634 $28,176 $3,542
Arizona State $21,851 $25,209 $3,358
Florida $17,230 $20,550 $3,320
Arizona $21,900 $25,200 $3,300
Pitt $29,024 $32,324 $3,300
Maryland $21,342 $24,504 $3,162
LSU $24,192 $27,288 $3,096
Kansas $17,288 $20,364 $3,076
Indiana $21,382 $24,418 $3,036
Rutgers $27,012 $29,933 $2,921
Alabama $24,542 $27,434 $2,892
Miami $59,162 $61,942 $2,780
Vanderbilt $61,470 $64,250 $2,780
Virginia Tech $20,960 $23,739 $2,770
Texas A&M $19,764 $22,470 $2,706
Washington $24,433 $27,112 $2,679
Stanford $62,540 $65,165 $2,625
Ohio State $22,198 $24,800 $2,602
Georgia $20,082 $22,680 $2,598
[su_spacer size=”40″] Cost of attendance numbers are set by each school as a federal requirement. The numbers were originally to be used as information for prospective students in making a fully informed choice about college education. Using the same numbers to pay athletes sets up a conflict of interest within the University.

 

Raising the number for the purpose of competitiveness in athletic recruiting will have the opposite effect on recruiting for the general student population.  Of course, the fact that you are reading this article would suggest that you have a keen interest in UGA athletics and probably come down on the side of Georgia adjusting its cost of attendance numbers for the purpose of athletic recruiting competitiveness.

 

Obviously, we are at the threshold of competitive bidding for the services of student athletes. If the Power5 conferences do not cap CoA numbers we will arrive at an athlete free market in short order.

 

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Greg is closing in on 15 years writing about and photographing UGA sports. While often wrong and/or out of focus, it has been a long, strange trip full of fun and new friends.