Starting this month, student athletes on scholarship at some Colorado colleges and universities will get a stipend. That's plus tuition, room and board. It’s called a "cost of attendance" bonus, and it's a big change: for more than 50 years the NCAA didn't allow such compensation in addition to scholarships.
At the University of Colorado Boulder, it will come out to about $3,200 for in-state students and $3,900 for out-of-state students, according to CU Athletic Director Rick George. He spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner about what the change means for his school, and why he thinks it's "the right thing to do."
Here's what Colorado's other colleges and universities competing in Division I are doing:
- Colorado State University: Giving all of its student-athletes on scholarship an additional stipend of about $2,400 for in-state students and $3,100 for out-of-state.
- Colorado College: For members of the men's hockey team and women's soccer team, the only sports for which CC is in Division I, in-state student-athletes will get $1,405, out-of-state student-athletes get $2,142, and international students get $2,906.
- University of Denver: The school has not determined whether it will give cost of attendance stipends to student-athletes.
- Air Force Academy: Already supports costs of attendance for all of its students, including athletes. The academy technically has no scholarship athletes.
- University of Northern Colorado: Did not return a request for comment.
