LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer
The Big Ten said Tuesday that it supports guaranteed four-year scholarships and improved medical coverage for its athletes.
The league announced in a statement signed Tuesday by its 14 presidents that it proposes working within the NCAA structure to provide greater academic security for its athletes by guaranteeing scholarships for four years, even if an athlete can no longer compete or has left for a professional career.
The Big Ten also said the NCAA must do “whatever it takes” to compensate athletes for the full cost of their college education as defined by the federal government — rather than just tuition, fees and room and board.
The conference also said it would like to review the NCAA rules on medical insurance and provide more consistent coverage.
“We have an obligation to protect their health and well-being in return for the physical demands placed upon them,” the league said.
The NCAA has been sued by a number of former athletes over compensation issues challenging the organization’s bedrock of amateurism.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney testified last week at an antitrust trial against the NCAA filed by former UCLA star Ed O’Bannon.
The league said Delaney conveyed sentiments long supported by the conference and its members, and the Pac-12 and SEC have recently released statements closely mirroring the Big Ten’s proposals.
The Big Ten also reiterated its opposition to a “pay-for-play” system for football and men’s basketball players, arguing that compensating those players will “skew the overall academic endeavor” for all of its students.
The league said that using the revenue generated from football and basketball players to compensate those athletes would force member schools to reduce funding or even eliminate some non-Olympic sports while creating “intolerable” inequities.
“The amateur model is not broken, but it does require adjusting for the 21st century. Whether we pay student-athletes is not the true issue here. Rather, it is how we as universities provide a safe, rewarding and equitable environment for our student-athletes as they pursue their education,” the league said.
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