After years of arguing the issue, the NCAA agreed Wednesday to grant Division I-A athletes permission to have jobs during the academic year. The NCAA said athletes at nearly 300 schools will be allowed to have a part-time job starting in August. Details have not been finalized and will be further discussed at NCAA committee meeting next month.

Despite the ruling, Cross, a full-scholarship athlete, believes there is not enough time for athletes to work. He plans not to utilize his options next season.

I really don’t agree with it because we’ve got games and are on the road a lot, Cross said. I don’t think it’s a good suggestion.

Advertisement

We should be able to work, but we just don’t have the time. The [Athletic] Department should come up with something to get us a little extra money.

The idea might be more entertaining for athletes who are not under full scholarships. Under the new rules, all Division I-A athletes must be enrolled for one year at the University to be eligible. They will be able to earn up to $2,000 a year.

Director of Financial Aid Pam Britton said athletes must meet the same requirements of regular students.

Our procedures for student employment will remain the same for athletes or non-athletes, Britton said.

But SIUC volleyball coach Sonya Locke, whose team is allowed only one full scholarship per year, does not expect many of her players to have jobs.

Locke said the demanding schedule of an athlete will cause interference. Her team practices two hours daily and plays about 30 games during the fall semester.

To be really honest, I don’t think it really matters because for the most part they aren’t going to have time, Locke said. Between the time we take away from with practices, I can’t see that happening.

Advertisement*

Concerns with athletes missing class time and declining grade point averages surface when the idea is mentioned. SIUC Assistant Athletic Director Nancy Bandy said the extra money will prevent athletes from coming to her with money problems, but it is not only poor academic performances she fears.

The new guidelines create possibilities for the ruling to be abused, especially by the major universities. Higher-paying and less stressful jobs might be an effective recruiting tool for larger schools with more money to offer.

Also, athletes will not be required to work strictly on campus. This can provide the perfect opportunity for athletic club boosters, who own local businesses, to take advantage of the system.

Bandy said it will be difficult for the rest of the Athletic Department to regulate the behavior of the athletes and boosters.

I have mixed feeling about it because on the one hand, yes, I do want them to have the opportunity, but I do worry, Bandy said. It’s going to cause a deal of more work for me in terms of monitoring.

This is one area where we have had a lot of violations and not necessarily just at SIU. I think only time will tell how good it will be.

Bandy hopes the boosters learned a valuable lesson from the last time SIUC experienced NCAA regulation problems. In 1985, the men’s basketball team had questions raised about accepting gifts from alumni.

Most of our boosters, I think, learned back in 1985 when we had a major one in basketball, Bandy said. It can hurt the whole program and not just one sport.

So, I’m hoping that people in this community who help us out will be very honest and attempt to do it right. If not, it’s going to be the athlete and athletic program that’s going to get penalized more than the booster. We’ll do the best that we can and trust that the athletes follow the rules, as well as the boosters.