The Southern Conference announced on Monday, September 14th that it will permit schools to, if they deem fit, grant student athletes a stipend labeled as a “cost of attendance” for the academic year of 2016-2017. After deliberating for about a week after the announcement the community, the Board of Visitors, and General Peay ended up at the decision that they will not endorse the NCAA cadets with an extra sum of money in order to cover the “cost of attendance.”
One of the administration’s arguments against the stipend is that the stipend would create tension between some members of the corps. Approximately 30% of cadets are currently participating in NCAA sports and even among these athletes, the stipend amount is not required to be the same amount. Head Football Coach Scott Wachenheim agrees with this argument and says, “VMI believes in a “commonality of the purpose” among the student body, and funding the full cost of attendance would create a “have/have not” division between athletes and non-athletes.”
With schools such as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga electing to provide certain students this stipend, some people have begun to worry how this will affect VMI’s recruitment program. One NCAA athlete, when asked whether (s)he would have elected to attend a different school, had they offered the same scholarship (s)he is currently receiving plus a cost of attendance stipend, (s)he immediately responded, “Yes.” He or she then continued, “I chose my school, not based on the strength of the team but, based on what would have helped pay for my entire education which includes the extra-curricular expenditures.” Coach Wachenheim on the other hand, who attended the United States Air Force Academy and understands the situation at VMI more than many give him credit for, disagrees. When asked for his opinion, he said that the lack of a stipend “will be a non-issue in recruiting. People come to VMI for the VMI education and leadership training. A VMI degree gives young men and women earning power for a lifetime which is far more valuable than a small stipend for a few years.”
Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina has also elected to put off the decision until a later date saying that they would rather “remain committed to providing the best liberal arts education for all of our students…” The Citadel, a senior military college similar to VMI, in Charleston, South Carolina is yet to make a decision and Athletic Director Jim Senter gave The Post and Courier a statement. He explained, “The Citadel will remain focused on utilizing our resources to enhance the experience for all 350 of our cadet-athletes. Our senior athletic administrators are constantly evaluating ways to rise to the next level in every aspect of our athletic department, and we will announce specific plans as they are implemented.”
As the times change and more and more schools release their statements either in favor or against the concept of paying for student athletes “cost of attendance,” policies and ideas will continue to change.