Economic Disparities on College Campuses

Many have heard or read about the following scenario which is now prevalent on many Division One college campuses. On one side you have a college student who is financially challenged in paying for her/his tuition, related costs, housing, food, and expenses each semester. It is like a puzzle to make ends meet in order to pay for college expenses during their academic careers constantly checking one’s bank account balance and hoping that financial assistance will come through. Living off of Cup Noodle and other instant food is the norm, if not occasionally skipping meals due to a lack of funds. This is not the most conducive environment for higher learning.

On the other side, you have a talented student-athlete who is earning six figures in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) from boosters. Granted, the student-athlete is putting in a good portion of his/her time and energy with classes, homework, study hall, practice, training, meetings, medical treatment, travel, and games. However, the major differences is that money and costs are taken care of due to NIL. Meals and housing are taken care of, along with transportation to and from class.

Before NIL, student-athletes received a full-ride scholarship which covered tuition, room and board, along with a Cost of Attendance (COA) Stipend which was anywhere from $2000 to $5000 a year depending on the university. Many non-athlete students would only dream and welcome such a financial assistance arrangement.

It is common to have such economic and salary disparity in one university classroom. One student is struggling to pay for and make sacrifices to earn a college degree. The other student-athlete is simply there to remain eligible in order to college his/her NIL money. There is no intention of earning a degree with many of these fortunate and privileged college athletes. It has gotten to the point where college athletes are choosing remain in school and prolong their college careers in order to cash in on lucrative NIL deals.

Will anyone stand up to say that something is wrong with this insane picture?

True College Football
September 16, 2026