Contrary to an ESPN report, Purdue’s athletic director said Big Ten officials never discussed a proposal that would pay athletes, in addition to their scholarships, to help cover living expenses .
A Thursday article titled “Big Ten considers pay proposal,” ESPN reporter Brian Bennett reports that Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany “said league athletic directors and officials have seriously discussed whether they should use some of their growing TV revenue to pay athletes more.”Purdue Athletic Director Morgan Burke said he is not aware that any proposal is being discussed and that such a decision would have to come from the NCAA.
“It’s not a Big Ten decision,” he said.
The proposal would add to what the department already pays out in scholarships, which Burke said it could not afford. The rising tuition costs have already put a burden on his department and adding cost of living expenses would only make it worse.
“I don’t know where you get the money even if someone thought that was a nice thing to do,” Burke said.
Ohio State’s athletic director, Gene Smith, is quoted in the ESPN article as saying that schools that cannot afford the tuition should simply not consider paying those expenses.
“The reality is, if there’s a cost of attendance and you can’t afford it, don’t do it,” Smith told ESPN.
