A South Carolina senator has introduced a bill that would make certain state colleges pay its basketball and football players.
Senator Marlon Kimpson pre-filled a bill that would require South Carolina Division I NCAA institutions that make at least $50 million in annual revenue to create a student-athlete trust fund from revenue created by athletic department ticket sales and merchandise.
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From that fund, annual stipends would be awarded to each basketball (men and women) and football athlete who remains in good academic standing (2.0 GPA or higher) but cannot be collected by the student-athlete until graduating and completing a financial literacy course.
Per S.171, "all stipends awarded shall be no less than two thousand five hundred dollars per semester but shall not result in the total amount of aid received to exceed the total cost of attendance, regardless of additional scholarships or other financial aid received." The total may not exceed a total of $25,000 for any student.
According to the bill, if a student-athlete fails to maintain good academic standing for the previous academic year, the stipend will not be awarded for that year. The student-athlete will not be awarded the stipend unless and until good academic standing is re-established.
Kimpson said he believes student-athletes should be compensated when universities benefit financially from the use of the name, image and likeness of the students. The bill is currently in the Senate Education Committee, and the new legislative session will begin Jan. 13. If passed into law the new mandate would begin Jan. 1, 2016.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has been a longtime advocate of paying college athletes, going as far as saying that football and men's basketball players should get "approximately $3,500 to $4,000" for the entire year to cover expenses.