The Univ. of Texas will spend nearly $6M a year to "comply with a string of recent legal rulings requiring colleges to be more generous to their scholarship athletes," according to Michael Lindenberger of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. UT men's AD Steve Patterson yesterday during a forum on the business of college sports said that the $6M sum "won’t break the bank," but he added that even "rich programs like UT’s will be forced to make tough choices in the future if momentum in the courts continues to push colleges to treat their players like employees or semi-pros." Patterson said that UT "won’t have problems" paying the extra $6M to its players. That money "will break down to about $10,000 for each player." The money "will cover college expenses that aren’t covered by a traditional full scholarship and give each player $5,000 in compensation for the university’s use of his image." Other panelists argued that so much is changing in college sports, a "stronger governing hand is needed." Former Arizona State AD Lisa Love: "Everybody is in charge and nobody is." Former U.S. Rep. Tom McMillen (D-Md.) added, "What I’m looking for is a benevolent dictator for college sports." USA Today sportswriter Steve Berkowitz worries that the price of "keeping a program in contention for championships is driving some schools to spend too much." That "can put students and taxpayers on the hook for debt or higher fees, all in a gamble that teams will be successful." TCU AD Chris Del Conte "didn’t disagree with that." But he and Patterson both said that schools "should set their own priorities," and added that those who "invest in top-flight athletics should be rewarded" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/22).
