Starting this month, each scholarship player on the men’s and women’s basketball teams at UNC Wilmington will be receiving four payments of $250 over the course of each semester to help cover additional college costs beyond the traditional cost of attendance. The money will be deposited into each player’s university account in increments and can be withdrawn to pay for off-campus transportation, nutrition, and other needs.

Chancellor Jose V. “Zito” Zarterelli, Director of Athletics Jimmy Bass, Coach Kevin Keatts, and Coach Adell Harris were among those involved in the decision making process. When contacted by The Seahawk, Bass noted that the decision was driven by the, “desire to remain competitive nationally with UNCW’s basketball programs by not creating a recruiting disadvantage.”

In January of last year, schools in the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Southeastern conferences, otherwise known as “Power Five” conferences, decided to exercise their right to provide their scholarship athletes with cost of attendance stipends. UNCW’s conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, has allowed its members to determine within each intuition whether or not they want to provide the additional funds to the athletes. Towson University and the College of Charleston were the first schools to jump on the opportunity. Elon University and the College of William & Mary have been in opposition of the trend, and stood in favor of what former longtime CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager called the “traditional student athlete model.” 

Eric Detweiler of the Wilmington StarNews recently wrote a story titled, “New CAA commissioner Joe D’Antonio will have to confront a few issues sooner than later.” Among the issues listed alongside TV, football, basketball, and membership was cost of attendance.

“I think it’s certainly becoming a very big factor in the recruiting game,” D’Antonio told Detweiler. “It’s not the only factor, and it’s not the only important factor, but it’s certainly one of the important factors that’s out there.”

Cost of attendance is what it will cost a student to attend a university beyond tuition, fees, room, board, books, and supplies. Total cost of attendance is determined by the university’s financial aid office.

“Stipends are important for us because they allow us to stay relevant on the landscape of recruiting among schools on our level,” said head men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts. The Horizon League and the Big South are among mid-major, non-Power-Five conferences to mandate that all members provide cost of attendance stipends. 

“The extra money will help us with our food situation,” said junior guard Jordon Talley. “I think it will be big for recruiting… I’ll use it mainly for groceries, but it’s there if I need it for anything else.”

UNCW’s athletic department estimated the value of cost of attendance stipends at $56,000 for the 2016-2017 season in its budget.

A study conducted by USA TODAY Sports published in August 2015 found that major college athletes received $160 million last year in additional benefits due to the added costs of attendance stipends.

The UNCW men’s basketball team is coming off a 25-8 season in which they tied the school record for wins, set the school record for most consecutive wins at 11, and won the CAA Tournament championship over Hofstra to earn an NCAA Tournament birth. The Seahawks play a preseason exhibition game at home in Trask Coliseum against the University of Mount Olive on Nov. 6 before opening the season at home versus Claflin University on Nov. 11.

The women’s basketball team is coming off a disappointing 7-23 season, but they return a third-team all-CAA selection in leading scorer Shatia Cole. The Lady Seahawks kick of their 2016-2017 campaign on Nov. 11 when they take on Norfolk State University at home. Their regular season schedule features visits to NC State and Tennessee. The conference schedule has yet to be released.

As cost of attendance stipends become more and more synonymous with major-college athletic scholarships, the more closely the lives of college athletes, and the way they spend the money, will be monitored and scrutinized. For now, the money gives the students additional spending funds, but it won’t be long before skeptics view this money as a form of pay for play.

“It’s definitely going to help out with food in case our meal plan runs out,” said senior guard Denzel Ingram. “We drink a lot of Gatorade and this will help with our hydration. It’s good for college athletics since a lot of athletes get dehydrated. It will also help me eat better since it costs more to buy and cook food that’s healthier.”