Summer meal plans

[BEAR]

What do your football players do in the summer time for meals? I know those who don't attend school in the summer and sign up for meal plans don't have anything to eat and many times have to look for local employment. What's worse is some are brought in from out of state and moving back for 3 months is not an option.

A small group of UCA fans got together and wanted to find a way to feed those particular football players, and I think other student athletes, during the summer months. We can't expect them to be full speed if they spent the summer working a minimum wage job, working out and eating hot dogs because that's all they probably could afford. Unless you're a lineman of course..xlolx

Our solution: Give to the UCA FOUNDATION and put in the memo that the money is to be used as a summer scholarship-football. That fund provides players with full meal plans and free muscle milk. Some big donors caught wind of this and are donating also. Hopefully EVERY player will have meals provided by the Foundation and be ready for football season. xthumbsupx

What does your school do? Is it different at your school? Do you have a fund set up to contribute to players basic needs? Moving from D2 to Division I really is expensive and UCA fans are learning that. We want to do ANYTHING we can within the acceptable limits of the NCAA to help students during those few months.

*Disclaimer Of course I have not confirmed with the football staff if the meal program is actually working or being implemented but I can't imagine it isn't. I say this just in case it is somehow a violation of NCAA rules. Food I believe is accessible to ALL student athletes. xthumbsupx

[NDB]

It's likely a violation.

[RichH2]

Think meals can only be for All summer students. FBer on campus just to work has to feed himself

[MplsBison]

I don't even know if the dining centers are open in the summer at NDSU. Maybe just for camps? I don't think NDSU players have the option of signing up for a meal plan during the summer, even if they wanted to and would pay for it themselves.

It's too bad because IMO summer should just be an extension of the scholarship that these kids sign-up for in the fall and winter semesters. If they're going to be required to attend "voluntary" (wink wink) workouts in the summer, then the school should be providing for them the same way they do during the normal school year.


UCABEAR ---- The right way to do it in my opinion is to give it to the athletic department for that specific use and them let the athletic department distribute it to the players.

Any time an outside group is giving anything directly to the players, that's probably a violation. Just contact the athletic department and ask to speak to the compliance officer, which they should have. I think it's a requirement now in division I.

[MplsBison]

Think meals can only be for All summer students. FBer on campus just to work has to feed himself

At the U of Minn - I know, it's not a good comparison - the football players all just stay in Minneapolis and attend summer school. Then they get taken care of just like it was the fall or spring semester: meals at the dining center, dorm room (or they cut you a check for rent), tuition, etc.

That's how it should be. Only exception would be for players who are able to get internships in town during the summer that would be beneficial to their majors.

[BEAR]

Any time an outside group is giving anything directly to the players, that's probably a violation. Just contact the athletic department and ask to speak to the compliance officer, which they should have. I think it's a requirement now in division I.

The Foundation isn't an outside group and I believe the food is available for all student athletes. The Foundation is funded by donations but it appears if the donor earmarks the contributions for athletes then it can go there and is acceptable by NCAA rules. But I post this with no knowledge of how the program is going or if its going. Arkansas is one of the poorer states in the U.S. and feeding the poor is a high priority to many Arkansans who have enough. That's the way it should be IMO.

[RichH2]

At the U of Minn - I know, it's not a good comparison - the football players all just stay in Minneapolis and attend summer school. Then they get taken care of just like it was the fall or spring semester: meals at the dining center, dorm room (or they cut you a check for rent), tuition, etc.

That's how it should be. Only exception would be for players who are able to get internships in town during the summer that would be beneficial to their majors. Cool probram. LU also has summer program, not mandatory. Usually 60 or more kids do come for summer workoutd

[MplsBison]

The Foundation isn't an outside group and I believe the food is available for all student athletes. The Foundation is funded by donations but it appears if the donor earmarks the contributions for athletes then it can go there and is acceptable by NCAA rules. But I post this with no knowledge of how the program is going or if its going. Arkansas is one of the poorer states in the U.S. and feeding the poor is a high priority to many Arkansans who have enough. That's the way it should be IMO.

I guess I don't understand the situation.

The UCA foundation is ... what? Part of the university? And you're saying the foundation would directly be providing food to the players? Like from a food bank?


I just think the players should all get meal plan access to the dining centers in the summer and if the cost of doing that can't be covered by the athletic department, then donations from booster clubs or whoever should be allowed to support that. That would be the simplest way to do it.

[MplsBison]

Cool probram. LU also has summer program, not mandatory. Usually 60 or more kids do come for summer workoutd

I don't know that summer school itself should be mandatory. But if that's how they're justifying extending the scholarship from the spring through the summer, then so be it. Can't hurt anything to take extra credits, so long as the scholarship is paying for it.

[BEAR]

I guess I don't understand the situation.

The UCA foundation is ... what? Part of the university? And you're saying the foundation would directly be providing food to the players? Like from a food bank?


I just think the players should all get meal plan access to the dining centers in the summer and if the cost of doing that can't be covered by the athletic department, then donations from booster clubs or whoever should be allowed to support that. That would be the simplest way to do it.

Yes the Foundation is a nonprofit arm of the university. The players would be provided meal plans and "muscle milk" for their workouts. My point of this is to find out what other universities are doing for their players, not so much to talk about what a group of fans have possibly done. I want to know what is legal via the NCAA that is being done at other institutions. I don't ask this so my university can get better, although it is a nice benefit, but rather because I hated to see ANY student athlete not getting the basic essentials of life. xlolx

Does anybody have any links to their schools "summer supplemental aid" website that tells what that programs does and how its funded? THanks!

[HannahO]

Summer meal plans = part time jobs and "donations" from mom and dad... It hardly seems fair when contrasted with the big money programs or even the "average" student that has the time and freedom to pursue a full time summer job, but it's an unfortunate fact of life for athletes at this level.

[WCFIELDS]

UCABEAR - AT MCNEESE IN OUR WEIGHT ROOM WE HAD PEANUT BUTTER, JELLY & BREAD DONATIONS COMING IN TO FEED THE KIDS A SNACK IN THE WEIGHT ROOM. NCAA SAID IT WAS ILLEGAL AND WE HAD TO STOP. NCAA SAID IT WAS A "MEAL" AND WE COULD NOT PROVIDE IT TO THE PLAYERS. WEIGHT ROOM WAS OPEN TO ALL ATHLETICS ON CAMPUS. STUPID RULE, BUT I CAN SEE WHERE IT COULD BE ABUSED BY THE LSU & ETC. TEAMS WHO COULD AFFORD TO GIVE THEM STEAKS AND LOBSTER FOR A SNACK.

[HailSzczur]

I was in 2 weeks early last summer for music camp, and we ate in the cafeteria every meal with the football team and all other teams. I'm not sure how the meal plans were paid for, presumably by the the students. I know a lot of them are employed on campus, a lot in facilities management. I was over there to pick up chairs for a BBQ yesterday and a whole bunch of them were there "working" which involved them playing basketball for a few hours a day and the occasional set up work around the athletics facilities.

[BEAR]

Update from ucafans:


"Oyez, oyez"
(It's what the SCOTUS says when they start a session. Learned that today from SCOTUSblog; Oyez means "listen" or "hear" or "pay attention.")

No more speculation, rumors or completely making things up. Here's the deal. And this info is from Coach Conque. Not me. Not any random user on here.
-----------------------------------------------------

The football program is providing meal plans to 50 returning players this summer who are enrolled in summer school (they have to be, to be eligible for the assistance). Now, there are a handful of guys who are in town for the summer and holding jobs but are not enrolled in summer school, therefore they are not receiving the meal plans. The program is also providing the players with supplement bars and supplement drinks post-workout as well.

The meal plans – which cost approximately $450 each, multiplied by 50 is a total of $22,500 – cover 75-100 meals in the cafeteria for the summer. Summer school runs June 4-Aug 10, so 68 days total or 49 class days (assuming 5 days a week, with July 4 excepted).

The plans may not cover three meals for every day of the summer, but there is pretty substantial assistance being provided.

[BEAR]

UCABEAR - AT MCNEESE IN OUR WEIGHT ROOM WE HAD PEANUT BUTTER, JELLY & BREAD DONATIONS COMING IN TO FEED THE KIDS A SNACK IN THE WEIGHT ROOM. NCAA SAID IT WAS ILLEGAL AND WE HAD TO STOP. NCAA SAID IT WAS A "MEAL" AND WE COULD NOT PROVIDE IT TO THE PLAYERS. WEIGHT ROOM WAS OPEN TO ALL ATHLETICS ON CAMPUS. STUPID RULE, BUT I CAN SEE WHERE IT COULD BE ABUSED BY THE LSU & ETC. TEAMS WHO COULD AFFORD TO GIVE THEM STEAKS AND LOBSTER FOR A SNACK.

So what if a player was walking down the campus sidewalk and stumbled upon a rogue PB&J sammy just sitting there all by its self in the grass?

[MplsBison]

Update from ucafans:

In my opinion that's how it should be: any scholarship football player in town for the summer to workout should automatically be in summer school and therefore be fully covered with the same amount of scholarship that he had in spring: meal plan, room and school costs.

That's just how I see it. If the school can't afford it, then they can't afford to require players to stay in town in the summer to workout.

[NDB]

UCABEAR - AT MCNEESE IN OUR WEIGHT ROOM WE HAD PEANUT BUTTER, JELLY & BREAD DONATIONS COMING IN TO FEED THE KIDS A SNACK IN THE WEIGHT ROOM. NCAA SAID IT WAS ILLEGAL AND WE HAD TO STOP. NCAA SAID IT WAS A "MEAL" AND WE COULD NOT PROVIDE IT TO THE PLAYERS. WEIGHT ROOM WAS OPEN TO ALL ATHLETICS ON CAMPUS. STUPID RULE, BUT I CAN SEE WHERE IT COULD BE ABUSED BY THE LSU & ETC. TEAMS WHO COULD AFFORD TO GIVE THEM STEAKS AND LOBSTER FOR A SNACK.


There was a similar story in the past year about plain bagels.

The NCAA just allowed spread - peanut butter, etc.

No way their going to let boosters pay for meals or protein supplements.

[EKU-n-GSU]

Meal plans can be written into scholarships, at least at GSU. A full ride is a full ride, including meal plan; as long as the S/A is on campus and taking classes, if they have a meal plan it is paid for through their scholarship. At GSU, you can choose a meal plan that best suits the S/A's needs - 3 x 7, 2 x 7, 2 x 5, etc. In our son's case, his class/FB schedule doesn't always allow for a 3 x 7 (based on on-campus dining options) so we opted for the 2 x 5 and supplement the rest out of pocket. And, w/his class and FB schedule, there's really no way he could have any meaningful employment even during summer.

As for protein supplements, they have all the chocolate milk they can/want to drink at the weight room. They have a closely-watched list of OTC supplements they can consume to ensure NCAA-compliance. I don't think the FB program provides any protein powder or other supplements.