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Horizon League passes cost-of-admission measure for men’s basketball

Horizon Wright St Valparaiso Basketball

(AP)

AP

A big step for men’s basketball athletes in the Horizon League occurred on Monday as the league’s Board of Directors unanimously passed cost-of-attendance legislation late last week.

The measure comes in men’s basketball and “for at least an equal number of female student-athletes in a League-sponsored sport or sports.”

Federally created guidelines estimate that must stipends added in the cost-of-attendance initiative are between $2,000 to $4,000 for each athlete annually.

“On behalf of the Horizon League Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce passage of this recommendation from the Executive Council,” University of Detroit Mercy President Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, Ph.D. said. “This resolution aligns with our strategic plan and guides the current and future direction of the Horizon League.”

It’s nice that men’s basketball athletes -- and their female counterparts in other sports, as part of Title IX -- will get that extra stipend to not have to worry about covering the cost of other things while under basketball scholarship. It serves as a nice recruiting tool for the Horizon League’s coaches. Many other mid-major men’s basketball leagues could be forced to follow suit in the near future to match what the Horizon League has done because they have a clear advantage here. They can offer real dollars to student-athletes that similar counterparts are not offering.

While cost-of-attendance measures were passed with the “power five” conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) in January, this is a strong step for a mid-major league like the Horizon League to take.

Full cost of attendance was initially passed by NCAA legislators in 2011 but was later voted down by the full membership.