N.C.A.A. Sports Programs Short On Cash?

"It's all just a game"..how many time have you heard that line used when something doesn't go your way? Well in the world of college sports, the game of giving less to student athletes who demand more money to pay for their $45,000 tuition bill might be in for a rude awakening. It has come to the attention of many that although the glamorous N.C.A.A. sports programs you see on your t.v. when watching a baskeball, football, or sometimes even baseball team, won't be the ones dealing out the green for your skills too generously. In the article Villonova baseball coach, Joe Godri tells and almost pleads through the article that parents as well as student athletes understand that the money they are looking for just is't available.
Godri says he sometimes is baffled by the requests he get from parents as well as prospective recruits, when they are for thousands of dollars, that the program just doesn't have in order to keep a roster of 25- 30 kids afloat. Godri says he often feels like a "used- car salesmen", because when it comes down to it, he jut can't offer the invisioned amount of money that both the parents and the athelete want or need. “Parents say to me all the time: ‘Can’t you just throw her something? Just make her feel good,’ ” said Gobri, the Villanova coach, and “I have to explain I don’t have money to throw around"
I find this article interesting because it sheds light on two aspects of college sports that is rarely seen. For one, student athletes think that no matter where they go the money is available, and for the most part scholarships like this are just waiting to be taken, which is not the case whatsoever. The second point that the article sheds light on, though unintentionally is that smaller lesser known named schools (ehhem... St. Peters) probably are the better option because they value your skills, and are able to give out good amounts of money because they must push for athletes who get turned down by bigger "brand name" schools.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/sports/11coaches.html?ref=education>