Well that was fast. The NCAA's legislative body on Tuesday signed off on a rule change that will allow allow Division I schools to offer unlimited meals and snacks to all athletes. The vote came one week after University of Connecticut guard and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Shabazz Napier said student athletes sometimes had "hungry nights" because they didn't have money for food.
Napier said that scholarships don't cover all of a college athlete's expenses, adding, "We do have hungry nights that we don't have enough money to get food in."
Previously, colleges were permitted to provide three meals per day, but only to scholarship athletes. The change will cover walk-ons as well, and allow schools to offer unlimited meals and snacks, too.
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It's certainly a step in the right direction. Perhaps if a high-profile player demanded the right to unionize, the NCAA would swiftly make changes on that front as well.
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