South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier told reporters at SEC media days that all the conference coaches voted unanimously in favor of paying student athletes, ESPN reported.
Spurrier said college football and basketball players should receive a stipend of $300 to spend on travel expenses for their parents to attend home games and for general spending money. The coach said the proposal was for those two sports because of the massive revenue they bring in for the NCAA.
"We believe those two sports, the income producers, those players -- most of them come from lower-income families -- that we should provide some expense money so their parents can go to the games -- lodging, travel, meals, what have you," Spurrier said. "We're only talking about in football like $300 a game, basketball would be a little less, where the players in the course of the year have $3,600-$3,900, depending on how many games you play, just to have a little bit of pocket money and their parents can have money to come to games."
Spurrier has pushed to pay college athletes for two years and he stood by his proposal Tuesday, which he said was agreed upon unanimously by all SEC football and basketball coaches. He argued that the amount they would like to give each player over the course of a season is pocket change compared to what the sport gains in revenue.
The coaches' vote does nothing but prove they are serious about pursuing this with higher collegiate governing bodies. The SEC and NCAA would both have to approve such a proposal.
Spurrier stressed that the money granted student athletes would not be a contractual pay-for-play deal, but rather spending money.
"I'm going to keep fighting for our guys," Spurrier said. "If President Obama would say, 'Spurrier, you and those coaches need to quit fighting for your players, they get enough with a full scholarship,' then I'll shut up about it."
