Leatherneck Nation

http://www.inforum.com/sports/3826039-p ... p-athletes

NDSU is the second school to go this route (after Liberty University...which has Scrooge McDuck-type money). What does this mean for the other schools in the conference? Obviously we're not in a position to spend an extra 1/2 to 3/4 million out of our athletics budget. Is this the the beginning of the next split, where the FCS teams that can afford it get to join up with lower-level FBS teams...does Western get relegated to a new "third tier" of the FCS "left-overs"?

The NCAA has opened up a whole new can of worms. On the plus side, they are "graciously" giving all DI schools a whopping $55K/year to help cover COA costs so that amount at least needs to be doled out. Realistically, if you can't come up with at least $1200/year/athlete, you probably have no business being at this level. IMO, this is just a terrible idea from the get-go as it singles out athletes with even more special treatment than they already get. Make them earn it with wins on the field and/or work in the classroom.