Several Basketball Conferences Eliminate Student-Athlete Gifts

Student-athlete gifts are a large expense for Universities and Conferences. That is why three men's and women's basketball conferences are eliminating the gifts their athletes recieve. The three conferences are the Big Ten, the PAC-10, and the Mid-American Conferences. The Big Ten and the PAC-10 are expecting to save up to $300,000 by eliminating the gifts given to all their student-athletes. The Mid-American Conference is expecting to save up to $40,000. The athletes in the three conferences are losing a significant gift. Some examples of other conferences that are still providing gifts are the Big East, ACC, and SEC. Both the Big East and ACC are provide a Nintendo Wii package for all their players. The SEC is providing a choice of a GPS, camera, Ipod, or watch for their players. The total amount of gifts that players can recieve is approximately $3,000 worth, which includes gifts from their school and conferences. It is also possible to recieve gifts from the NCAA if the athletes participate in the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament.

The biggest expense in terms of gifts is for men's and women's basketball programs. Of the money that is budgeted for gifts, 75% of it is spent on the men's and women's basketball tournaments. As you can see a lot if money will be saved for those three conferences. The large expense comes because each conference must providing each team with up to 25 gifts. With approximately 10-12 teams in each conference that estimates each conference having to provide 500-600 gifts for both the men's and women's basketball teams.

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