Ohio State to begin paying academic bonuses to athletes this fall

The Ohio State athletic department will start offering academic bonus payments to athletes this fall, according to information provided Tuesday to The Dispatch.

Schools have been allowed under NCAA rules to pay athletes up to $5,980 over an academic year for their performance in the classroom following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly a year ago.

In a unanimous decision on NCAA v. Alston in June, it upheld a lower court’s ruling prohibiting the college sports governing body from limiting the education-related compensation and benefits for athletes, citing a violation of federal antitrust laws. The high court did not require schools to give compensation.

As part of the new permissible benefits, Ohio State plans to offer the legally established maximum.

“Funding will make student-athletes’ education more affordable while also incentivizing positive academic outcomes and graduation,” the school said in a statement. “The Athletic Department is dedicated to maximizing the number of students eligible for funding and emphasizing the academic, development and behavioral standards of this policy.”

In order to receive reward payments, athletes must be fully enrolled, maintain good academic standing with the university, earn minimum credit hours, meet NCAA-mandated progress toward degree requirements and earn all available Academic Progress Rate (APR) points.

The requirements do not include grade-point average thresholds. A school spokesman said the athletic department’s aim is to provide financial assistance to as many athletes as possible across all varsity sports.

GEORGIA: How school can replace a record-setting NFL draft class and what it says about the program

NEVER MISS A MOMENT: Follow our sports newsletter for daily updates

The department will award the bonuses during the fall and spring semesters, disbursing two $1,495 payments each term to eligible athletes.

Freshmen are also eligible to pick up academic bonuses over their first semester enrolled at Ohio State if they are a final qualifier, as well as transfers if they were eligible for compensation at their previous school.  

An ESPN survey published last month found just a small fraction of the athletic departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision have started paying bonuses to athletes for academic achievements, revealing 22 of the 130 in the top-tier division were doing so this spring.

Wisconsin was the only school in the Big Ten to respond that it was offering the assistance this year, though others in the conference such as Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska have since announced plans to begin awarding bonuses in the next academic year.

The cost of doling out payments will not be insignificant for Ohio State’s athletic department, which is budgeting close to $6 million on an annual basis to fund the academic incentives.

Few schools support as many athletes as OSU. By sponsoring 36 varsity sports teams, tied with Stanford for the most among the major-conference programs, it has more than 1,000 athletes.

But the Buckeyes’ athletic department is still one of the wealthiest in the nation, among a small handful that has made more than $200 million in revenue in past fiscal years.

The 2021 fiscal year, which covered the fall 2020 football season that was held at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, was an exception as the department reported only $106.9 million in total operating revenues to the NCAA, more than half than in the previous year. Faced with a $63.6 million operating shortfall, the department is expected to receive an interest-bearing loan from the university this year.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has previously spoken with The Dispatch about easing the financial burdens for athletes, a majority of whom participate in equivalency sports that typically offer only partial scholarships or none at all, leaving them with tuition obligations.

Smith pointed to that group of athletes as one of the reasons he supported changes to NCAA rules that began allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness last summer.

Endorsement opportunities could help Buckeyes athletes reduce student debt, he reasoned.

The statement provided by the school this week added that the offering of academic bonuses aligned with a university-wide effort toward debt elimination.

In November, President Kristina M. Johnson introduced a program to offer debt-free bachelor’s degrees to undergraduates through a program known as the Scarlet and Gray Advantage. It has raised $58 million and launches for a pilot group this fall.