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RFH 2010, Colgate Football

Patriot League to Allow Football Scholarships

Mon, Feb 13, 2012

The Patriot League Council of Presidents today endorsed a policy that will allow athletic merit financial aid for the sport of football, beginning with the class entering school in the fall of 2013.

Starting with the class entering school in the fall of 2013, each school will be permitted to award no more than the equivalent of 15 athletic financial aid awards each year to incoming football student-athletes, including transfer student-athletes. The total amount of all countable financial aid awarded to all football student-athletes may not exceed 60 equivalencies in any year.

“I think this allows us as coaches here at Colgate and in the Patriot League to recruit high caliber division I athletes both academically and athletically,” said Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle who has an overall record of 124-59 and six Patriot League titles in 16 seasons.“We now have a chance to recruit more nationally then we ever did in the past.”

Currently, it is permissible for Patriot League institutions to offer athletic and academic merit aid to student-athletes in the League's other 22 sports. However, it is an institutional decision regarding the amount and sports for which athletic aid is made available. Since its inception in 1986, Patriot League football was considered a separate entity and had maintained a need-limited approach with financial aid. With the permissive aid approach, institutions will now be able to determine the most effective way to award financial aid in football.

“The Council of Presidents' decision to adjust the current need-based model of financial aid in football, which has been in effect since the founding of the League in 1986, comes after extensive study and discussion of alternative models and a thorough evaluation of the benefits and potential costs associated with athletic merit aid in the sport. The decision reflects the Presidents' shared vision and shared commitment to the stability and long-term positioning of the league and to its strength, competitiveness and quality,” said Daniel H. Weiss, Chair of the Patriot League Council of Presidents and President of Lafayette College.

Source: Colgate

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