By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.5, August 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0905/bbstanford.htm
In an attempt to gain greater benefits for college athletes, this May, Stanford University’s men’s basketball players became the first basketball team to join the Collegiate Athletes Coalition (CAC). Formed earlier this year by 14 UCLA football players, the CAC is working to establish a national association of players from NCAA Division I teams to improve the welfare of student-athletes.
In a May article on ESPN.com, All-American guard Casey Jacobsen explained the team’s motives this way: “I want to make it clear that we believe we’re treated well by Stanford,” Jacobsen said. “We just feel that because of the success of our sport and all the money that is being generated [at NCAA schools], we want to see more of it coming back to us.”
The CAC’s goals include securing health care coverage for all sports-related injuries, including those suffered during voluntary workouts; increasing life insurance policies for student-athletes; increasing monthly stipends; eliminating the limitations on outside income during the offseason; allowing student-athletes to make education their top priority; and improving graduation rates.
“It would be hard for Stanford to oppose any of those issues,” Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland told ESPN.com.
While Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAACs) already exist to address issues regarding student welfare, former UCLA linebacker and CAC leader Ramogi Huma thinks it’s important to create a separate group outside the NCAA structure. “After close scrutiny of the SAAC system, we concluded that these committees are not given an adequate means to influence NCAA legislation,” he says.
“For example, the NCAA does not mandate that the student-athletes on these committees be oriented to the NCAA legislative process or their roles as representatives,” Huma continues. “These SAACs cannot propose NCAA legislation and they cannot vote on NCAA legislation [although athletes on Division III SAACs are permitted to vote on legislation]. These are just three examples that illustrate how this system is fatally flawed.”
Although there have been pushes to improve student-athlete welfare in the past, both by individuals and groups, what makes the CAC different is its support from the United Steelworkers of America. “The Steelworkers have been instrumental in helping the CAC formulate organizing strategies,” Huma says. “In addition, the CAC has been in close contact with the Steelworkers’ legal and communications departments. The Steelworkers have also committed to help fund this movement—they have played a crucial role and will continue to do so.”
The involvement of the Steelworkers has led some to envision student-athletes walking picket lines after being asked to run too many sprints. But Huma feels those fears result from misconceptions about the CAC’s intent. “The CAC is not a union and it is not advocating striking,” he says. “More accurately, the CAC is a student advocacy group.”
He also wants to make it clear that the group is targeting NCAA issues and the larger issues facing collegiate athletes, not the day-to-day operation of teams. “This is not about how coaches run their teams,” Huma says. “This movement is about initiating positive change at the NCAA level that will address the needs of players as students and athletes.”
“The CAC is our thing,” said Jacobsen. “When I step on the court, I feel I have total control of my destiny. But off the court, it’s like we have no control over how we’re treated. That’s why I got involved.”
The CAC hopes to continue to expand participation in the organization. “I would like to see other players take advantage of this opportunity,” says Huma. “I would also like to see coaches encourage their players to take a stand and get involved with the CAC. It is the duty of these coaches to do the right thing for their players.”
For more information on the CAC, visit the group’s Web site at www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/cac or e-mail cac@ucla.edu.