COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS | PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
CONTACT: Paul Kirk, Asst. A.D. for Communications
(970) 491-4672 | paul.kirk@colostate.edu
Colorado State to provide full-cost-of-attendance stipends for scholarship student-athletes
New student-athlete enhancement will be instituted for 2015-16 school year
FORT COLLINS, Colo.--Colorado State University will begin to provide student-athlete stipends to cover the full cost of attendance beginning with the 2015-16 school year. The additional funding of $654,000 to support scholarship student-athletes is a benefit made possible by the passage of recent NCAA legislation intended to improve the overall student-athlete experience.
Colorado State will fund the cost of attendance stipends according to a formula set by federal financial aid guidelines, unique to each campus. Set by the CSU Financial Aid Office using those federal guidelines, CSU will provide approximately $2,400 annually for an in-state full scholarship student-athlete and approximately $3,100 for an out-of-state full scholarship student-athlete. That is the figure necessary to close the gap between the full scholarship amount and full cost of attendance at Colorado State. CSU Athletics currently offers the maximum allotment of 214.1 scholarships based on the 16 sports it currently sponsors for intercollegiate athletics.
Colorado State scholarship student-athletes in the headcount sports of football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball and women's tennis receive full scholarships, and thus would receive the full $2,400 or $3,100 cost of attendance stipend. Scholarship student-athletes in equivalency sports--which include men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, softball, women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's track and field--are eligible to receive partial scholarships, and will receive a percentage of the full cost of attendance stipend equal to the percentage of a full scholarship they receive in agreement with the coach of their program.
The new legislation goes into effect Aug. 1, and student-athletes at Colorado State will begin to receive the additional stipend this fall.
"For decades, a full scholarship has been defined as tuition, room, board, books and fees," said CSU Director of Athletics Joe Parker. "The demands to balance academics and athletics have grown over that period. Most of our students simply do not have time to engage in part-time or summer employment to supplement the costs of their education. The new stipend is important and helps to address the incidental expenses associated with attending CSU."
The commitment to provide cost-of-attendance stipends in the first year permissible under NCAA legislation is a major step in the continued emphasis by Colorado State Athletics to provide the most supportive environment for the overall student-athlete experience. In January, a nutrition center was opened in Moby Arena on the heels of the passage of NCAA legislation allowing student-athletes to receive meals and snacks incidental to practice and competition. With their training schedules, student-athletes can supplement their regular meal plans with nutritional food options between workouts and on the way to and from classes.
"The addition of the fueling station is a tremendous asset for our student-athletes at Colorado State University," said Terry DeZeeuw, Associate A.D. for Sports Performance. "We constantly stress the importance of proper nutrition to promote athletic performance and overall health. The nutrition center provides the means for our student-athletes to add supplemental whole food calories to support their nutritional needs as high-level athletes. It is another example of the university's commitment to the health, welfare and overall success of every student-athlete at Colorado State."
During the 2014-15 school year, Colorado State's combined winning percentage of 81.3% in the revenue-generating sports of football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball ranked No. 1 among all Division I institutions. In addition, the cumulative grade-point average of 3.145 and the term GPA of 3.096 by CSU's student-athletes in the Fall 2014 term were the highest since records have been tracked for those figures at CSU, dating back to 2006.
The football program recorded a 10-win season for just the fifth time in school history in 2014 and has earned back-to-back bowl invitations for the first time in 11 years, and for the first time in school history the football and men's basketball programs achieved Top 25 rankings in the same school year. Men's basketball set a school record for wins in a season with a 27-7 record.
The Rams in 2014-15 have claimed three Mountain West Player of the Year Awards: Garrett Grayson (football), offensive player of the year; Deedra Foss (volleyball) and Gritt Ryder (women's basketball; co-POY).
CSU earned national recognition in December 2014 from the NCAA and Minority Opportunities Athletic Association's Award for Diversity and Inclusion for its efforts to promote diversity and foster a culture and environment of inclusion on campus. The award was presented at the NCAA Convention in January 2015 to a contingent from CSU led by President Dr. Tony Frank and senior associate athletic director for diversity and inclusion Albert Bimper.
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