The University of Maryland announced yesterday “The Maryland Way Guarantee,” a program honoring athletic scholarships for student-athletes who do not complete their degrees within four years of enrolling. Maryland is the first school to offer publicly a lifetime scholarship for all sports, regardless of revenue implications. Various colleges and universities have offered guaranteed financial support through graduation for their football and basketball players, but the Terrapins are extending the offer to all 17 of their varsity athletic teams.
The NCAA permitted scholarships on a year-to-year basis only up until 2011, when they began endorsing multi-year financial packages for athletes. This decision by Maryland wouldn’t have been possible prior to this change, and it comes just two years after the school eliminated seven varsity sports to curb rising financial losses. Athletic director Kevin Anderson looks to improve upon his program’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 86 percent, which is the school’s highest rate in history. While Anderson and several of the school’s head coaches have contract clauses with monetary incentives related to GSR, the university’s choice to publicize the decision suggests this is truly about ensuring future success of its student-athletes.
Though hard to quantify, the Maryland Way Guarantee should have an impact on recruiting across all sports. Prospective athletes as well as parents will surely factor this program into choosing Maryland over other comparable schools. Expect other schools to emulate the lifetime scholarship approach in the near future; it looks like the schools that comprise the NCAA are finally beginning to realize what the non-profit association has broadcasted for years: “There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and most of them will go pro in something other than sports.”
*Section photo credit to Al Drago, Baltimore Sun; Feature photo (above) credit to Toni Sandys, Washington Post
