U of M athletic leaders talk NCAA, Supreme Court ruling, student-athletes

Noah Burton is a hurdler with the University of Minnesota track and field team.

He transferred here from Michigan State University and is in grad school getting his master’s degree.

"In track and field, it’s very hard to get a full-ride scholarship and grad school can be very expensive, especially out of state, so I feel like this could be a great thing," Burton said.

He’s referring to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states there are no longer limits on educational benefits college players can receive as part of their scholarships.

It opens the door to things like paid study abroad programs, internships, school computers and paid grad school.

"I definitely feel this was a great move by the Supreme Court. Now that they’ve ruled that, I’m thinking that maybe there’s some way I can get some outside scholarship to help me finish off my grad school," he said.

John Anderson has been coaching baseball at the University of Minnesota for decades. He said there’s a reset going on in college athletics, and this ruling will have pros and cons.

"If one school is doing one thing and another school is not doing the same thing, then you have a competitive advantage or disadvantage that comes with the play, so it’s going to be an interesting time, and obviously you have some schools that have more resources versus others, so that’s going to be impactful," Anderson said.

According to the ruling, schools and individual conferences can impose their own rules or caps.

Anderson has long done his own fundraising and said that will be even more important now.

"I think the financial pressure on athletic departments across the country is going to go up," he said.

"I think it’s going to force us to get out and fundraise more and find people to support you, that want to support your program, your purpose and why they have an interest in supporting our student-athletes," Anderson added. "I don’t think you can just rely on the university to provide all the funding if you want to have a competitive program in the Big Ten."

Athletic Director Mark Coyle said he’s not quite sure of all the specifics but there will be impacts effective immediately.

"It’s our job to look at all these decisions that are being made, the implications and figure out what’s the best path forward for the university and our student-athletes," Coyle said.