Report: Cincinnati's Tommy Tuberville may withhold money from players

Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville may withhold cost of attendance money from players.

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Tommy Tuberville may withhold cost of attendance money from players for off the field violations, ESPN's Joe Schad reported Thursday.

According to the report, Tuberville will “hold [players] accountable” who fail to abide by academic requirements or violate code of conduct rules.

After Tuberville's comments, Cincinnati athletics director Mike Bohn added, “It's not a fine. It's not a threat. It's a tool. We want to help our student-athletes and are committed to helping them.”

Cincinnati's senior associate of athletics Maggie McKinley confirmed that the wording in the players' grant-in-aid contracts freely allows the university to reduce or discontinue the funding at its discretion.

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The NCAA’s Power 5 schools voted in January to allow schools to give scholarships that cover the entire cost of attendance.

The value of the stipend is determined by federal financial aid guidelines, but hovers around $3,000 for most NCAA athletes. ​

According to McKinley, each Cincinnati scholarship player receives between $5,504 and $7,018 per year in cost of attendance kickbacks, which is among the highest in the country.

- Kayla Lombardo