Buckeyes Now

Decision to Return Not Simple for Ohio State Athletes

NCAA extends opportunity OSU will honor, but not without individual cost

Bruce Hooley

Imagine getting a telephone call and the voice on the other end says, "Congratulations, you just won a new car."

That's fantastic, you think, before you hear the person say, "All you have to do to claim it is pay us $25,000"

You'd classify that as a scam call.

But not if it came from the NCAA Division I Council.

Then you'd view it as a reprieve, a bonus, a gift.

That's not to say the NCAA's decision to extend the eligibility clock of every spring sports athlete robbed of a season this year by COVID-19 precautions that cancelled competition is a bad thing.

It's a good thing.

It's the right thing.

But it's also a very hard thing.

Hard, if you're one of those athletes -- and the vast majority are -- who don't receive a full athletic scholarship.

As a fan, you hear, "extra season of eligibility," and you hear that, "Ohio State will honor that for every graduating senior who wants to return next year," and you picture in your mind a football or basketball player getting another year to compete with everything provided.

Room, board, tuition books, fees....a value of around $30,000 if you're a State of Ohio resident; a value of around $50,000 if you're a recruit from outside Ohio.

So imagine that telephone call Monday night from Ohio State spring sports coaches to seniors who's seasons were cancelled, being told they can return and play for the Buckeyes next season with the exact same athletic scholarship they are getting this spring.

That's great news, right?

But before we hold a virtual party on Zoom Meeting to celebrate, answer this question:

How many baseball, tennis and men's and women's lacrosse players at Ohio State receive a full athletic scholarship?

The answer is, one, in women's lacrosse.

The answer is zero in baseball; zero in tennis; zero in men's lacrosse, where roster sizes combined total just shy of 100 players.

So if you're a senior and you want to come back in 2021, you're going to get from OSU exactly what you would have received in 2020.

It's also going to cost you exactly what it is costing you in 2020 to make up the difference between what fraction of an athletic scholarship you receive and what remains of the annual cost you pay to attend Ohio State.

While football gets 85 scholarships to fill a roster and men's and women's basketball get 13 and 15 scholarships, respectively, baseball must divide 11.7 among 35 players, women's lacrosse 12 among 37 players, men's lacrosse 12.6 among 50 players and tennis 4.5 among 10 players.

"That's where it's very individual for each young man and his family," said Nick Myers, OSU's men's lacrosse coach. "An example right now of a young man I'm having a conversation with, he's been waiting to know, A) Is this an option, and B) Here's someone who's on 15 percent (aid).

"He's made a commitment. He's taken out loans. He's going to graduate. And he's torn. It's an opportunity to come back and maybe get a higher education, but also (would require) a financial commitment. There's a lot that goes into it. It's very personal to each young man and family.

"As coaches, we're working really hard to make sure we're putting their best interests (first). If there best interest is going and taking a full-time job, we're encouraging that, even if it means a competitive loss for us. We can't, in good faith, tell a young man to come back and take on more debt.

"As much as you'd love to suit up one more year for the Buckeyes in times like this. I hope that brings some clarity to some of the challenging conversations that are taking place in a scenario where you have 12 scholarships and 45 guys."

Ohio State is making it easier for its athletes than some schools, which may not have the ability to extend the same aid as this year to seniors who return next year.

The NCAA is leaving that decision to each individual school.

There's also an important distinction that the offer applies only for an athlete who returns in 2021, not to the team.

So, if a sport has a senior on a 25 percent scholarship and that senior wants to return, the senior gets that scholarship again in 2021.

But if the senior decides not to return, the team does not retain that 25 percent scholarship to give to someone else.

"We're told every day that it's about the kids, 'It's about the kids,' " said Ty Tucker, in his 24th year as OSU's men's tennis coach. "While we've been working through this process, we're been working on, 'Who wants to go to grad school? Who's got a job if they're a senior? It's much more important to take that job, because it might not be waiting for you."

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Bruce Hooley
BRUCE HOOLEY

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