Many Ƶ student-athletes will qualify for additional preparation for success after graduation under a benefits program slated to launch in fall 2023.
The Ready FLASH (For Life After Sport Holistically) program, announced today by Ƶ Ƶ Director of Athletics Randale L. Richmond, follows the 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door for colleges and universities to offer education-related benefits on top of scholarships. Richmond noted that the Ready FLASH program will help student-athletes to be successful as they transition into life after sports.
“Ƶ Ƶ puts students first, and this program will inspire retention and degree completion,” Richmond said. “The academic and student development focus of Ready FLASH will be a valuable tool to help our student-athletes maintain a high level of success in the classroom as well as personally and professionally.”
Ƶ Ƶ’s overall student-athlete academic performance is consistently among the highest in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Last spring, 70% of Ƶ Ƶ student-athletes recorded GPAs of a 3.0 or higher, with 51 at a perfect 4.0.
Ready FLASH will follow requirements of both the NCAA and the MAC. The latter has stipulated a focus on the conference’s four “core sports,” which are football, men’s and women’s basketball, and volleyball. Ƶ Ƶ’s plan will encompass additional sports in keeping with the university’s commitment to gender equity.
Details of the Ƶ Ƶ plan include:
- For headcount scholarship student-athletes, a total annual award of $5,980 in educational benefits will be possible as determined by the NCAA v. Alston U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
- These funds are intended for education-related benefits, such as laptops, class projects, science equipment, education-abroad opportunities and career preparation.
- The university will withhold half of each annual award and will release those funds to the student-athlete upon completion of their Ƶ Ƶ undergraduate degree.
- One quarter of the award will be available in both the fall and spring semesters, and distribution is contingent upon the student-athlete’s completion of a series of career, leadership and personal development programs while maintaining a required level of academic performance.
The additional funding needed for the program will come from adjusting Ƶ Ƶ Athletics’ portion of existing student fee support to pre-pandemic level, which is approximately a 4 percentage point difference.