Colorado State followed the lead of the “Power 5” conferences and several of its Mountain West colleagues in announcing Wednesday the school will provide a cost-of-attendance stipend to its scholarship student-athletes beginning Aug. 1.
In-state CSU student-athletes on full scholarship will receive approximately $2,400 annually, while out-of-state student athletes on full scholarship will receive about $3,100, according to the school.
Colorado State student-athletes on partial scholarships will receive a stipend corresponding to the percentage of their scholarship. Sports providing partial scholarships at CSU include men’s and women’s track and field and cross country, softball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf and women’s swimming and diving.
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The total annual funding for CSU scholarship student-athletes will be $654,000, the school reported.
Cost-of-attendance (COA) stipends are intended to improve the quality of the college experience for student-athletes beyond their scholarship. The stipend amounts to walking around money for them. The NCAA definition of an athletic scholarship covers tuition, fees, books and room and board.
“The demands to balance academics and athletics have grown,” newly hired Colorado State athletic director Joe Parker said in the school’s news release. “The new stipend is important and helps to address the incidental expenses associated with attending CSU.”
In January, the five power conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern) voted overwhelmingly to offer COA stipends that supplement the standard athletic scholarship.
Some schools in non-power conferences have announced an intention to provide COA stipends. In addition to Colorado State, those include Boise State, New Mexico and Wyoming in the Mountain West, with others expected to follow.
Last month, Colorado athletic director Rick George estimated the cost-of-attendance stipend for CU student-athletes on full scholarship would range from $2,600 to $3,200 annually.
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tomkensler
