RALEIGH, N.C. _ A trio of North Carolina state senators has introduced legislation that would create new benefits for college athletes such as free legal counsel, better health care and additional academic assistance.
The proposed reforms came after months of presentations and debate among lawmakers in a special committee. But no one discussed another provision within the bill that could save college athletic programs and their booster clubs millions of dollars.
Senate Bill 335 also would allow public universities to treat out-of-state students on full scholarships as in-state students for tuition purposes. At UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, that's the difference between paying $9,018 in tuition and fees for an in-state student and $36,000 for an out-of-state student for the current academic year. At NC State University, the tuition and fees are $9,100 and $28,444, respectively.
State Sen. Joyce Krawiec, a Kernersville Republican, said she wasn't sure how the provision ended up in the legislation though she thought the schools may have suggested it. But she said she and the other sponsors support it.
"We want their athletic programs to be hugely successful, because it's great for the schools, it's great for North Carolina," she said.
Who pushed for the provision? An NCSU spokesman said no one there sought it, while a legislative liaison for UNC-CH referred all questions to the UNC system office, which declined to comment Friday.
The state has been down this road before. In 2005, State Senate leaders inserted a provision in the state budget providing the tuition break. Then-State Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and an avowed Tar Heel fan, spoke of the benefit for academic scholarship programs, such as UNC-CH's Morehead Foundation, which is also open to out-of-state students.
A political action group of UNC-CH supporters also pushed for the legislation.
