The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is walking back the requirement laid out by head coach Billy Napier that players need to donate money to the program.
Napier said that beginning this season, his second as head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns, scholarship members of his team would be asked to donate $50 to become minimum-level members of the Ragin’ Cajun Athletic Foundation. The same “donation,” would be optional for walk-on athletes.
The idea behind the initiative was, “We want our players to be educated and understand the benefits that come with being a student-athlete and that is not something that should be taken lightly — the effort and time and investment that the people that support athletes at UL have put in into this program,” Napier explained.
Critics of the NCAA’s existing amateurism model did not receive the proposed idea well. There was no mention in the press conference of the ways that the athletic department and university profit off of the athletes through tickets and merchandise.
Friday, Director of Athletics Dr. Bryan Maggard clarified that the donation is not a requirement for the scholarship athletes.
“Coach Napier’s comments were well-intentioned,” Maggard said. “The purpose was to educate, inform and encourage our student-athletes about the RCAF, so when they grow up and start earning a living, they can become investors in the program.”
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