National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Mar 16, 2010 8:56:08 AM

The Division I Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet will sponsor legislation in the 2010-11 cycle to exempt aid given to veterans under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill from counting toward a student-athlete's individual limit.

The cabinet also requested a blanket waiver to exempt these funds for the remainder of the 2009-10 academic year and the entire 2010-11 academic year.

The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was established in August 2009. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides financial aid to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate, active-duty service on or after September 11, 2001 (or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days of aggregate service). The aid is transferable from eligible service members to a spouse, child or any combination of spouse and child.

The cabinet agreed to support exempting Post-9/11 G.I. Bill funds from individual financial aid limits because institutions are not involved in the selection process, and athletics ability and participation are not criteria for receiving the funds.  Also, NCAA legislation currently exempts similar types of government-funded financial aid (for example, the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the Veterans Educational Assistance Program).

The cabinet agreed to further examine the Yellow Ribbon Program, a voluntary federal aid program created at the same time as the Post-9/11 G.I. bill. The Yellow Ribbon Program allows institutions to fund tuition expenses that exceed the amount covered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The program allows participating institutions to contribute up to 50 percent of the additional expenses, with the VA matching that amount.

Because of the institutional involvement in funds provided by the Yellow Ribbon Program, the cabinet agreed to gather feedback from the membership before deciding whether to request a blanket waiver or introduce legislation to exempt Yellow Ribbon Program funds from counting toward individual or team financial aid limits. The cabinet will re-examine the Yellow Ribbon Program at its June 2010 meeting.