ANAHEIM, Calif. — The first day of the NCAA convention ended with one major initiative that affects Olympic sports, a pledge to enhance the organization’s policy on sexual violence and more discussion about how to compensate athletes for their name, image and likeness.
On the policy front, the NCAA Div. 1 council approved legislation that will allow athletes designated as elite by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and corresponding national governing bodies in other countries to receive additional training expenses, including travel for parents, guardians, coaches and sports experts.
“The intent is to be as supportive of student-athletes, college athletes as we can be and allow them this very extraordinary singular opportunity to represent their country every four years and do that in a way that isn’t damaging to the overall college athletic model,” NCAA president Mark Emmert told USA TODAY Sports in an interview last week.