Shane Battier says paying college athletes is ‘low-hanging fruit’ – he wants more | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Continued debate over whether college athletes should be paid is just scratching the surface of what universities should provide, says former Duke University basketball star Shane Battier.

“The movement to compensate athletes has gained steam. Personally, I think that’s low-hanging fruit,” Battier said Monday, following a panel discussion in Washington about NCAA Division 1 college basketball.

Battier led the Duke Blue Devils to two Final Four appearances and an NCAA Championship title before he graduated in 2001. He went on to a 14-year career in the NBA, which included being a first round-draft pick with the Memphis Grizzlies and two championship seasons with the Miami Heat.

Duke inducted Battier into the university’s athletic Hall of Fame last month.

Being paid while playing sports in college would help student-athletes, Battier said, “But it wouldn’t be a life-changing experience.”

Equal consideration should be given, he said, to how universities can set students up for long-term success post-college.

His suggestion?

“Jock ec – sort of like ‘home ec’ but it’s for jocks,” Battier said.

He recalled a course he’d taken for Duke players that connected him with local business leaders and, later, helped him navigate financial and legal issues related to playing professionally under collective bargaining agreements in the NBA.

“That’s a service that can easily be supplied to all athletes,” he said.

Battier’s comments came Monday afternoon following a Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics event with other former players, as well as several collegiate athletic directors and conference officials. Battier previously has advocated for new compensation for student-athletes, including suggesting the NCAA or another entity could set up trust funds with money that players could receive only if they graduated.

College students – whether they play professionally or go on to careers after getting degrees – could also benefit from connecting with their alma maters’ alumni bases, Battier said. In his experience, he said, networking has been more important to employment opportunities than his degree in religion.

He also told Knight Commission members Monday that the organization should continue to advocate for fairness for student-athletes in relation to their schedules.

“I was probably one of the last of the Mohicans,” Battier said, referring to his time nearly 15 years ago in college sports. “I’m just shocked at the schedule of the college basketball player. It has literally become a 24/7 job. . . . I would highly suggest that we do a better job of letting our students be students.”

Between team workouts, travel, academic tutoring, classwork and other demands on players, “over-scheduling” has become a troubling trend as competitiveness in college sports increases, Battier said.

Other panelists agreed with Battier on the over-scheduling problem, including Jeff Jones, head men’s basketball coach at Old Dominion University, and Trey Burke, Washington Wizards point guard and former University of Michigan standout.

Also on Monday, the Knight Commission called on the NCAA to adopt new policies that would give student-athletes more free time and other practices that would grant financial rewards to university athletic departments that meet academic goals.