It gives a whole new meaning to “pay to play.” In this case, if you play, you get paid.

The major college programs are starting to push for scholarships to include payment to their athletes. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney said athletic scholarships are not full cost of attendance like many academic scholarships.

Imagine that, a college for learning giving a full amount of money to a student working toward an education.

Under federal financial-aid guidelines, each institution is required to estimate full cost of attendance. The amount varies depending on the school. Athletic scholarships currently cover tuition, fees, room, board and books. Not covered are transportation, clothing, laundry, entertainment and incidentals.

Athletic officials believe athletes deserve the money because of the exposure they bring to the school.

All this reeks of today’s “right of entitlement” that the young expect and sometimes demand. Hey, if you don’t like the deal you don’t have to play.

Let’s see, an athlete gets everything paid but still needs money to have a good time, to wash their clothes and to travel to and from school.

The average student who pays their own tuition, room, board, fees and books also pays for their own transportation, laundry, entertainment and incidentals.

Do you think the other students feel sorry for that football player who didn’t have enough money to buy a pizza or go to a movie?

And don’t think athletes are all destitute. Players are paid for their living expenses. They do not have to live on campus. The school usually picks the dorm that costs the most money to reside — say $800 a month — and pays the athlete a check each month for that said amount.

The athlete can find an apartment at $400 and pocket the rest. Do you think there are any boosters who own apartments who give athletes a good deal?

Most colleges have clothing deals with companies like NIKE, Champion and Adidas. Players are given numerous pairs of shoes, shirts, sweats, jackets, shorts, etc.

There are two big problems with paying athletes. Number one, of course, is Title IX. If you pay the football players, you will have to pay every athlete — male or female — and that includes all non-revenue sports. That could force some programs to cut sports such as lacrosse, swimming, tennis, etc.

So where is the money going to come from? The Big Ten has a TV network and plans to use the revenue from that source. Of course, that will hurt conferences like the MAC and C-USA who don’t have a network and can’t generate advertising interest to develop one.

The idea of increasing the student activity fee would upset the average student. They are working a part-time job for $7 an hour that generates about $700 a month. An athlete’s scholarship is worth about $2,000 a month. So the student is making $1,300 less a month toward their education and you want them to pay more so that guy with his education that’s paid can have a good time.

Delaney said the “full-cost-of-attendance” would not have to be mandatory. Of course not, because that way the big conferences would have an advantage and that’s what this is really all about.

When the NCAA cut scholarships from 125 all the way down to 85 to level the playing field, the major programs have always looked for a way to maintain their edge.

And paying athletes won’t stop the cheating. In fact, it will probably make it even worse.

Obviously there are those who argue the other way and understandably so. College football and basketball are multi-million dollar businesses. But few schools finish the year in the black because of their expenses with other sports.

Don’t expect a decision any time soon.

— Sinatra —

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.