Oregon athletes earn $2.6 million in academic financial awards

This story has been updated with the University of Oregon’s Alston policy.

More than 97% of the student-athletes enrolled at Oregon earned an academic financial award during the 2021-22 academic year. In a 9-0 decision in the NCAA v. Alston case last summer, the Supreme Court affirmed a district court’s injunction regarding NCAA rules that limited education-related benefits in violation of the Sherman Act.

At Oregon, 521 of 536 athletes received at least $1,993.33 during the fall, winter or spring term. That’s one-third of the maximum allowable annual amount of $5,980. On3 obtained the data through a public records request.

Many Division I schools have announced future plans to provide academic financial awards. However, only about two dozen FBS institutions had plans to do so during the 2021-22 academic year, according to an ESPN survey. These awards are an example of direct compensation paid by universities to athletes rather than NIL, where third parties pay athletes for commercial endorsements and appearances. The former is a financial relationship that could increase in the future.

Each university’s criteria and payment structure for academic financial awards can vary.

For reference, athletes at Missouri can earn one of three tiers of academic financial awards per semester — $1,200, $2,000 or $2,990. However, at Oregon, it’s all or nothing for each term. Athletes can earn either a third of the $5,980 maximum award each term or $0.

In order to earn up to $1,993.34 each term, athletes must be an active member of their team at the start of the term (or medically disqualified or have exhausted their eligibility and are now completing their first baccalaureate degree). At the end of the term, they must be in academic good standing under NCAA, Pac-12 and university rules, as well as in terms of the university’s student conduct rules.

Here’s the breakdown of what Oregon athletes earned last school year:

• 381 athletes earned the maximum-allowable amount of $5,980
• 58 athletes earned $3,986.66/$3,986.67
• 82 athletes earned $1,993.33/$1,993.34
• 15 athletes didn’t earn any academic financial awards

Many FBS schools spend more than $2 million per year on academic financial awards

In total, Oregon spent $2,673,059.72 on academic financial awards for its student-athletes last school year.

For reference, in the 2021 fiscal year, which is the most recent data that’s available, Oregon’s athletic department reported more than $117 million in revenue, according to its NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System report. That was roughly $10 million less than revenue in 2019, which was the most recent fiscal year that ended prior to the pandemic.

Ole Miss spent a total of $2,314,922 on academic financial awards in the 2021-22 academic year, based on data provided from a public records request. Missouri spent $874,470 on academic financial awards in the fall semester last school year. LSU spent $1,300,650 in the spring semester.

Coaches often receive bonuses based on their athletes’ academic success and now the athletes themselves can cash in on their work in the classroom, too.

First-year Oregon football coach Dan Lanning can earn $100,000 annually in academic incentives if his team achieves a single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 985 or greater. Men’s basketball coach Dana Altman can earn $50,0000 annually. Women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves can earn $25,000 through the same incentive schedule.

For some of Oregon’s athletic programs, almost every athlete on the roster earned the maximum possible academic financial award of $5,980. Women’s lacrosse (96.7%), softball (95.8%), acrobatics & tumbling (93.2 %) and women’s tennis (90%) were each at 90% or higher in terms of student-athletes who achieved an academic financial award every term.