Washington's Alston awards available to athletes on 25% scholarship

Athletes at Washington who receive 25-percent athletics aid or higher are eligible to receive education-related financial awards up to $5,980 annually. The awards are commonly referred to as Alston awards, following NCAA v. Alston. It was a case regarding education-related benefits that the NCAA appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of the plaintiffs in June 2021, affirming the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that NCAA rules were in violation of antitrust law.

Each school can determine whether it provides Alston awards, as well as the criteria for athletes to earn the awards. Some decisions are made at the conference level.

Here you can read On3’s guide to Alston awards.

Alston awards are capped at $5,980 annually because that’s the greatest amount an individual athlete “could receive in an academic year in participation, championship or special achievement awards,” according to the NCAA.

Schools can also provide athletes with other education-related benefits, such as laptops. However, Washington’s Alston awards policy states that the university will no longer award iPads to athletes who receive at least 25-percent athletics aid. Athletes who receive less than 25-percent athletics aid aren’t eligible for Alston awards, but they will receive iPads.

On3 obtained a copy of Washington’s Alston awards policy through a public records request.

In addition to athletes at Washington needing to have receive at least 25-percent athletics aid the previous quarter in order to receive Alston awards, they must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA or higher, have passed at least six credits the previous quarter and met their percentage-toward-degree requirements.

Washington distributes its Alston awards on a quarterly basis. Its athletes can earn $1,993 from the fall and winter quarters, and $1,994 during the spring quarter. Washington’s Alston awards are distributed at the end of January, April and June, respectively.

More than 300 Washington athletes could receive Alston awards

Washington’s Alston awards policy, which was dated November 2021 and took effect in January 2022, found that 328 athletes received at least 25-percent athletics aid last academic year. If each athlete qualified for the awards each quarter, the athletic department would distribute $1,961,440 in Alston awards.

Washington’s Alston awards policy says international students will be taxed 14 percent, then they’ll receive the net amount.

Athletes at Washington who transfer at the end of a quarter or competitive will not be eligible to receive Alston awards. The same applies for athletes who are “removed from the roster for athletics reasons” or who are “no longer participating with the team following a head coaching change.”

Athletes who are medically disqualified aren’t eligible to receive Alston awards starting with the academic year in which they’re a non-counter against team scholarship limits. They will receive a one-time $2,500 award upon graduation.

Washington’s Alston awards policy lists three guiding principles. One is to support football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players as the three sports named in the Supreme Court’s ruling. Another is to honor Title IX and the third is to “maintain competitiveness of all sports in a manner which is financially sustainable for the department.”