With College Football Playoffs on the Horizon, Can Family Members Receive Free Transportation, Lodging, and Meals to Attend the Playoffs?
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Term-In-Ology: With College Football Playoffs on the Horizon, Can Participating Football Student-Athletes’ Family Members Receive Free Transportation, Lodging, and Meals to Attend the Playoffs?
For the College Football Playoffs and the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours, family members of participating student-athletes may receive financial assistance for travel and lodging for these culminating postseason events.
The College Football Playoff pays for families of participating student-athletes to travel to their events, a benefit made possible by NCAA rules. The NCAA also pays for families of student-athletes to travel to the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours.
This permissive benefit was originally instituted as a pilot program with the 2015 Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships and had been extended through an annual waiver. It is now a permanent benefit available to participating student-athletes’ family members.
The legislation authorizes continued payments up to $3,000 total in travel, hotel and meal expenses for family members of each student-athlete on teams that compete in the Final Four semifinal games but don’t advance to the championships. The NCAA pays up to $4,000 in expenses for each student-athlete on teams that compete in the men’s and women’s basketball championship games. The College Football Playoff uses a similar formula to provide financial support to student-athlete family members to travel to the playoff’s semifinals and championship game.
Schools decide how and when to distribute funds to family members but make sure the funds are used as intended. The allowance is meant to cover transportation, hotel and meals for two family members per student-athlete. The NCAA has set no requirements on how far a family must travel to receive the allowance.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
