In-season jobs not practical for most athletes

As of this fall, less than 10 of the more than 500 athletes at Arizona are currently working part time. Even though this is the program's first semester of operation, most athletic department officials don't expect a large increase in participation any time soon.

"This is about the response I had anticipated when the legislation was announced," said Bill Morgan, UA director of compliance. "With the current schedules these student athletes have, you have to wonder where the time is for them to go and work a part-time job."

One potential pitfall is the program's difficulty from a compliance standpoint. The NCAA is very strict on what steps the athletes need to take when trying to work during the academic year.

First, the athlete can only earn up to the full cost in financial aid, plus $2,000. Therefore, an athlete with a full scholarship can earn only $2,000 through working during the year.

The only exception to this rule is if an athlete is on partial scholarship and the athletic department lands that person a position. In that case, the athlete would only be eligible for $2,000, not the amount plus the remaining cost of financial aid.

Before the athlete can begin working there is also a large amount of paperwork that needs to be completed. First, an athlete cannot work part time during the academic year if he or she is a freshman or transfer to the university.

If the athlete does not fall under that category, the athletic department next will have to ensure that the athlete will be providing a legitimate service for the company, and that the person is making a salary commensurate with the current job market. This prevents athletes from being exploited and used as propaganda to get more customers to enter a store.

"That is the big fear we would have for our athletes," UA athletic director Jim Livengood said. "We want to make sure that our athletes would be contributing to the company in some way, and not used as walking advertisements for that particular business."

For salary verification, the department requires the business owner to sign an agreement stating that the athlete will be paid a certain amount.

The athletic department then collects biweekly pay stubs and checks that amount with the previously agreed upon rate.

And while it is a thorough process, there is still the fear that the athlete will accept a phony job and lose his or her eligibility.

"We really want to make sure these kids know the rules. We usually tell them if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is," Morgan said. "If a student-athlete gets caught with a bogus job, he gets in trouble, not the company owner or booster. The athlete loses his eligibility and is forced to repay the money he received from the job. The owner just gets a slap on the wrist, and if he's a booster, our department would disassociate itself from that person. But in the end, the athlete pays for it."

The athlete is also required to maintain academic eligibility if he hopes to work part time. This requires the correct balance between studying, competing and working.

"The first thing we tell our athletes is that it is your right to work in-season if you choose, but it is also your right to flunk out of school," Morgan said. "The response I've gotten is that it's just not worth the $2,000. "

And even if some of athletes can fit work in their schedule, many choose not to work anyway.

"Some of our girls are considering coaching a junior (volleyball) team in the spring," UA head volleyball coach Dave Rubio said. "I think that could work because they could probably have some flexibility there. I really don't see any athletes holding any kind of a steady job, though. They just don't have the time."

If athletes are really in a financial bind and need the extra money, the athletic department does have some special funds it can use in specific cases.

"These athletes really have other options when it comes to financial need," Morgan said. "We have a special assistance fund that can help with expendable academic supplies and other things like clothing. I think most athletes know that there is some money there if they really need it and they will be OK."

Arlie Rahn can be reached via e-mail at Arlie.Rahn@wildcat.arizona.edu.