<p>North Carolina legislators stuck in a provision in a budget bill to provide scholarships to athletes at 10 in-state HBCs, some public, some private.</p>
<p>I'm curious what y'all think.</p>
<p>For context, please note the consequences of this break and others in the state. An existing provision for UNC and N.C. State gives an in-state tuition break to out-of-state scholarship students. That helps spread Morehead-Cain scholarship money as well as athletic scholarships.</p>
<p>The state also has a little-known legislative tuition grant of about $950 per student for in-state students attending in-state private schools. I'd love to know the total cost for the state of that program, though I'm glad that money exists, as a parent of an N.C. high school senior.</p>
<p>(Link will die after a week or so, so here are some excerpts of the story written by Dan Kane of the Raleigh News & Observer: )</p>
<p>" Starting next year, the state will send taxpayer money in what appears to be an unprecedented direction -- to pay for 20 annual athletic scholarships at public and private colleges.
The $500,000 scholarship fund is the latest example of a special provision tucked into the budget just a few hours before lawmakers cast their final vote. It did not appear in a stand-alone bill, nor did it come up for debate in a legislative committee.
With the $20.7 billion budget's passage, two athletes at each of the state's 10 historically black colleges and universities will receive a $1,250-a-year scholarship, paid from the interest raised from the fund. Five of the 10 colleges are public, including NCCU in Durham, and five are private, including Shaw University and St. Augustine's College in Raleigh.
UNC leaders did not ask for the fund, said Andy Willis, the system's lobbyist. He said they had no idea it was coming, and might have had something to say about it, because it appears to be the first time the state has directly funded athletics scholarships. Athletics scholarships at public colleges are typically funded by private donations, often through booster organizations such as the Rams Club at UNC-Chapel Hill.
"Sometimes these things just magically appear," Willis said.
The magician, in this case, is state Sen. Charlie Dannelly, a Charlotte Democrat. He said he requested the money after legislative leaders told him he could not get funds to support the CIAA and MEAC basketball tournaments held in Charlotte and Raleigh, respectively.
The fund's only definitive requirement is that the recipient be a varsity athlete. There's no grade point average to meet. Leadership qualities are not identified. Financial need is not a consideration.
The state has long provided tuition grants to residents who attend private colleges and universities in North Carolina regardless of need or merit. Four years ago, lawmakers created a similar grant program for students attending Bible colleges in the state.
Dannelly said the scholarships are appropriate, given that lawmakers two years ago allowed UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University athletes from out-of-state who receive booster-club scholarships to pay in-state tuition rates. That was a special provision in the 2005 budget.
"Those are worth thousands of dollars; with this we're talking $1,250," Dannelly said.</p>