At first blush, the news item that Maryland has announced plans to buy an iPad for every one of its roughly 500 athletes at a cost of about $300,000 seems like just another case of temporary insanity caused by the recruiting arms races.
But when you realize this is the same Maryland athletic department that announced it was bolting as a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the big payday of joining the Big Ten because of its crippling department debt ? which prompted it to drop seven entire sports programs ? the insanity seems more than temporary.
The school justified the expense because it has decided it can pay for the iPads with the student-athlete opportunity fund ? which is supposed to be used to help student-athletes with unexpected expenses and financial hardships. But because Maryland deems this as helping with their athletes? educational mission, it decided the use of the fund was appropriate. ?Our student-athletes will now be better connected academically when traveling to represent the university,? the school?s statement read. ?Each iPad has educational apps and the department has the ability to issue additional apps as necessary. These iPads provide our student-athletes with direct access to iTunes U, which is one of the largest educational resources available.?
Yes, this is the same Maryland that says its athletic department debt could top $17 million by 2017 and that recently dropped its teams in men?s and women?s swimming, men?s tennis, women?s water polo, acrobatics and tumbling, along with men?s cross-country and indoor track. Its president, Wallace D. Loh, did say when Maryland announced it was joining the Big Ten in November that he hoped the new conference paycheck would help restore those sports.
But until then, it?s just iPads for everyone.
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