Iowa Athletics’ academic reward payments plan prioritizes graduation

IOWA CITY — Iowa Athletics will prioritize graduation in deciding how much to pay athletes for their academic performance, according to the program description obtained by The Gazette via a public records request.

The Hawkeye Academic Advantage Plan will take effect for the fall 2022 semester — about a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in Alston v. NCAA cleared the path for schools to pay athletes up to $5,980 annually for their academic performance.

Iowa athletes under full athletic scholarships will receive $1,495 per semester or $2,990 per year if they are academically eligible for the semester and return to school for the following semester, according to the document.

The annual stipend for Iowa athletes who have a partial athletic scholarship will be proportionate with how much their scholarship is worth. For example, someone with 50 percent of a scholarship will receive 50 percent of the $1,495 per semester — $747.50.

Iowa will defer another $2,990 in payments per year to scholarship athletes until after they receive an undergraduate degree from the university. The graduation reward has a cap of $11,960.

The two-pronged approach means an Iowa athlete under scholarship who spends four years at the university can receive up to $23,920. If the athlete decides to redshirt a season and spends a fifth year at Iowa, the maximum would go up to $26,910.

“Do I believe that's going to keep somebody from transferring out? Probably not,” Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a July news conference. “But it sure is a reward if you decide to come and stay.”

Iowa walk-ons also can receive academic reward payments, albeit on a more limited scale. They can receive $2,990 per year after graduation if they spent at least three years on an intercollegiate team.

Graduate students are not eligible for the program, per the UI Athletics document.

The academic reward payments is separate from NIL although both started in 2021 and resulted in new avenues for athletes to make money outside of their scholarships.

Comments: (319) 398-8394; john.steppe@thegazette.com