NCAA Will Now Allow Schools to Pay For Parents On Official Visits

On a 14-1 vote, the NCAA's Division I Council voted to allow schools to pay the actual costs for parents to accompany their student-athlete on an official visit, effective August 1, 2016.  Big news?

It's absolutely HUGE for a school like Nebraska. Possibly bigger than satellite camps, truth be told. It's been suggested that winning Mom over is a key to getting a student athlete to commit to a school, and Nebraska has historically found success in getting players to commit if they get parents to visit on campus.  How so?

In 2013, Austin Everson, who was in charge of Nebraska's high school programs at that time, said that having a parent accompany the player on a visit increased the commitment rate from 29% to 62%. Why is that? While athletes look at training facilities and the stadium experience, parents looks at things like academic support programs - something that Nebraska excels at.  More than once that day, it was mentioned that if Nebraska could just get a parent to join in the trip, the school sells itself.

Parent could always come along, but they had to pay their own way before this: last minute airfare, hotels, etc.   And for parents visiting on a game weekend, that's a bill that could easily top $1000 for two.  (Have you seen the price for a hotel room in Lincoln on gameday?)   That's kept many parents at home.

Until now.  And that's HUGE.

YUUUUUUUUUUUUGE.