U of Ill. Sports Gets $900,000 a Year in Waivers

The University of Illinois provides more than $900,000 a year in tuition waivers to cover scholarships for athletes and will continue to provide such support despite a committee's recommendation that the practice stop.

The Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/pZkqNv ) reports that the university has provided the money from its general fund since the 1970s. A campus committee recommended that the waivers be phased out over five years as the university looks for ways to save money. They will instead be reduced.

Associate Chancellor Bill Adams was a member of the committee. He says the school's sports programs would have trouble making up the money if it was eliminated.

The waivers began in the 1970s as a way to support women's sports. Among Big Ten schools, only Wisconsin has a similar arrangement.