AAC commissioner says no to paying players
Mike Aresco, commissioner of the new American Athletic Conference, declared at the league's first basketball media day that he is not in favor of players receiving additional compensation outside of their athletic scholarships.
"We will not pay players," Aresco said on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn.
"We will not establish an employer-employee relationship. That's not what college sports is about, and it is the road to ruin. The amateur model may be strained. There's no question there's issues. But with intelligent work and revisions, it can continue to work. It has to work."
Aresco did say that the AAC would consider a stipend proposed at the NCAA level last year for full cost-of-attendance scholarships and added that he supports strengthening the relationship between schools and players.
The AAC is entering its first season after a split with the Big East. The new conference is in flux with Louisville and Rutgers leaving after this season to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten, respectively, and several new members joining in 2014.
