In April, the NCAA council approved a new rule that will allow current and future Division I student-athletes to be provided with unlimited meals and snacks so players wouldn’t have to go through what UConn point guard Shabazz Napier during his collegiate career.
Napier made comments during the NCAA tournament of nights where he couldn’t afford enough meals for himself.
The new rules implemented by the NCAA has been a long time coming for student-athletes and now they have one less thing to worry about.
The new rule should ideally allow athletes the ability to eat the right amount of meals each day but what do the changes mean for schools like the University of Houston?
“The common misconception with the rule is that it will allow unlimited meals to all of our student-athletes,” said UH Sports Nutritionist Glenda Blaskey, “What it really does is it allow the school more opportunities to provide meals and more variety of food for post snack workout.”
Blaskey helps with menu planning, food service operations, catering for team travel, pregame meals and creating specific individual meal plans for athletes.
“It’s important for us to provide the financial need of each and every single student-athlete” said Jeff Collier, the associate AD for business and finance.
What a student-athlete consume plays a huge role in how an athlete performances during workouts, games, and to repair the body from such activities.
“Poor nutrition can lead to an increase in risk of injuries taking place,” said Head Trainer Michael O’Shea.
The NCAA has stated that it’s up to the universities on how to “determine the nutritional need of its athletes.”
While the three day meal plan won’t be affected, it will help those who need the help.
“The new rule is meant to assist with three day meal plan as it’s still what we recommended to our athletes on how much nutrition they should consume each day,” said Blaskey.
The NCAA may have been behind implementing a rule that should have always been provided student athletes won’t have to worry about starving when they go to bed.
Kevin Ngo's Blog 