Food And Fueling Stations Have Become The New Recruiting Arms Race

College athletic programs trying to one-up the other have evolved from owning the best equipment to showcasing the most enviable wellness kitchen.

In this era of “anything you can do, I can do better”, the arms race among major college programs has shifted now to who offers the best unlimited food possibilities at no expense to the athletes.
Call it the Shabazz Napier Rule. College athletes should anoint Napier to sainthood because if he did not complain about having to go to bed hungry when he was at Connecticut, they might be in the same situation. Shortly after Napier’s comment, the NCAA’s legislative council removed bans on any food amounts for its Division I member schools and their student-athletes.

Let’s face it: The way to a college student’s heart is through his or her stomach. Prospective athletes may be impressed with the modern facilities, including the state-of-the-art weight-training areas, but it’s the quality of the food and abundance of it that makes their jaws drop and mouths salivate. They must no longer concern themselves with only three puny meals a day or a stipend. Many of them are afforded a 24-7 fueling station within the facilities with many of the programs spending upwards to $1.5 million annually on food and beverages alone.

According to a survey of a dozen top programs released last week by the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association, the average spending on food and beverages has increased 145 percent to $1.3 million from about $534,000 since Aug. 1, 2014, when the NCAA lifted its limitations on meals and snacks for Division I athletes. The respondents comprised only 7 percent of the Division I universities. All were members of the Power 5 conferences – ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. One university in the survey revealed that its food budget of $50,000 in the 2013-14 academic year increased to $1.2 million a year later. Another program doubled its budget to $2.8 million.

A New York Times article last week titled, “Next Arms Race in Major Sports Is at the Food Table”, stated that Auburn has added three full-time registered dieticians, opened a $6.6 million wellness kitchen and added a Greek yogurt bar with 12 topping choices. The article also features the development of Ohio State’s full sports nutrition department that includes four registered dieticians and a food budget of more than $1.5 million. Athlete fuel zones were constructed at two of the Buckeyes’ facilities stocked with fresh sandwiches, chips, fruits, yogurt and hummus.

Arizona has a unique setup allowing the general public into what’s called the “Bear Down Kitchen” at its new Lowell-Stevens Facility. In addition to serving as the training table for Arizona athletes, the Bear Down Kitchen offers buffet-style options for the public to buy breakfast or lunch during the school year. The dining area includes a pizza oven, salad bar, and a panoramic view of the football field. It’s not uncommon for coaches and athletes to eat at a nearby table, which accentuates the experience for fans or potentially family members of prospective recruits. “That makes a big difference for when moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandmas, whoever comes in and they see a place that they know that their son or daughter will be well nourished all the time,” Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne said during a tour of the facility last year.

The money spent by the public at the Bear Down Kitchen goes toward the athletic department’s budget of supplying food, snacks and beverages for the athletes. It’s a novel idea, one that non-Power 5 programs should take note of instead of complain about the fat cats getting fatter while they are left with a skinnier budget to nourish their athletes.

The New York Times article mentioned that according to Dave Ellis, a past president of the dietitians association and a consultant to several athletic programs, the huge increases in spending in the last year represent what it costs to provide adequate fueling to the athletes in large athletic programs in the first place. As we learned with Napier, the amount allocated to food for athletes was not nearly enough.

Ellis also mentioned that he believes finding resources to finance food provisions should not be difficult for those outside the Power 5. All schools have donors with deep pockets. Ellis predicts these people will rally to make sure athletes are adequately nourished when they make their donations to the program. “Everybody can build a 24-7 fueling station and get that funded,” Ellis is quoted as saying. “There’s no reason you can’t.”

It takes a proactive response of planning and development to add the availability of unlimited food for athletes as a means for a winning program. When it comes to recruiting, every program should realize sooner than later that in order to compete for the best prospects, they must put their money where the athletes’ mouths are.