Imagine this…there’s a national championship on the line…There are 2 seconds left to score the game-winning foul shot.

You could hear pin drop in the coliseum… the team’s star pounds a couple of dribbles, focuses on the rim… As he takes aim a violent *growl* disrupts his concentration… the shot is off.  Hopes dashed. Game over.

Does it seem preposterous that a *growl* of a hungry stomach might effect a star Division 1 athlete?

It is no more preposterous than this: After UConn snatched the NCAA DI men’s basketball national championship, player Shabazz Napier shocked reporters when he stated he often went to bed hungry. 

“Sometimes, there’s hungry nights where I’m not able to eat, but I still gotta play up to my capabilities” stated Napier.

In order to avoid this over dramatized scenario, the National Collegiate Athletic Association recently approved unlimited meals and snacks for all Division I athletes.

USDemocrazy previously covered the topic of paying student athletes, but never have people thought athletes’ basic needs were not being met.  

The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association released a 2013 report stating athletes were not receiving proper food that met nutritional guidelines. Previous to this new change, most likely to start August of 2014, athletes were given three meals a day or a food stipend. 

Are student athletes given too many privileges or is this an appropriate step to avoid exploitation of student athletes?