Terps Student-Athletes Given Free iPads; Cost University Of Maryland $281K

The athletic department distributed new gadgets to all student-athletes this week, but they weren’t new cleats, sticks or uniforms.

Instead, the athletic department spent more than $281,000 from the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund on iPads for each team member, said athletics department spokesman Zack Bolno. The fund’s aim is to benefit student-athletes and has traditionally been used for academic purposes. University officials said the iPads are to help student-athletes in the classroom, noting the money could not have been used for other purposes, but that hasn’t prevented questions from some members of the seven athletic teams that were cut last summer in an effort to balance the department’s budget.

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