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After big game, NCAA grapples with student-athlete pay

The NCAA's faces pressure to provide student athletes with more financial aid.

The NCAA—college-sports’ governing body—has its big annual convention in Washington, D.C., this week. Now that Ohio State has won the first-ever national college-football championship against the University of Oregon, and the new post-season playoffs have proven to be a ratings hit on ESPN, the NCAA will be talking about ways to let some schools increase financial support for scholarship athletes.

The NCAA is facing increasing pressure from a college-player union, and antitrust lawsuits, to loosen the rules that limit direct compensation to student-athletes, and guarantee instead that a big share of revenue from top-earning sports teams flows to university athletic departments and the million-dollar-plus coaches they employ.

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