Some students may have wondered why the University of Arkansas at Monticello does not have an athletic dormitory on campus to house the student athletes.  Such a dormitory would benefit coaches and students. 

   The athletic dorm would benefit the team by providing a close environment which will help the team bond. It would also house the students in a centralized location for the coaches to supervise and locate easily. 

   In previous years, Alvy Early, director of athletics, required his athletes to live in a wing provided by the housing department at UAM. Today, coaches do not require student athletes to live on campus or in a specific dormitory or wing.  In August 2002, the NCAA bylaws were revised to outlaw coaches from requiring specific housing. 

   The NCAA wants student athletes to experience a true college experience by going through the same procedures as other students. Not all student athletes have a full-scholarship, and living off-campus proves more cost efficient than living in a dormitory. The students also get to pick their roommates just as other students do. 

   Larger schools use the dormitories as a recruiting tool. Their resources provide more than smaller schools which make it possible to build better buildings. The NCAA keeps them from using the lodging as another recruitment tool.

   On a small campus such as UAM, the majority of student athletes live on campus. The housing department assigns the rooms by their procedure, which does not include athletic status. 

   Coaches may require a student athlete to live on campus for specific reasons such as academic purposes. They encourage first-year students to live on campus for the experience. 

    “Most of us prefer athletes to be on campus for closer contact and to keep up with them,” Early said. 

   Many athletes choose to live together whether on campus or off and still get the bondage of teammates. Small campuses provide athletic teams the chance to bond just as well as larger schools.