NIU intends to offer its current and prospective student-athletes scholarships that include cost of attendance for all sports beginning in 2015-16, according to a Frazier’s Corner release.

Cost of attendance covers expenses beyond the room, board, tuition and books included in current athletic scholarships. Cost of attendance stipends are determined by each institution using federally created guidelines and are designed to cover cost-of-living expenses not covered in athletic scholarships. Athletic departments can provide aid to equal the full cost of attendance (for full scholarship sports) while using cost of attendance amounts for calculating partial scholarships.

The Power Five — or “autonomy” — conferences voted earlier this month to allow their schools to include cost of attendance in the aid given to their student-athletes, and last week the MAC reiterated its support of the legislation.

Covering the cost of attendance will require an additional $800,000 at minimum in scholarship costs annually for NIU’s Athletic Department, according to Athletic Director Sean Frazier. He said in the release that generating the money to fund the cost of attendance will be placed on the Athletic Department.