NCAA Rules Might Be Fly in the Soup : College athletics: Regulations on financial aid might prevent Cal State Northridge from implementing a meal plan for its athletes.

An assistant dean at Cal State Northridge said Thursday that NCAA rules might thwart efforts to implement a meal plan for the school’s athletes.

Regulations governing team and individual aid limits sometimes work against needy athletes, according to a five-member panel of Northridge administrators and students.

“By trying to deal with excesses, the NCAA has created a group of students who are being put at a financial disadvantage,” said Mary Ann Cummins Prager, chairwoman of a task force formed to study the feasibility of a meal plan for student-athletes.

NCAA guidelines prohibit athletes from receiving financial aid and loans in excess of the cost of a full scholarship. At Northridge, the price tag for tuition, books and room and board this school year has been calculated at $7,412.

The cost of a 19-meal per week meal plan at Northridge is $2,040 per year, leaving athletes no more than about $5,400 to cover rent, tuition, books and other expenses over a nine-month period.

“There just isn’t enough left, whether it’s for washing your clothes or for studying-related things,” Cummins Prager said.

In the committee’s report, which was submitted this week to Ronald R. Kopita, a university vice president, Cummins Prager wrote, “While the intention might be to provide a healthy and nutritional diet by controlling food intake, requiring a meal plan might actually exacerbate the financial pressure on certain groups of students.

“For some students, the only means available to purchase the plan might be to take out a loan, leading to indebtedness. For students who live off campus and prepare meals at a cost lower than the meal plan, requiring participation in the meal plan might be viewed in a negative and burdensome manner.”

The task force was formed in October after several current and former Northridge football players complained that some of the university’s athletes were going hungry and living in substandard conditions. The Matador football team boycotted an Oct. 4 practice to call attention to the plight of some needy players.

The committee recommended that the university investigate means of lowering the cost of a meal plan and solicit bids from outside sources for a training table. The panel also urged Northridge administrators to write a letter to the NCAA outlining the potentially adverse impact current regulations have on some needy athletes.

Kopita said he had not studied the task force report yet, but that he would discuss the committee’s recommendations with other administrators.