Students need money for food, gas and laundry. If a student eats three meals a day, it would usually cost then about fifteen dollars. Usually, the student athletes do not travel much, so gas expenses would be minimal. However there are those occasional trips home to see family. The student also needs money for laundry.
Laundry runs around five or six dollars per week.
Years ago, student athletes at colleges and universities were given laundry money, which was twenty-five to thirty dollars a week. The money could be spent freely. It was like an allowance that your parents would give you every week. I feel that this little support would at least help the student when money is hard to come by at home. A student would have less financial troubles if they were compensated for athletics.