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According to a Bergen Record analysis of financial records from the school’s athletics department, the Rutgers football team racked up over $450,000 worth of DoorDash deliveries from May 2021 to June 2022—despite the athletic department operating at a $73 million deficit over 2020 and 2021.
In response to the investigation’s findings, the institution stated that players were allowed to use the delivery service because of the NCAA’s COVID Q&A guide’s quarantine guidelines.
“According to this guidance, our institution was approved to utilize DoorDash to give boxed food delivery services or gift cards related to food to a student-athlete who was compelled to stay at home, go back home, or who was otherwise unable to access campus because of COVID,” Rutgers Athletics said in a statement.
After leading the Scarlet Knights out of the tunnel, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano
After leading the Scarlet Knights out of the tunnel, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano Symbol Getty Images via Sportswire
Since many of our student-athletes originate from low-income families and it was challenging to provide for their dietary needs while using COVID, this was the best option to ensure the welfare of our players. We kept using DoorDash until June 2022 to give student-athletes options for takeout meals when an acceptable meal was not otherwise offered or available.
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“When food was not given in the facility while student-athletes were in quarantine or engaged in team activities including practice, competition, and rehab, DoorDash was employed as a substitute for institutional meals.”
The DoorDash delivery service, according to Rutgers, is accessible to numerous student-athletes on campus in addition to its football squad.
players had also ordered DoorDash delivery from pharmacies and convenience stores, some of which were put thousands of miles distant from the Rutgers campus in New Brunswick, which is close to the players’ hometowns. This information was discovered during the financial assessment.
The Bergen Record discovered that “in one instance, a player placed orders in Florida and New York on the same day, a thousand miles apart, and then continued to make orders in Florida for two more days.”
According to Rutgers Athletics, “over a 14-month period, there were approximately 19,745 orders for student-athletes at an average monthly transaction cost of $22.88.” “Three student-athletes made restricted purchases of non-food items, which was not allowed under the program, and the NCAA has required that those purchases be addressed.”
According to reports, the DoorDash scheme was designed to give $75 a week, uploaded one week at a time. There were no limits on individual transactions, and any unused monies were cleared at the end of each week.
