Training tables wrapped in red tape

By Alyssa Purser

Anyone can have a case of the Mondays. The back-to-school grind for students; the back-to-work grind for professionals. But returning to routine can be even harder for college football players, in after a heart-wrenching loss.

Dirty looks. Disappointed faces. People who follow sports are familiar with the stern lectures delivered by coaches and long hours spent watching game films, reliving every mistake. 

As familiar as this sounds to die-hard fans, there is also a lot they don’t know about what happens behind the scenes of a major college program.

For example, that the NCAA prohibits teams from providing more than one meal a day to elite athletes. And that major teams have professional dietitians on staff who decide what will be served and when.

At UGA, the NCAA-approved meal is lunch -- except on an early game day, when breakfast is served. “We really work to get the most out of that one meal that we’re able to provide,” said Jen Ketterly, sports nutritionist at the University of Georgia.

Timing is an issue. If a school offers only dinner, “this can lead to ‘back-loading’ fuel, meaning athletes undereat during the day and are prone to overeating at night,” said the University of Michigan nutritionist Caroline Mandel.

Most nutrition directors are lobbying NCAA regulations to ditch the one-meal-a-day rule.

Athletes skip “breakfast and lunch due to busy class schedules, lifting, conditioning, tutoring, pure laziness, et cetera,” said Sarah Snyder, sports dietitian at the University of Florida. Knowing that they will sit down to a hearty, free dinner prompts athletes to “’save up’” for later.

Only scholarship athletes are able to eat training tables for free. Walk-ons have to pay. The vast majority of college athletes have no training table at all. The groaning board is typically reserved for high-profile sports.

Team dietitians are quick to point out that they have little idea what athletes eat the rest of the day. They have access to dining halls, like other students on meal plans, but are no more likely than their classmates to choose wisely.

“Nobody is with the athletes 24 hours a day,” said Leslie Bonci, team dietitian for the University of Pittsburgh, and for the Steelers and the Penguins. 

Student athletes are also limited by time, money, and cooking ability. Fast-food becomes the answer, not the solution, to some of these problems.

“You can’t move forward with a diet of French fries and beer,” explains Marie Spano, a sports dietitian for the Atlanta Hawks and the Braves. “Although she mostly advises pro athletes, she has had her share of difficulties with new college graduates.

Another thing that galls nutrition directors is that NCAA rules spell out what can be on the training table.

Until recently, sports nutritionists were banned from providing athletes a spread for their bagels. Not even a smear of cream cheese or a dollop of butter. Although unlimited fruits, nuts, and bagels fell within the NCAA guidelines, many popular breakfast foods were prohibited. Peanuts were allowed but peanut butter was a no-no. The NCAA backed off a bit this past August, relaxing regulations to finally allow spreads for bagels.

Specific guidelines are in place for drinks and snacks. “We’re able to give a carbohydrate electrolyte drink, a carbohydrate booster, a meal replacement beverage, or a vitamin and mineral supplement,” said Ketterly. There are additional limits within these categories.

Nutrition directors chafe at rules micromanaging their decisions about what is or isn't on the training table, how often athletes can pull up a chair, and what’s best between meals and during competition. 

“If we’re going to ask our athletes to perform and compete at high levels all year round, then let us support them physically,” said Ketterly. “So that they can achieve their goals and do what we’re asking them to do.”

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