Student athletes face special challenges finding housing
College athletes who play spring sports sometimes forced to move out of their dorms before season’s end.
Students can have a rough time finding an affordable apartment that checks all of their boxes. For student athletes, whose playing schedules don’t always align with the school year, the search can be much tougher.
Seth Gergely, a senior and Sycamore baseball player who graduated in May, faced these problems as a student-athlete. Gergely, came to ISU as the third stop in his college playing career, faced these very issues early on.
Most universities have sporting seasons that extend beyond the academic year, but most student-athletes are required to move out of the dorms if they are not on the active roster after the school year. Some athletes are forced to pay out-of-pocket to live in the dorms throughout the duration of their season.
Most athletes are required to pay out-of-pocket for summer housing due to their sport not being in season, and as mentioned, not on the active roster for their sport as their season continues.
Even if the athletes live in the dorms on campus during the duration of their season ending, they may not even get to live with a teammate as they don’t get to keep their old dorm.
Gergely recalled some moments from when he was a freshman at Purdue University and had to find an upperclassman to move in with while the season finished up.
“The university had us living with other baseball players on our team, and athletes were given their dorms to live in instead of rooming with non-athletes,” Gergely said.
Gergely played one year at Purdue University before transferring to a JUCO (junior-college) league in Dayton, Ohio, at Sinclair University before transferring to Indiana State University in 2020.
Gergely transferred to Indiana State University in the heart of COVID-19, a pandemic that has been luring around since March of 2020.
“Most of the behind-the-scenes action regarding finding a place to live was in control of my coaches here at Indiana State,” Gergely said. “On my visit, we looked at multiple locations to live because living in the dorms wasn’t required beyond your freshman year.”
Gergely’s problem was with the price of rent. COVID-19 increased the prices of rent, along with many other things. While Gergely was transferring to ISU, the price of rent increased about 13%, according to data collected by Dwellsy, a rental property housing site.
“The price of rent wasn’t bad at first since my friend and teammate, Mike Sears, also transferred to ISU and was able to split rent,” Gergely said.
The two players had moved into the University Village apartments located north of campus. However, Gergely and Sears were paying a total of $730 a month for a small apartment.
However, being student-athletes, the two players were not allowed to earn outside income, with their schedule demands and limits imposed by the NCAA rules regarding NLI (Name, Image, Likeness) at the time.
The location of the apartment alongside Terre Haute’s infamous railroad tracks was also a big deal for Gergely and Sears, as the blaring of train horns distracted them from homework and led to many sleepless nights.
“When we first decided to move to the University Village Apartments was due to the recent remodel of some of the apartments,” Gergely said. “We had taken a long time to decide, [and] we later regretted the decision.”
Gergely and Sears lived at the University Village apartments for two years before calling it quits with the tiny, loud apartment.
The two players later moved into the University Village Townhouses towards the end of 2022.
“We pay less than we did at the University Village Apartments ($650 a month) and are much happier because we now have two floors instead of one,” Gergely said.
If players are required to host underclassmen who live on campus, it can be difficult, but not always.
“It helped me create some bonds and friendships I will never forget and I’m incredibly thankful I didn’t have to live in some of the lower-level dormitories some students had to deal with,” Gergely said.
“I have not had to host any first-year students in the last three years, but I know that is an annoyance for those who have to and, of course, to the first-year students who are kicked out of their dorms,” Gergely said. “I’m incredibly thankful that I have not had to host any first-year students in the last three years.”
