Giving college athletes a small percentage of the millions of dollars they generate is a “pipe dream,” Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said.

Baylor coach Dave Bliss called the whole idea “a Pandora’s Box.”

But judging from an informal survey, most Big 12 Conference basketball coaches would like to see players in revenue-producing sports get a stipend or a monthly salary.

“I think it’s unrealistic to think these kids only need their education paid for and nothing else,” Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said Monday during the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.

“Most of these kids are far away from home. A great deal of them don’t have parents who can send them money on a regular basis, if at all,” Patton said. “I’ve coached kids whose parents are unable to send them anything other than a box of food. The people who are making these decisions are all capable of sending their kids money when they go off to school.”

Kansas University senior Nick Collison says players should be paid something.

“I think every college athlete either had guys on the team or themselves really hurting for money,” Collison said. “I’ve had teammates here who could have definitely used something. So many kids we recruit to come to big campuses come from areas they don’t have any money, and we expect them to give everything to the team and university that wins a lot of games and makes a lot of money. These kids are still struggling, and their families at home are struggling and can’t give them money, either. There are a lot of kids like that.”

The biggest argument against paying players always has been the value of the education and other benefits they derive as scholarship athletes.

Full scholarships include tuition, room and board, books and fees. Athletes also get other considerations, such as free tutoring.

“I still am one of the ‘old school’ guys who feel the education and the opportunity to learn life skills … is what really enhances their college experience,” Bliss said. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow, the way college athletics has gone. College athletics has a guilt complex because of all the money involved with football and basketball.”

The issue has heated up in the Big 12 because there is a bill working its way through the Nebraska legislature that would mandate payments for football players.

Gov. Mike Johanns has said he would sign the bill into law, which would not take effect unless three other Big 12 states adopt the same measure. Former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr vetoed similar legislation in 1988.

“I’ve not seen and don’t know enough about the bill to comment particularly on that,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “The best academic scholarship at your school will say, ‘room, board, tuition and fees,’ and also say, ‘miscellaneous expense.’ I think the athletic scholarship should do that, particularly for football and men’s basketball that make so much money for our universities.

“I’ve always been in favor of the scholarship being a true full scholarship, as good as the best academic scholarship at your school.”

Oklahoma coach Sampson wondered if the Nebraska lawmakers were prepared “for the lawsuit that’s coming from Title IX.”

Title IX, the federal law requiring equal treatment for male and female athletes, certainly would be a complicating factor if schools attempted to pay football and men’s basketball players, but not female athletes. Sampson said he would join those who demand all athletes get paid.

“It bothers me that a university is going to write a check for a stipend for a student-athlete without writing a check for every student-athlete,” Sampson said. “Just because her sport doesn’t make money, that doesn’t mean she should be excluded.”

Older coaches remember fondly the $15 stipend they received as college players. The NCAA outlawed the stipend — called “laundry money” — in a cost-cutting move in 1973.

“We lined up and couldn’t wait to get that check,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. “I would have no problem with (paying athletes) at all. I know they say we’ve got a valuable scholarship, but they’re putting in a lot of time.”

Collison said it was frustrating to see his likeness on equipment being sold for profit, with Collison receiving no money from sale of the items.

“They are selling basketballs with me and Kirk’s picture on it,” Collison said of teammate Kirk Hinrich. “They’re talking of selling bobbleheads. People are making money off us. TV deals … there’s huge money for schools. Coaching contracts make huge money, and they (coaches) are not the ones wearing the shoes. It’s hard to see the athletes not making a little bit more.”