Amid a national debate about paying college athletes, the NCAA likes to tout its often-overlooked Student Assistance Fund, whose goal is to provide direct financial support to players. The fund--which draws from the association's multibillion-dollar media-rights deals--will distribute some $75-million this year to Division I athletes. The money has helped colleges reimburse players for such things as clothing, health insurance, summer school, and many other costs that their scholarships do not cover. But not all of the dollars directly help students. According to a Big Ten Conference document obtained by "The Chronicle," the University of Iowa used part of its money last year to pay shredding fees, cover administrator-travel costs, and purchase displays for an arena. Other Big Ten universities have used their distribution in part to pay for lightning-detection software, "team-building" activities, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in parking permits--money that, in the end, often goes right into the universities' pockets. Other institutions spent a share of their allocation on team massages and yoga, chair rental, "welcome back events," and a battery of reading and learning tests. When distributing the money, many institutions give priority to recipients of Pell Grants, the federal assistance program for needy students that in recent years has helped at least 16 percent of Division I athletes. But the possible use of some of those NCAA dollars to meet staff or team objectives, rather than to directly benefit low-income students, concerns people who study policies and practices affecting college success. Officials in the Big Ten defend their use of the dollars, saying the NCAA allows institutions wide latitude in how they spend the money. They emphasize that the document, which was obtained through a public-records request, shows only a small fraction of the fund's usage. The report describes many payments flowing more directly to students. For example, the University of Nebraska dedicated $24,876 toward players' utility bills. The University of Minnesota spent $23,418 in part to send members of its football team to a funeral for a former teammate. And Penn State contributed $14,956 toward parents' travel costs when 14 of its students had surgery. Other institutions paid child-care costs, housing and travel expenses for study abroad, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses and dental work. The Big Ten is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the NCAA money. Last year its universities received more than $5-million from the program, and used about $4.7-million of the money, according to the league document.