"Will a guy give you $2 million just becauseyou beat Yale? No. But it goes as part of theambiance to make you feel warmly about Harvard,"Monrad says.

Despite indications that the athletes' "tip" islarger than that of applicants talented innon-athletic extracurriculars, coaches still saythey have little pull in the admissions process.

"The decision is not made by us," saysTomassoni. "What they consider more favorably isup to them."

Graham agreed. "We give admissions feedback onhow they would help the team. Then it's up toadmissions who gets in," he says. "There's noguarantee they get in."

Coaches also say their recruiting process costless than those of other Ivy League schools.

"We are very frugal," says Tomassoni, who flewin five recruits last year. "Other schools wouldfly people in before they take the SATs. We don'twine and dine them like other schools."

Another "perk" in the life of astudent-athletes is access to low-stress jobs inathletic facilities.

According to Gregory J. Garber, assistantdirector of athletics for operations, about 50percent of students take these jobs that "to becandid, are not that difficult."

Garber hires students to monitor athleticfacilities, operate game clocks, sweep upbasketball courts and other cushy jobs with theathletic department.

"It's not rocket science here," Garber says.

But according to athletes and officials,landing these jobs is simply a matter of being atthe right place at the right time.

The prize positions are the monitor jobs, whichinvolve checking IDs and taking phone calls atathletic buildings, like the Palmer-Dixon IndoorTennis Courts.

"This is really the perfect job," says StevenT. Flomenhoft '93, who works at Palmer-Dixon. "Ican study while I work."

Flomenhoft, the second-line center for themen's varsity ice hockey team, works nine hoursper week as a monitor. Flomenhoft says Tomassonisuggested he inquire at the department'sOperations Office about a job and gave him namesof people to contact.

While he acknowledges that athletes are hiredby his office at a higher rate than they are forother University jobs, Garber maintains that jobsare filled on a first-come, first-served basis,with no preference for athletes.