Justin Combs, Diddy's son, gets $54,000 full athletic scholarship to UCLA

Justin Combs, the son of Sean "Diddy" Combs, received a $54,000 scholarship to UCLA, where he will play football next season for the Bruins, according to a report on Friday from Kate Mather of the Los Angeles Times:

As UCLA confirmed this week that the recent graduate of New York's New Rochelle Iona Prep would enroll on a full athletic scholarship, some questioned if the cash-strapped school should pay for the education of the son of a man worth an estimated $475 million — and whether the 18-year-old should have accepted the offer.

Combs responded with his own thoughts on the scholarship that he received:

https://twitter.com/JDior_/status/207999208052101122

Mather reported that UCLA explained that Combs' scholarship will not take away from need-based candidates. She also spoke with a student set to graduate in a few weeks who believes the scholarship for Combs could help the school in the long run:

University spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said athletic scholarships were "entirely funded by Athletic Department ticket sales, corporate partnerships, media contracts and private donations" and "do not rely on state funds." "UCLA is a business — to them, giving him a scholarship is some sort of investment," she said. "It's how college athletics works. This is how we're going to get money."

"There is a big separation between financial aid based on need and how that's funded and how athletic scholarships are funded and awarded to students," he said.

Joelle Gamble, who will graduate from UCLA in a couple of weeks, said the university would likely benefit from the buzz generated by having a celebrity's son on the team.