The NCAA News - News & Features

Council reviews I initial-eligibility process

The Council did not recommend specific changes in initial-eligibility standards, but it did ask the NCAA Academic Requirements Committee and the NCAA Presidents Commission to review the current core-course distribution requirements for Division I eligibility.

The Council requested the committee and the Commission to examine subject requirements for core courses, specifically the change to require four years of English in Division I. That change became effective this year.

In all, the Council considered 19 appeals of decisions made earlier by the Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers, which has considered more than 900 waiver requests this year. The subcommittee now will use the waivers that were granted as precedents and will see if other waiver requests will be affected.

The six waivers were based on each student's overall academic record. In addition, the Council granted partial-qualifier status to another student-athlete. Twelve appeals were denied, although one case was returned to the subcommittee because the appeal to the Council contained new information.

The student-athletes who were granted the waivers are from the following institutions: Boise State University; Bowling Green State University; Chicago State University; the University of New Hampshire; Texas A&M University, College Station; and Marist College.

Agents and amateurism

The Council also reviewed proposed legislation related to the Association's ongoing examination of the agent and amateurism question.

After reviewing the advice of legal counsel, the Council withdrew Proposal No. 2-86 (as listed in the Second Publication of Proposed Legislation). That proposal would have, as part of the student-athlete statement, required student-athletes and their parents and relatives to provide relevant documents to authorized institutional representatives related to an agent inquiry.

Also, the Council declined to support a proposal by the Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism that would have placed a cap of $1,500 on out-of-season employment earnings for Division I student-athletes receiving full grants-in-aid. A Council-sponsored proposal would permit Division I student-athletes to earn up to the cost of attendance through out-of-season employment during the academic year.

Special events

The Council also issued interpretations on contest exemptions that will affect the standards used by the NCAA Special Events Committee to evaluate events in Division I.

The Special Events Committee had been interpreting contest-exemption legislation in a manner that would permit an institution to compete in an exempted event whenever it desired, as long as it used the contest-limit exemption only once in four years.

However, the Council ruled that an institution may participate in an exempted event only once in four years, regardless of whether it counts games in that event against its regular-season allotment or not.

The Council also determined that current legislation does not permit more than one team from a conference to compete in an exempted event in a given year. The Special Events Committee had taken the position that more than one team from a conference could compete in an exempted event, as long as only one institution exempted the games from its schedule.

Finally, the Council determined that an active member in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico must participate in an exempted event if it is conducted in one of those locales.

In another matter relating to special events, it was noted that the Haka Bowl -- which is to be the second postseason football game played outside the United States -- has not posted the $1 million letter of credit that was due September 1. In all, a total of $3.7 million will be due from the Haka Bowl by November 1.

The Council approved a Special Events Committee recommendation that certification be withdrawn for the bowl unless a $2 million letter of credit was received at the national office by October 15 and the remaining $1.7 million is received by November 1. No extension to either deadline will be permitted.

Spring football

The Council also withdrew its support in Division I of Proposal No. 2-126, which would reduce the number of contact days permitted in spring football from 10 to five and stipulate that no contact could occur in the first two spring football practice sessions. The proposal also would prohibit the use of shoulder pads in all noncontact practice sessions.

The decision to withdraw support was based on the Council's desire to examine data relating to spring football injuries in more detail. The Association's annual Injury Surveillance System has shown that the overall spring football injury rate is more than double that of fall practice. However, some believe that the comparison between spring practice and fall practice is inappropriate because coaches are more likely to sit players out with minor injuries in the spring, thus inflating the injury rate artificially. Also, they would like to see the effect of legislation that limited contact in spring practice beginning with the 1990-91 academic year.

Proposal No. 2-126 will remain on the legislative program, although it now will not be moved for Division I by a Council member.

NCAA Manual

Regarding how membership restructuring will affect the NCAA Manual, the Council approved a recommendation from the NCAA Legislative Review Committee that provides for separate Divisions I, II and III Manuals. The Council also decided that numbering would remain as it appears in the current, all-inclusive Manual.

That decision means that there will be gaps in the numbering in each of the manuals. However, the Council concluded that option was preferable to renumbering each manual, which would have created confusion over legislative citations.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Council
October 7-9/Kansas City, Missouri

* Agreed with the position of the NCAA Presidents Commission that the Association should continue discussions with the U. S. Department of Justice regarding accommodations for learning-disabled students but that the NCAA should not enter into any agreement with the Justice Department at this time.

* Approved the following language relating to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (the Buckley Amendment):

"That the Council affirm its support for compliance with the Buckley Amendment and that the NCAA national office staff, as well as all NCAA committees and special committees, immediately take the steps necessary to ensure full compliance with the act and its amendments; and,

"That it is the policy of the Council that personally identifiable information provided to the NCAA by an institution about a student-athlete shall not be disclosed publicly without the student-athlete's prior consent unless such disclosure would be permitted under the Buckley Amendment; and,

"That a student-athlete shall not be required to authorize public disclosure of personally identifiable information from his or her educational records as a condition of eligibility."

The sponsors of Proposal No. 2-87, which relates to the Buckley Amendment, are expected to review the language and determine whether to withdraw their proposal.

* Agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment to Proposal No. 2-110 to clarify that the spouse and children of a student-athlete may receive the cost and necessary expenses to view any round of NCAA postseason competition, including play-ins, but that the benefit can be used for only one round of competition.