National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 10, 1997

Committee wants more restrictive draft rule to take effect now

Proposal stipulates that player will lose remaining college eligibility if drafted

Student-athletes in the sport of basketball who have eligibility remaining and are considering entering this year's National Basketball Association (NBA) draft may face a tougher decision than in previous years if a recommendation from the NCAA Professional Sports Liaison Committee is approved.

At its meeting February 17-19 in Tucson, Arizona, the committee recommended to the NCAA Administrative Committee that 1997 Convention Proposal No. 81 become effective immediately. The Administrative Committee was scheduled to discuss the recommendation March 5.

The legislation, currently due to become effective August 1, amended Bylaw 12.2.4.2.1 to state that a student-athlete in the sport of basketball may enter a professional league's draft during his or her collegiate career without jeopardizing eligibility in the sport, provided that the student-athlete is not drafted by any team in that league and the student-athlete declares his or her intention to resume intercollegiate participation within 30 days after the draft.

Student-athletes with eligibility remaining who enter the professional draft and are selected would forfeit their eligibility.

Currently, student-athletes who are drafted can retain their intercollegiate eligibility if they declare their intention to resume intercollegiate participation within 30 days after the draft.

To assist student-athletes in gaining a better understanding of their potential draft status, the committee has worked with the NBA to develop an undergraduate advisory committee that would advise undergraduate student-athletes of their potential draft status prior to having to declare for the draft.

Other highlights

Professional Sports Liaison Committee
February 17-19/Tucson, Arizona

Requested that the NCAA staff seek an interpretation from the NCAA Interpretations Committee on 1997 Convention Proposal No. 130, which prohibits gambling by athletics administrators and coaches. The committee is seeking clarification of how the rule works, and requested that the resulting interpretation be publicized to the membership.

Met with representatives from the Women's National Basketball Association and the American Basketball League to discuss those professional leagues' long-range plans, salary structures, draft issues and the recruitment of college coaches. Both leagues advised the committee that they do not plan to sign student-athletes with remaining eligibility.

Recommended to the NCAA Council that funding be approved for nine summer baseball leagues in 1997.

Recommended to the NCAA Recruiting Committee that it consider eliminating the summer evaluation period in basketball as a means of shifting the focus of recruiting from AAU summer competition and its "agent" culture to the high-school academic year.

Met with a representative of Major League Soccer (MLS). The committee requested that MLS educate high-school and college-bound soccer players about the ramifications of MLS's Project 40, a program that seeks to develop a select group of American teenagers into elite professionals by providing them an alternative to college soccer. The committee expressed its desire to work with the MLS to minimize the disruption of collegiate programs by Project 40.

In response to a request of the NCAA division governance staffs, identified the committee's past, current and future issues. After identifying and discussing these issues, the committee expressed concern about the ability of a Division I cabinet to effectively address these ongoing issues -- particularly stressing the need to develop and maintain working relationships with the professional leagues, players' associations and related coaches' and high-school associations. The committee noted its current relationships with the National Football League, National Football League Players' Association, National Basketball Association, National Basketball Players' Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players' Association, National Hockey League, National Hockey League Players' Association, Women's National Basketball Association, American Basketball League, Major League Soccer, American Football Coaches Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Women's Basketball Coaches Association, American Baseball Coaches Association and National Federation of State High Schools Association, as well as other professional organizations in golf, tennis, and track and field. It is the sense of the committee that a Division I committee is necessary to identify and research issues related to highly visible student-athletes with professional potential and to continue dialogues with professional sports representatives who can impact these issues.