The NCAA News - News and Features

June 23, 1997

Commission to leave legacy of NCAA reform

What will be the legacy of the NCAA Presidents Commission?

A number of words may come to mind, but one no doubt will stand the test of time: reform.

The Commission, which meets for the final time June 24-25 in La Jolla, California, has overseen a wide range of changes in its 13-year history that have radically altered the face of college athletics.

The Presidents Commission was formed at the 1984 NCAA Convention. Since then, it has overseen a reform movement in intercollegiate athletics that has affected institutional control, academic standards, financial restraint and student-athlete welfare.

Particular changes that have come about as a result of Presidents Commission initiatives have included modifications of grant-in-aid limits throughout the Association's sports structure, greater restrictions on the size of coaching staffs, limits on the amount of time student-athletes are permitted to spend on athletics activities, an athletics certification process for Division I institutions and -- perhaps most notably -- more demanding academic standards for Divisions I and II student-athletes.

Although the presidents frequently are credited with the implementation of Proposition 48, that legislation actually was adopted at the 1983 Convention, in advance of the formation of the Presidents Commission. However, the presidents were directly responsible for the approval of 1992 Proposal No. 16, which added more teeth to Prop 48 by requiring that prospective student-athletes qualify academically for intercollegiate athletics competition by satisfying a sliding scale of grade-point averages and standardized-test scores.

The legislation was debated ferociously and frequently after its adoption, with many opponents charging that it would unfairly deprive economically disadvantaged minority athletes of educational opportunities. The Commission has since taken some steps to address questions relating to opportunity, but it has held firm on the more demanding standards for eligibility that were approved in 1992.

Before the establishment of the Presidents Commission, it was common for an institution not to be represented at the NCAA Convention by its chief executive officer. After 1984, however, presidential involvement -- and voting -- became much more the norm.

Now, the evolution has arrived at the next step: the restructuring of the NCAA. After the June 24-25 meeting, the role of the presidents will change, especially in Division I, where a 15-member Board of Directors will administer the division.

Other Division I presidents will not be involved directly in NCAA voting, although the expectation is that they will continue to be involved in Association decision-making through influence at the conference level.

Divisions II and III also will have presidential boards, but legislation in those divisions will continue to be adopted through a one-institution, one-vote process.

At the final meeting, the Commission will address some final details relating to restructuring, which will become effective officially August 1.

The agenda for the full Commission also includes a report on Project 2000 (the NCAA national office location initiative), the final report of the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism, information on accommodations for students with learning disabilities, and the federal relations report.

The Division I subcommittee will examine membership restructuring activities and also will review the final report of the special committee on agents.

The Division I Transition Board of Directors also will meet at the conclusion of the meeting of the Division I subcommittee.

In Division II, the presidents will hear a report from the Division II Management Council Transition Team, which will focus on: