National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

August 4, 1997

Committee suggests three-part approach on agent control

Expressing the hope that its efforts will serve as a catalyst for further action on the issue of sports agents, the NCAA Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism has handed its final report to the Division I Board of Directors and Management Council, which will assume responsibility for agent issues.

The Division I Management Council received the report at its meeting July 28-29 and was expected to forward it to its Academic/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet for further action.

Committee chair William E. Kirwan, president of the University of Maryland, College Park, said that while the committee had only scratched the surface of the issue, he hoped that its work would point the Association in the right direction.

"The special committee recognizes that the pervasive and corrosive effect of the complex network of agents cannot be resolved by the work of any one committee," Kirwan said in a memorandum to the Division I governing bodies. "The problems presented by unscrupulous agents threaten the integrity of intercollegiate athletics, especially in the sports of football and men's basketball.

"Accordingly, the committee urges the Board of Directors to assign a high priority to a continuing active effort on this fundamentally important matter."

In its final report, the special committee recommended that progress in addressing agent-related issues would best be achieved through an integrated program based on three fundamental themes:

  • A comprehensive program of education.

  • Attention to student-athlete welfare and, especially, the financial needs of student-athletes.

  • Increased sanctions for agent-related violations.

    The committee noted that the initiatives in the three areas should be developed concurrently because it felt it was unlikely that initiatives based on any one theme alone would have a significant positive impact on the overall problem.

    The special committee was created by the NCAA Council in January 1996 to study sports-agent issues and was composed of university presidents, athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives, coaches and legal counsel.

    The committee conducted meetings in March, May, July and December of 1996, hearing presentations by a variety of individuals, including agents, university presidents and former student-athletes. Input also was received from conference commissioners, coaches, members of the media and other interested parties.

    An interim report issued in August 1996 recommended that legislation be developed for the 1997 Convention to permit student-athletes to obtain loans against future professional earnings and to allow student-athletes to earn employment income during the academic year. The special committee said the proposals would reduce the temptation for student-athletes to accept money and gifts from unethical sports agents or other sources.

    Both the NCAA Presidents Commission and the NCAA Council declined to support the loan proposal, but they did support the employment concept. At the 1997 Convention, the Council sponsored Proposal No. 62, which would permit student-athletes to earn legitimate on- and off-campus employment during term time, provided such income in combination with other financial aid did not exceed the student's cost of attendance at the institution.

    Proposal No. 62 was adopted by Division I for implementation August 1, 1997. However, at its August 12-13 meeting, the Board of Directors will consider whether to place a one-year moratorium on its implementation while potential problems with the legislation are addressed.