National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

June 15, 1998

Cabinet approves plan for shared initial-eligibility data

The Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet took one more step in its review of current initial-eligibility requirements by approving a recommendation for sharing data and other information with Division I governance bodies and the membership.

The action came at the cabinet's June 3-4 meeting in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and was based on a recommendation from its Initial-Eligibility Subcommittee. The subcommittee has been been reviewing the effects of 1992 Convention Proposal No. 16 for the last year.

The process will begin in July and will conclude by mid-September, according to James A. Castaneda, subcommittee chair and faculty athletics representative at Rice University. Included in the information sharing will be written distribution of research data and explanatory education material, a video conference for the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet and Division I Management Council and Board of Directors, and a presentation to the cabinet at its September meeting, at which time the cabinet could propose legislative changes.

"The members of the subcommittee have spent several months reviewing data on the effects of these requirements," Castaneda said. "We have sought as much data as possible given the short period of time in which the current legislation has been in effect. Now, it is time to educate the rest of the Division I governance structure and the Division I membership about the subcommittee's discussion and the data."

There have been positive results from earlier versions of the initial-eligibility requirements in terms of increased graduation rates, Castaneda noted. Graduation rates for freshmen who entered under Prop 16 will not be available until the year 2001, however.

Castaneda also pointed out that there have been negative results from Prop 16 in terms of reducing freshman participation eligibility for ethnic minorities and low-income groups.

"There are important decisions to be made about these requirements," he said. "Do we retain the current rules, continue to collect data and observe the effect on graduation rates and eligibility for a longer period of time? Or do we make changes now based on the data available? It is important for the entire Division I membership to be well-educated on the data we have in order to provide well-reasoned input on these decisions."

Included in the education process will be information on the pros and cons of various scenarios from a sliding scale that extends the index of combined grade-point averages and test scores and eliminates the partial-qualifier designation, to retaining the current rule.

Although no timetable was set for legislative proposals, the cabinet could develop proposals as early as September for initial consideration by the Management Council at its January 1999 meeting.

Justice department agreement

The cabinet approved legislation recommended by the Initial-Eligibility Subcommittee to permit certain students with learning disabilities who enroll in a Division I institution and do not meet the initial-eligibility requirements, and are not granted a full waiver, to "earn back" a fourth year of eligibility under certain circumstances.

The student-athletes would have to complete at least 75 percent of their degree program by the beginning of their fifth year of full-time enrollment or have received a waiver that permits them to maintain athletics eligibility while completing a lower percentage of course work in their degree program. In addition, the legislation would apply only to those who are diagnosed with a learning disability by the beginning of their fifth academic year.

The proposed legislation would fulfill certain of the Association's obligations in the consent decree entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice in May.

The cabinet also heard a report from the Recruiting Subcommittee on its proposed legislation to change the recruiting calendar for Division I men's basketball, which the Management Council will consider at its July 27-29 meeting. If approved by the Management Council and Board of Directors, the legislation (Proposal No. 98-23) would take effect April 1, 1999. The subcommittee also reported that it would develop a timetable for recommending additional changes in the model during the fall of 1999.

The cabinet also agreed to sponsor legislation to permit entering student-athletes to receive an institutional academic honor award, under specified conditions, without including such aid in team limits during that academic year in the applicable sport. The cabinet also asked the Financial Aid Committee to discuss how state-applied awards relate to competitive-equity issues.

Other highlights

Division I

Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet

June 3-4/Beaver Creek, Colorado

  • Supported adding women's basketball coverage to the Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance Program. The cabinet also agreed to support enhancements to the existing coverage for men's basketball, football, baseball and men's ice hockey.

  • Asked the Recruiting Subcommittee to continue to gather information before approving the Hoop Summit Game, sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, as a permissible evaluation period during the dead period around the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

  • Agreed to sponsor legislation that would permit athletics department staff members to serve as announcers or commentators during national team events, including the Olympic Games, regardless of whether prospects are involved in such competition.

  • Agreed to sponsor legislation that would limit the number of official visits in baseball in a year to 25.

  • Agreed to sponsor legislation to establish a recruiting calendar in softball, noting that exemptions to the contact period would only be high-school competitions.

  • Agreed to sponsor legislation to specify that in all sports other than football, basketball and men's ice hockey, an institution would be permitted seven permissible "recruiting opportunities" (contacts and evaluations) during the academic year and that not more than three of the seven would be in-person, off-campus contacts.

  • Agreed to sponsor legislation to specify that a prospect enrolled in a two-year college should not be permitted to begin employment arranged by an institution until the prospect has withdrawn from or has completed requirements for graduation at the two-year college.

  • Accepted a report from the Financial Aid Committee that there be no changes at this time in the Special Assistance Fund but that data be forwarded to the committee from the current year to determine how the fund is being used on various campuses.

  • Agreed to change the name of the "home-schooled" waiver subcommittee to the "nontraditionally schooled" waiver subcommittee and the "learning-disabled" waiver subcommittee to the "disability" waiver subcommittee to better reflect the scope of work currently undertaken.

  • Accepted the Initial-Eligibility Subcommittee's recommendation that individuals who can demonstrate that they have Type I diabetes would be permitted to use a test score achieved under nonstandard testing conditions.

  • Accepted a second set of criteria for certifying students as eligible through an obvious waiver standard by establishing a sliding scale for students lacking no more than one core course in an academic area other than English. The current standard for students lacking no more than one unit of English will remain in place.