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The NCAA News -- March 29, 1999

Amateurism Project Team to focus on 'college eligibility'

One of the first tasks facing the Division II Amateurism Project Team is determining how long it is going to take to complete its task.

The team is charged with developing legislation for the 2000 NCAA Convention, and project team chair Allen Sessoms, president of Queens College (New York), has developed a timetable with that deadline in mind.

However, time is short and the task at hand is large.

The project team met for the first time March 8 and spent much of its time acquiring education on the subject. The group heard reports from three NCAA staff members and Christine H. Grant, director of women's athletics at the University of Iowa. Grant, a member of the Division I Subcommittee on Agents and Amateurism, reviewed the work of the Division I subcommittee with the project team. She also solicited input from the project team regarding its reactions to different issues and ideas that the Division I subcommittee is examining.

In addition, the project team heard from Carrie A. Doyle, NCAA director of student-athlete reinstatement, who described how the NCAA has wrestled with amateurism-professional issues since its creation in 1906; Todd A. Petr, NCAA director of research, who described research that was conducted concurrently with a proposal to establish a common-age rule in Division II; and David A. Knopp, NCAA director of corporate marketing, who reviewed the work of the Olympic Liaison Committee with regard to amateurism issues.

The project team discussed the terms "amateur" and "professional" as they currently are used and decided to approach its work from the following perspective: What does a college-eligible student-athlete look like in Division II?

The project team defined three goals for itself:

To define criteria for "college-eligible" and "college-ineligible" for prospective and enrolled student-athletes.

To examine all factors that may impact competitive equity in individual sports and team championships.

To define the process that institutions and conferences must use to evaluate whether a student-athlete is meeting "college-eligible" standards.

As it pursues those goals, the project team is seeking to keep the competitive arena as equal as possible while at the same time seeking fairness for student-athletes.

The project team indicated its desire to work in tandem with Division I on amateurism issues, which could contribute to legislation being considered at the 2001 Convention rather than 2000.

Division I's Agents and Amateurism Subcommittee is taking care to make sure it is thoroughly educated on the issue before it takes any action. That deliberate approach, combined with the fact that Division I acts on legislation quarterly rather than annually, means that the Division I might not be ready to act before the Division II legislative deadline passes this fall.

The Division II Amateurism Project Team will meet next April 19, at which time it will:

Review a discussion document prepared by the Division I subcommittee that examines all of Bylaw 12.

Hear a report from Kevin R. Fite, NCAA student-athlete reinstatement representative, on international basketball issues.

Hear from Division II coaches and administrators with different perspectives on recruiting international athletes.

Develop an action plan and timetable to meet its goals and objectives.

Assess whether it is possible to complete its charge within six months.

Draft mission statementThe following is a draft of a mission statement for the Division II Amateurism Project Team:

In the context of student-athlete welfare, examine the terms of amateurism and professionalism within a new concept of college eligibility that ensures competitive equity and the equitable treatment of all participating student-athletes. The project team shall review and monitor the impact of a broad spectrum of student-athletes, including international student-athletes, on intercollegiate athletics and address concerns or issues that may arise. The project team also shall review and make recommendations as to proposed legislation involving amateurism issues.