The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- May 24, 1999

Clearinghouse committee studies future Internet applications

The Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse Committee continued its ongoing review of NCAA Web site applications designed to streamline the initial-eligibility process during its May 4 meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee noted that several applications are functioning, including a list of each high-school's approved core courses (formerly known as the 48-H form), the ability for member institutions to submit their institutional request lists (IRL) and the ability for schools to obtain status reports on student-athletes on their IRLs.

All the applications are available on the NCAA Web site (www.ncaa.org) under the membership services section (Clearinghouse button).

In addition to its assessment of the current applications, the committee reviewed other potential applications that may be implemented next fall. Top priorities among those applications are student registration forms, NCAA staff access to student-athlete files and institutional deactivation of student-athletes on an IRL. Other potential applications include prospects being able to access their preliminary and/or final certification report, and institutions being able to obtain a prospect's final certification report.The committee also continued its discussion regarding modem access now that the Web site applications are in use. Though a specific date has not been determined, the committee plans to discontinue modem access in the future as a cost-savings initiative.

In a related matter, the committee noted that the Web site will be shut down July 23 and will not be reactivated until sometime between July 26 and July 30 to accommodate the national office's relocation to Indianapolis. Institutions using the Web site for submitting student-athletes on an IRL or for obtaining status reports will need to revert back to modem access during those dates, pending a review of the Clearinghouse staff, which is exploring alternative access methods.

In other action, the committee discussed the impact any revision of current initial-eligibility standards (Proposition 16) would have on the Clearinghouse operations. The committee recommended that the director of the Clearinghouse, Calvin Symons, and the chair of the committee, Charles N. Lindemann, be included as consultants during the Division I Board of Directors' ongoing review of the standards.

The committee also recommended that initial-eligibility standards remain similar for Divisions I and II. Though the committee recognizes the philosophical differences between the divisions, it nonetheless believes it is important for the divisional governance bodies to be aware of the impact that different standards might have upon prospective student-athletes.

The committee also reviewed a contingency plan that was put in place after the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had declared Proposition 16 illegal. The committee advised the national office staff to have another plan in place in the event the Association's appeal of the decision is unsuccessful. The plan should be specific to the time of year and the impact that will have on prospective student-athletes already involved in the initial-eligibility process.