BASKETBALL RULES

Committee rescinds proposed cut in 30-second timeouts

FONT SIZE=2>The Men's and Women's Basketball Rules Commitees have rescinded a rules-change recommendation to reduce by one the number of 30-second timeouts each team could call in games with electronic media.

The current rule, which grants each team four 30-second timeouts (three can be carried over to the second half), will be maintained.

"We were worried about stimulating the flow of the game," committee Chair Lynn Hickey said. "Reducing the number of timeouts was a concern of our membership's various broadcast partners for both the regular season and the championship. The committees were sensitive to their concerns and will work with the broadcast partners in the future to identify other ways to promote continuity."

Staff contact: Heather Perry (hperry@ncaa.org)

DRUG TESTING

House committee touts tough legislation for pro sports

The House Government Reform Committee introduced a bill May 24 calling for tighter drug-testing standards in professional sports. The Clean Sports Act of 2005, sponsored by committee Chair Tom Davis, R-Virginia, and three cosponsors, requires professional sports leagues (Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League) to adopt standards that are consistent with, and at least as stringent as, the Olympic standard established by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, introduced a companion piece in the Senate.

The Clean Sports Act would require each league to test players on an unannounced basis at least three times during the regular season and at least twice during the off-season. The penalties would be two years for a first offense and a lifetime ban for the second.

Though the bill continues the focus on professional leagues, it also would allow the Office of National Drug Control Policy to require that additional professional sports leagues, or NCAA Divisions I and II sports, follow the same stringent guidelines set out for the professional leagues if such action is deemed necessary. To date, Congress has not taken issue with NCAA drug-testing policies.

The legislation also establishes a commission to report on the use of performance-enhancing substances by high-school and college athletes and to provide recommendations for reducing their use.

Staff contact: Abe Frank (afrank@ncaa.org)

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Changes to be implemented for NCAA Online classified ads

The NCAA News will introduce a number of changes to its online classified advertising function that should enable most customers to include more information about vacant positions at less cost.

Effective June 13, advertisers will pay a flat fee for online advertising based on the term of the ad. An ad for one week will cost $135. Two weeks will cost $170, and four weeks will cost $270. To receive the discount of a multiweek insertion, advertisers will be required to purchase multiple weeks in advance. They may not, for example, purchase an ad for one week at $135 and subsequently continue it for another week by paying another $35.

The site also will be redesigned so that viewers will see a synopsis of each ad when they choose a category (previously, the full text of each ad was visible as users scrolled through the category). The full text will be brought up on any ad by clicking on the link at the end of the synopsis.

The new approach also will make it easier to purchase ads using credit cards and to post ads in the printed version of The NCAA News (the pricing for print ads will not change).

Staff contact: Nancy Ettinger (nettinger@ncaa.org)

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