The Division I Board of Directors approved a package of proposals designed to curb compensatory relationships with people associated with men’s basketball prospects and suspend coaches who violate those rules, sending a message to the membership that the issue is a top priority for presidents.

The package received broad support from a number of constituencies, including conference commissioners, basketball coaches, the Amateur Athletic Union, the chair of the Legislative Council and other presidents.

“The process shows the NCAA at its very best: We identified a need; we brought all the players to the table – including the coaches – to build consensus and support; and we worked within the governance system for solutions,” said Board chair Jim Barker, president at Clemson.

The plan adopted by the Board takes some actions immediately and puts others into the legislative cycle to be considered by the Division I governance structure.

The immediate actions include a tighter definition of a “recruited student-athlete” in men’s basketball to include anyone who has received recruiting materials or had any recruiting contact with a coaching staff member or was asked to attend an institutional camp or enroll at an institution. The Board also immediately adopted a series of interpretations meant to eliminate the funneling of money to people associated with prospects through:

• Employment relating to noncoaching staff positions
• Employment at camps and clinics
• Payment of consulting fees
• Subscriptions to recruiting services with limited value
• Donations to nonprofits
• 1-900 numbers for telephone contact with a recruit.

The proposal also includes sanctions for head coaches and assistant coaches that range from being unable to coach regular-season games to being withheld from coaching NCAA postseason contests. The NCAA enforcement staff and the Division I Committee on Infractions would be the adjudicating bodies in those instances. Tougher eligibility consequences for prospects or student-athletes involved in the violations are also part of the package.

A group of commissioners presented the proposal to the Board, including Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany.

“This is the NCAA addressing issues in absolutely the correct way. All the parties that have an interest from the educational perspective were represented,” Delany said. “It really places the enforcement of these standards at a very high priority for the staff.”

Jim Haney, executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, also supported the plan, indicating that his board had been concerned about the men’s basketball recruiting environment for some time.

“For us, this package is consistent with the direction we’ve been going in the last several years, and we’re pleased to support it,” Haney said. “We encourage continued dialogue to address these issues.”

While some Board members expressed a desire to be sure the regular process for legislation was followed, Legislative Council chair Joseph D’Antonio said his group supported the proposal before the Board for immediate action because the issue was important enough to demand Board attention.

Other proposals will be introduced into the 2009-10 legislative cycle, to be vetted by the Legislative Council and the membership. These proposals target:

• Noncoaching staff hiring practices by prohibiting institutions from hiring as noncoaching personnel individuals associated with prospects two years before or after the prospect’s actual or anticipated enrollment. The legislation is intended to offer coaches a choice between recruiting the prospect and hiring the person associated with the prospect.
• Institutional camp/clinic employment by allowing institutions to hire only its own staff members or enrolled students at its camps and clinics.
• Institutional camp operation by allowing recruiting during institutional camps, and stating that prospects do not have to leave the locale to begin an unofficial visit.
• Nonscholastic events on campus by prohibiting Division I institutions from hosting, sponsoring or conducting nonscholastic men’s basketball events on campus or in facilities regularly used by the institution.
• Payment of consulting fees by prohibiting fees to individuals associated with a prospect.

While the proposals deal specifically with men’s basketball, several presidents indicated a desire to keep an eye on the recruiting environment in other sports as well – especially football and women’s basketball – to see if similar action is necessary in those sports.

The Legislative Council will review and cast initial votes on the proposals the Board entered into the regular legislative cycle at its meeting at the 2010 NCAA Convention in January. The proposal also referred several issues to the various cabinets and committees in the governance structure, including changes to the recruiting calendar, tryouts and communication with prospects. Various subgroups will examine those issues with the possibility of creating legislation for the 2010-11 cycle.