The Division I Board of Directors will assess at its meeting Thursday a recommendation that schools assess the academic preparedness of incoming men’s basketball players and provide summer instruction if necessary. The suggestion is part of the report of the Basketball Academic Enhancement Group, and the Board is expected to take the report under consideration.

The presidents have until November 15 to sponsor legislation in the 2009-10 cycle, and the group meets again in late October.

Late last month, the BAEG reaffirmed its support for a summer-school plan that makes member institutions responsible for assessing those players’ academic preparedness and for properly acclimating them into the educational climate of the campus. The plan promotes retention of men’s basketball players by integrating academic support with athletic instruction and skill development to foster a connection between student-athletes and their institutions.

The summer-school plan is the most significant recommendation in the BAEG report. The group will also recommend that the Academics Cabinet continue to collect the necessary data to fully review and evaluate the issues related to academic performance of men’s basketball transfers and make appropriate recommendations for the whole division to consider.

In other business, the Board will discuss legislative override issues involving the establishment of sand volleyball as an emerging sport and extending the length of the baseball season. The Division I Legislative Council recently sustained its approval of legislation adding sand volleyball as an emerging sport and adding a week to the beginning of the baseball season after at least 30 institutions petitioned for reconsideration. If the Board of Directors does not take an independent action, the matter will be decided by a vote of the Division I membership at the 2010 NCAA Convention in Atlanta.

The Board is also expected to:

• Review a report from the Committee on Academic Performance, including a discussion about the hearing process for the most serious Academic Performance Plan penalties.
• Receive an update on a communications plan developed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches that is intended to improve interaction between men’s basketball coaches and presidents on individual campuses, both within conferences and nationally.