National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jan 13, 2010 11:08:32 PM

ATLANTA – The Division I Legislative Council voted Wednesday to limit the practice of "over-signing" prospective football student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, a strategy employed by some coaches that had the potential of leaving some recruits without a scholarship.

Proposal No. 2009-48, sponsored by the Southeastern Conference, limits to 28 the number of Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes who may sign a National Letter of Intent or an institutional offer of financial aid from the first signing day through May 31. The measure will be considered adopted at the end of the Division I Board of Directors meeting on January 16, with an effective date of August 1, 2010.

Current rules allow FBS institutions to provide scholarships to 25 new student-athletes per year. However, some schools traditionally have signed more than that to protect themselves in the event some prospects do not qualify academically. The SEC set a cap of 28 for its own institutions last year, and at that time, conference leaders said they viewed the NLI as a commitment by the institution to a prospective student-athlete who is capable of contributing academically and athletically.

The Council also adopted Proposal No. 2009-56, which would establish criteria that must be satisfied for an institution to subscribe to a recruiting or scouting service. The proposal, which originated with the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, is designed to eliminate the pressure on coaches to subscribe to recruiting services that have limited value in return for access to a prospective student-athlete.

The Council defeated several proposals that would have changed recruiting rules, including No. 2009-32-A, which would have allowed unlimited telephone calls to recruits during contact periods, though the group sent a companion proposal that would have limited the deregulation to sports with defined recruiting calendars out for comment.

In other action, the Legislative Council adopted a proposal setting parameters for the use of nontraditional coursework to meet initial-eligibility requirements. The new guidelines include:

• The instructor and student have ongoing access to one another throughout the course
• The instructor and student have regular interaction for the purposes of teaching, evaluation, and providing assistance to the student throughout the course
• The student's work is available for evaluation and validation
• The course includes a defined period for completion

The measure, which updates NCAA legislation in an area that has seen an explosion of technology in recent years, is expected to help make sure that nontraditional coursework meets the standards set forth by the core-course requirements.

Several proposals were also sent to the membership for further comment:

• No. 2009-22, which would allow student-athletes in sports except men's ice hockey to compete on a professional team so long as they do not accept payment in excess of actual and necessary expenses. The proposal would also create an organized-competition rule for sports other than men's ice hockey, tennis, swimming and diving and women's volleyball – charging prospective student-athletes who do not enroll full-time within a year of high school graduation (six months for tennis) and participate in organized events after the specified time period with a season of competition for every year of participation. Finally, the proposal would require an academic year in residence before competition. The Council voted to delay the effective date for the organized competition rule as applied to tennis student-athletes to August 1, 2011.
• No. 2009-29, which would set a time period for institutions to respond to a student-athlete's request for transfer and establish a hearing process if the request is denied. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee expressed strong support for the proposal, but some Council members had concerns about the proposed timeline.
• No. 2009-10, which would require graduate assistant coaches in football to have received his first baccalaureate degree or have exhausted athletics eligibility within the previous seven years.
• No. 2009-32-B, which would allow unlimited telephone calls to recruits during contact periods in sports with defined recruiting calendars. Football would be excluded.
• No. 2009-41, which would eliminate printed media guides and 2009-42, which would prohibit the distribution of media guides to recruits.
• No. 2009-75-B, which would require a sickle cell test (or proof of a sickle cell test) for all incoming student-athletes. While Council members generally supported the concept, the group agreed to seek feedback on the issue of institutional autonomy and whether the timing of a test could affect a student-athlete's ability to be fully prepared for competition, particularly for walk-on student-athletes.