NCAA News Archive - 2010

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    DI Board poised to review bracket expansion, football proposals

    Apr 23, 2010 8:52:38 AM

    By Michelle Brutlag Hosick
    The NCAA News

     

    The Division I Board of Directors is expected to review final recommendations to improve the academic performance of football student-athletes and revise the Division I membership standards at its April 29 meeting in Indianapolis.

    The group will also review the Division I Men's Basketball Committee's recommendation to expand the Division I Men's Basketball championship to 68 teams, announced Thursday as part of a new broadcast deal with CBS and Turner.

    The Association announced it had opted out of the final three years of its current 11-year, $6 billion television contract with CBS and renegotiated a new deal worth $10.8 billion over 14 years. The Board will evaluate the basketball group's recommendation to expand the tournament by three teams.

    The Board also will review the final report of the Football Academic Working Group, including a recommendation that football student-athletes who do not successfully complete a minimum number of credit hours in the fall term will be ineligible for participation in a portion of the following fall term. The group suggests that student-athletes who struggle in the fall term can recover their eligibility by successfully completing a specific number of credits in the spring and summer terms.

    Additionally, the Board will receive a final report on improved Division I membership principles and standards the Division I Leadership Council completed last month. The Council recommends a series of changes to the standards, including a four-year reclassification process with election to active membership in the fifth year. Reclassifying members must meet Division I requirements upon beginning the process to become Division I members. An application fee (the amount to be determined by either the estimated annual average value of direct benefits through distributions and championships or the median annual value of direct benefits through distributions and championships) will also be imposed.

    The Board is expected to review both reports, with legislation introduced into the 2010-11 cycle to accomplish some of the recommendations.