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The NCAA News -- August 16, 1999

Working group targets changes in basketball

The Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues completed its year-long deliberations and submitted its final report to the Board of Directors for review.

The report, the substance of which which the Board ultimately approved and referred to the Management Council and other entities within the Division I governance structure for the development and review of proposed legislation, includes recommendations targeting a wide range of important issues facing today's college basketball student-athlete -- from recruiting and summer evaluation periods to graduation rates and early departure to professional leagues.

Among the more significant recommendations in the report was limiting to four the number of initial grants-in-aid to be awarded annually in men's basketball, which the working group believes will alleviate the pressure to award a high number of scholarships to incoming freshman and two-year college transfers each year. The limit also could translate into lower attrition/transfer rates by reducing an institution's ability to replace student-athletes after a one- or two-year "tryout." The proposal is modeled after the current rule in Division I football.

The report also includes two recommendations regarding freshman- and continuing-eligibility requirements -- one that would allow men's and women's basketball institutions to award financial aid to nonqualifiers (practice and competition restrictions would remain in place), and another that would require qualifiers to complete at least 12 hours toward a degree by the end of the fall term (which may include hours earned during the previous summer) with a minimum grade-point average of 2.000.

In addition, recommendations aimed at improving graduation rates include an incentive-based financial aid model that would tie the number of grants-in-aid awarded in men's basketball to each institution's four-year graduation rate. Institutions with four-year rates of 75 percent or higher could award 14 grants-in-aid; institutions with graduation rates of 33 percent to 74 percent could award the currently permissible 13 grants; and institutions with graduation rates of 32 percent and below could award only 12 grants.

The working group believes that such a system should insert more accountability and positive academic incentive into the process. The current rules, the group believes, may create an unfair competitive advantage by enabling institutions with high rates of attrition (because of academic deficiencies) to recruit more student-athletes over time than institutions whose men's basketball student-athletes achieve academic success.

Other recommendations in the report include a heightened certification process for summer leagues and events and the establishment of an oversight committee to monitor basketball recruiting practices. Such a committee also would include representation from the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The working group also proposed that an Association-wide marketing, licensing, promotion and public affairs committee be established to assist the NCAA president in establishing policies for the review of all marketing, licensing and promotional initiatives, especially those relative to basketball.

That recommendation has been sent to the NCAA president and to the Executive Committee as an Association-wide issue.

Additional recommendations in the report include:

  • Encourage all entering basketball student-athletes (freshmen and transfers) to attend summer session before their first fall term.

  • Establish Friday after Thanksgiving as the first permissible date on which institutions can engage in any regular-season competition (other than the first permissible two exhibition contests, certified events and preseason NIT).

  • Establish the first permissible on-court practice date as 34 days prior to the first day of competition for the particular academic year.

  • Division I institutions would be required to conduct an NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program (or an equivalent) that is mandatory for all basketball student-athletes.

  • All evaluations during the academic year would be limited to regularly scheduled high-school and two-year college events under the supervision of those coaches.

  • Establish certification guidelines for scholastic and nonscholastic academic and summer events as follows: (1) The National Federation of State High School Associations or the National Junior College Athletic Association (academic year events only) must approve events during the academic year and (2) there must be full financial disclosure of the operations of the event to assure that agents and boosters are not involved and that benefits and money for participants do not exceed what is permitted.

  • Establish certification guidelines for summer camps and foreign high-school tours at which basketball coaches can evaluate prospects that include financial disclosure of how many teams are funded, how much the funding is, the purpose for which the funding is used, and sources of funding.

  • Establish increased sanctions for any student-athlete who violates NCAA sports-wagering legislation.