By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The season culminated two weeks ago with the crowning of a
national champion, but the action in college basketball is still
fast and furious.
The NCAA management council voted in Indianapolis last week for
various proposals and rule changes that may alter the landscape of
the hardwood in the near future.
Among the more high-profile issues was the passage of a proposal
on April 10 which will allow student-athletes to earn money for
giving private lessons in their respective sports. Additionally,
they would be able to receive a one-time bank loan based upon their
potential future earnings at the professional level.
The issue of stipends for intercollegiate athletics has been on
the table for more than a year now. The current measure allows for
a one-time bank loan of up to $20,000, dependent upon a
student-athletes’ potential for being a high-draft selection.
The funds for such lending would come from private banking and
lending institutions rather than the universities and the NCAA.
Student-athletes are able to work at any job and earn up to the
$2,000 ceiling under the current system. However, they would be now
allowed to receive money for athletic instruction in their
respective sports.
“One of the things of great concern is providing some
greater sensitivity to student-athletes’ time and their
future, and some of the professional demands they may face,”
said Council Chairman Charles Harris, who is also the commissioner
of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and a former member of the
NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
A potential problem is that many players think they are good
enough to play professionally, but find a closed door when they go
knocking. Student-athletes who take out such loans might put
themselves into debt.
On the flip side, many potential pro prospects can now take out
disability insurance premiums in the event that a career-ending
injury ends their chances at a professional contract.
The committee also agreed on a proposal to remove the exempt
status on many of college basketball’s early season
tournaments, starting in the 2002-03 season. Exemption dictates
that each tournament counts as only one game against the regular
season schedule.
Schools that compete in such tournaments on neutral sites would
have to count all the games in which they actually play against the
NCAA’s preset limit, which would be raised one game to
29.
A vote by the NCAA Board of Directors on the proposal is set for
April 26. Tournaments such as the Preseason NIT, Maui Invitational
and Great Alaska Shootout would count for as many as four games on
a team’s schedule. In addition, exhibition contests against
notable travelling squads like the EA Sports/California All-Stars
would be eliminated by such legislation. The measure is aimed to
keep student-athletes in the classroom instead of on the road.
All conference tournaments, such as the one the Pac-10 will
begin next year, however, will still count only as one game against
the limit.
Organizers of these nonconference tournaments believe that the
pre-New Year interest in college basketball will fade. Their theory
is that high-profile programs won’t give up two or three home
games to travel to a neutral site where they can play from one to
four ballgames.
Such early tournaments will be unable to financially support
themselves or pay out appearance fees to participating teams, and
will disappear. In an extreme case, a drastic fall in revenues at
the Preseason NIT may put the current format of the 32-team
Postseason NIT in jeopardy.
Passage of such a article can only be fought by a petition from
100 of the 318 Division I members against such changes. Currently,
schools sponsoring two of the three aforementioned tournaments are
teaming to assemble such a protest against the NCAA’s
possible decision.
If the minimum number of 100 statements is reached, the proposal
then goes to a floor vote by all NCAA universities at their annual
convention in January.
“If we lose the vote on the 26th, we are going to bring
our efforts together to get the necessary 100 signatures to try to
force it to a vote on the floor,” said University of
Alaska-Anchorage Athletic Director Steve Cobb, whose school heads
the Great Alaska Shootout.
The only events that will likely be able to lure major programs
are short tournaments at a neutral site with a guaranteed number of
games and a national television deal. One such example ““ the
Coaches vs. Cancer in New York ““ is set at Madison Square
Garden with television rights held by ESPN.
On top of all of that, over the past two seasons the NCAA
Tournament Selection committee has rewarded teams that upgrade
schedules and go on the road with postseason berths.
Taking away opportunities for mid-major schools to play in
exempt tournaments makes it harder to make the NCAA Tournament.
Likewise, major programs wouldn’t get the opportunity to face
similar powerhouses to bolster strength of schedule and rating
percentage indexes ““ two major factors in determining
seedings for March Madness.
UCLA is already scheduled to participate next season in the Maui
Invitational with 2001 national champion Duke and Sweet Sixteen
participant Kansas.
“I can’t imagine a worse decision for college
basketball,” said Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim, a chief
organizer for the Coaches vs. Cancer. “The whole month of
November had big games, but they won’t be there now.
You’ll lose $100,000 by going to Maui versus staying home
where you can make $800,000. You can’t give up that kind of
money. That’s why these tournaments exist, so they
don’t count against your schedule.”
Harris countered that the Council felt the proposal would be
fairer for all basketball programs.
“A majority of our members voted for the original
proposal, stating their desire to establish more equitable
competitive opportunities for all members of Division I,” he
said.