News from NCAA Convention in Dallas This Weekend

[MrMustang1965]

Expanded season proposal still alive

Among the proposals the NCAA's Division I management council kept alive Sunday were expanding the regular season for Division I-A and I-AA football and reducing the number of football recruiting visits from five to four.

The next step in the legislative process is a two-month comment period involving the full membership followed by another review by the council in mid-April. Proposals that survive that second look will move on to a vote of the board of directors two weeks later.

If the expanded schedule is approved, it would begin in 2006. If defeated, the next calendar that would allow for 12 games will be in 2008.

The council also kept alive most of the proposals submitted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association – with a caveat. Division I vice president David Berst, who works with the council, indicated the coaches need to collectively provide more proof that they won't abuse new rules that would provide greater access to players and recruits.

Berst used a proposal allowing coaches to watch team members play before preseason practice begins as an example. Many faculty members viewed that as an opportunity to coach more, Berst said.

The process of closing what he called a "trust gap" was scheduled to begin Sunday night in a meeting with NABC officials.

Among the other basketball proposals still open for consideration are adding tryouts for Division I prospects. Paying for parents' travel expenses to a limited number of games, providing limited extra benefits to players and cutting basketball recruits' visits from five to four were defeated.

Group to recommend academic standard

The Division I committee on academic performance ended its work Sunday night and will make recommendations to the board of directors during today's final day of the convention.

Chairman Walt Harrison, president of the University of Hartford, said the group is hopeful the recommendations are what the board sought when it recently sent preliminary recommendations back to it.

"It was tough to come up with," Harrison said. "I think we were responsive to their questions, but that's always difficult to predict."

The new academic standard could affect almost 25 percent of the Division I-A football programs, Harrison said. Failure to meet the standard would result in lost scholarships.

[SWC2010]

Found this quote:

A proposed change, allowing a 12th regular season football game every year sparked little discussion in open or closed meetings.

Berst said he didn't think there was anywhere near universal agreement on the measure, but NCAA President Myles Brand claimed Saturday that probably only one dozen of 325 Division I athletics programs break even or make a profit.

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Regarding the longevity of 'semi-professional sports'(read NCAA), I found the one dozen number disturbing. ANyone else surprised at this number?

[MrMustang1965]

Care to speculate by naming those 12 schools?

[Charleston Pony]

There are more than a dozen. I know Clemson and S.Carolina operate profitably as their football and booster club revenues more than finance their entire athletics dept. Gotta believe Michigan, Tennessee, Penn State (anyone who has 100,000 rabid fans) is doing well.