Friday, November 2, 2001

NCAA approves series of changes to college basketball
By Michael Marot
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Board of Directors approved a series of college basketball eligibility, recruiting and scholarship changes Thursday.

The board reduced the punishment for players who played professionally on overseas teams and reinstated the summer recruiting period that was to end after last July.

The panel also announced a moratorium on the so-called “5/8 rule” and allowed schools to add a ninth scholarship this year. Beginning next year, a school could qualify for one additional scholarship if it meets NCAA criteria.

The most immediate effect could come from the professional policy, which required players to sit out one college game for each professional game played. Under the policy approved Thursday, the maximum penalty will be eight games, or 20 percent of a school’s games — whichever is less.

“I think the impetus for it came about because of the number of institutions who have foreign students who have played on professional teams,” said David Berst, NCAA Division I Chief of Staff. “It should be understood that this does not deal with a professional who actually received pay, but for those who participated and otherwise didn’t take anything.”

The change primarily affects foreign players. Athletes already enrolled who must sit out college games as a result of past professional play can file appeals to have the new punishment provisions apply to the remainder of games they had been ordered to sit out.

NCAA president Cedric Dempsey said about 22 basketball players have been penalized since 1997 because of their association to foreign professional teams.

Berst said rulings on appeals by players required to sit out games under the old punishment regime would be made as quickly as possible.

“They can handle them in a number of hours, and an appeal can be heard in a matter of days,” Berst said. “Their intent is to be responsive. They don’t want to be an impediment for holding someone out of play.”

The board also approved a measure that would split the 20-day summer recruiting period into two 10-day periods separated by a four-day break.

Tulsa president Robert Lawless, who serves on the board, said if the measure had not been approved, there would have been no summer recruiting next year. The board voted in April 2000 to eliminate summer recruiting beginning in July 2002.

“We intended that as a significant message from the board that the summer evaluation period in 2000 was not acceptable, and it still is not acceptable today,” Lawless said. “We have asked the Men’s Basketball Issues Subcommittee to monitor the effect and report back to us in two years.”

Additional action could be taken then.

The “5/8 rule” limited schools to awarding no more than five scholarships in any one year and no more than eight over a two-year period in men’s basketball. The rule took effect Aug. 1.

The changes made Thursday will now allow schools to grant nine scholarships over the two-year period that ends this school year.

After that, schools can qualify for one additional scholarship if the number of graduates and athletes leaving early exceeds the number of scholarships permitted under the rule. To qualify, athletes who leave early must be on track to graduate within five years of enrollment.

“There was discussion about the rule and the motivating factors behind it,” Lawless said. “We felt that, without enough knowledge, we needed to add a scholarship and put in the provision for students who left in good standing.”

The board did not act on the Management Council’s proposal regarding football bowl eligibility. Last week, the council passed a measure that would have allowed schools with 12-game schedules to qualify with six wins. A vote on the question is expected in either January or April.

The board also approved a measure that will prohibit certifying events conducted at facilities sponsored by companies associated with sports wagering.