Finally. I've been arguing for several years that the NCAA needs to somehow tie scholarships to academics and it looks like they've finally had enough of schools with 10% graduation rates.

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GRAPEVINE, Texas -- The NCAA approved the first phase of a landmark academic reform package Monday under which about 30 percent of Division I football teams would have lost scholarships had it been implemented immediately.

On the last day of the NCAA convention, the Division I Board of Directors approved the Academic Progress Rate (APR), the standard teams in every sport must reach beginning in the 2005-06 school year to avoid scholarship reductions.

Schools will receive warning reports in the next few weeks that let them know which of their teams fall below the APR set by the Division I Committee on Academic Performance. The rate is based roughly on a 50-percent graduation rate over a five-year period.

The Academic Performance Program applies to every men's and women's sport -- more than 5,000 teams at the 325 Division I schools.

University of Hartford president and committee chairman Walter Harrison said the biggest problems were in football (about 30 percent of teams), baseball (25 percent) and men's basketball (20 percent).

"Our hope, of course, is not the penalty," Harrison said. "We hope it encourages different kinds of behavior so that the numbers will be lower."

The so-called "contemporaneous penalties" are considered rehabilitative in nature and expected to serve as warnings for teams with poor academic performance. Such penalties could begin after December 2005.

Another phase of the program will be historical penalties, which will be more severe and directed at schools with continued problems. Harrison's committee is still working on the penalties, and they will have to be approved by NCAA directors later.

Kansas chancellor Robert Hemenway, the chairman of the NCAA board, said the board has already endorsed those tougher penalties.

Academic reform has been a centerpiece issue for Myles Brand since he became NCAA president two years ago. In his state of the association address Saturday, he said the measures "will change the culture of college sports."

The APR will be based on the number of student-athletes on each team who achieve eligibility and return to campus full-time each term. There will also be a longer-term graduation success rate.

Beginning next fall, teams that fall under a minimum APR will lose scholarships when players who are academically ineligible leave the school. Such scholarships can't be re-awarded for a year.

"This is a very strong standard," Brand said Monday. "Implementing these rules is taking a position to reinforce the idea that student-athletes are students first and are expected to make continued progress toward graduation."

The committee did put a 10-percent cap on the number of scholarships teams could lose.

Based on 85 total scholarships, I-A football teams could lose no more than nine scholarships in any one year. Both men's and women's basketball could only lose up to two scholarships.

Teams that continue to have problems will be subject to the more severe penalties once the "historical penalties" are put into place.

Consecutive years of falling below certain academic standards would lead to recruiting and further scholarship restrictions. A third straight year could lead to being banned from preseason or postseason games, and a fourth would affect Division I membership status.

"Certainly, our hope is that would be a strong enough penalty that no one would ever reach that plateau," Harrison said.

Key points of the Academic Performance Program

# The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is based roughly on a 50-percent graduation rate over a five-year period.

# The APR will be based on the number of student-athletes on each team who achieve eligibility and return to campus full-time each term.

# The program applies to every men's and women's sport.

# Teams that fall under a minimum APR will lose scholarships when players who are academically ineligible leave the school.

# Confiscated scholarships can't be re-awarded for a year.

# There is a 10-percent cap on the number of scholarships teams could lose.

# "Historical penalties" will be more severe and directed at schools with continued problems; they are yet to be approved.

# Consecutive years of falling below certain academic standards would lead to recruiting and further scholarship restrictions. A third straight year could lead to being banned from preseason or postseason games, and a fourth would affect Division I membership status.

This would be outstanding!

I'm speechless. The NCAA actually implementing something that puts academics above athletics, something that could have a negative impact on big money schools?

I'll give a cautious kudos, but have to say I'm expecting this to never really be implemented and/or enforced in any meaningful way.

it's a great idea, but can foresee many problems that arise out of this(see tOSU)

Shrakkrocket Wrote:it's a great idea, but can foresee many problems that arise out of this(see tOSU)

This won't be a problem for Ohio State, we can afford to hire tutors to do the work for our athletes.

BuckeyeStu Wrote:

Shrakkrocket Wrote:it's a great idea, but can foresee many problems that arise out of this(see tOSU)

This won't be a problem for Ohio State, we can afford to hire tutors to do the work for our athletes.

Spoken like a proud Maurice Clarett liking OScheatersU fan.

This is a great idea. I will reserve my optimism, however.

DrTorch Wrote:This would be outstanding!

Some of the MAC's universities don't graduate 50 percent of their students, period.

I don't see a sliding scale that takes that into account.

Seems to me that ought to be there.

Looking for a loophole?

Quote:The APR will be based on the number of student-athletes on each team who achieve eligibility and return to campus full-time each term.

Could you "pad" your roster with "walk-ons" with nice GPAs? OK, it's a bit out there, but give it some thought. What if you opened up 10 roster spots for walk-ons? Is there a limit on the number of players - not scholarship players, just players - that you can have on a team?

If not, add those 10 kids as tackling dummies, let them earn a letter. Heck, you might even be able to split two schollies among them to make it worth their while.

Just a thought...

Quote: Some of the MAC's universities don't graduate 50 percent of their students, period.

I don't see a sliding scale that takes that into account.

Seems to me that ought to be there.

I disagree. Especially at communter type colleges, there are a lot of students who are there just for some specific type of training and have no interest in getting a degree. Just an example. I worked for 5 years between college and law school but thought that a year of accounting would be helpful before I went to law school. I took two accounting classes and, of course, never had any intention of getting another degree. Athletes are given full room, board and tuition scholarships and are required to be full time students as a condition of receiving those scholarships. Whether the athlete is attending a "commuter college" or a more traditional college is irrelevant.

Quote:Is there a limit on the number of players - not scholarship players, just players - that you can have on a team?

If not, add those 10 kids as tackling dummies, let them earn a letter. Heck, you might even be able to split two schollies among them to make it worth their while.

Yes there is a limit. In Division I-A football, you are limited to having a total of 105 players on your roster. Very few schools actually have that many. As for partial scholarships, you can't split a scholarship among two players and count them as one. Both of those players will count toward your 85 scholarship limit.

MAKO:

Is the scholarship issue different in other sports? I seem to remember a lot of players getting partials when I covered non-revenue sports in college. Granted, that's quite some time ago ...

If athletes are getting partial scholarships, it's a money issue from the school. Each partial scholarship still counts as one scholarship toward the number you are allowed to give.

Quote:15.5.1 Counters. A student-athlete shall be a counter and included in the maximum awards limitations set forth in this bylaw under the following conditions. (Revised: 6/10/04)
(a) Athletics Aid.  A student-athlete who receives financial aid based in any degree upon athletics ability shall become a counter for the year during which the student-athlete receives the financial aid:

MAKO Wrote:If athletes are getting partial scholarships, it's a money issue from the school. Each partial scholarship still counts as one scholarship toward the number you are allowed to give.

Quote:15.5.1 Counters. A student-athlete shall be a counter and included in the maximum awards limitations set forth in this bylaw under the following conditions. (Revised: 6/10/04)
(a) Athletics Aid.  A student-athlete who receives financial aid based in any degree upon athletics ability shall become a counter for the year during which the student-athlete receives the financial aid:

MAKO:

Thanks for the detail!

OK, so much for splitting up schollies to pad the roster. But if a team can carry 100+, they certainly could pad their numbers a bit. Cost is an issue, of course. I mean, they still need equipment, et al, for the kids.

A viable loophole!

Mako:

You make a good point about scholarships.

I guess a 50 percent rate isn't unreasonable.

Its about time!!!