Commission On College Basketball Proposes Change To Fix NCAA Sports Problems
Apr 25, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:27 am
(Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Activision)
(Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Activision)
The Commission on College Basketball, led by Condoleezza Rice, released a report on Wednesday morning that proposed changed in the NBA and NCAA.
“It is the overwhelming assessment of the commission that the state of men’s college basketball is deeply troubled. The levels of corruption and deception are now at a point that they threaten the very survival of the college game as we know it,” from the commission’s report.
Per CBS Sports, Rice spoke in Indiana on Wednesday morning to dozens of NCAA and collegiate athletic representatives.
“Whatever the outcome of the legal process, radical changes are long overdue.”
The Commission is recommending:
End one-and-done rule
The one-and-done rule has been in place for 12 years. The prerequisites to be drafted involve players being over the age of 19 or have been out of highschool for a year.
The Commission believes that players should be allowed regardless of fitting the previous criteria to give the most talented basketball players the option to declare the NBA right away.
Rice also stated that the commission believes NBA-ready prospects should not be forced ‘in school against their will.’
Opting this rule will also allow high schoolers to go pro.
Allow undrafted underclassmen the option to return to school
“Our focus has been to strengthen the collegiate model.”
They request rule adjustments from the NBA and its Players Association, as rules currently allow for undrafted players to become free agents and allow them to join playing in the league at any point afterward.
The commission suggest that players who don’t get drafted when they declare to be, should be allowed to remain eligible to return to college basketball if they don’t still opt to immediately pursue a career in the NBA.
Agents should be allowed to have relationships with prospects
Current NCAA rules do not allow college prospects and players to form formal relationships with agents, but if the NCAA listens to the commission’s suggestions, that will no longer be the case.
“We recommend that the NCAA and its member institutions develop strict standards for certifying agents and allow only those NCAA-certified agents to engage with student-athletes at an appropriate point in their high school careers as determined by the NCAA,” Rice said Wednesday. “The NCAA should appoint a vice president-level executive who, among other responsibilities, would develop these standards and administer this program. We further recommend that the NCAA incentivize better behavior from agents by decertifying any agent who participates in an NCAA rules violation and also deeming any student-athlete who enters into an agreement with a non-certified agent ineligible.”
Increase enforcement penalties on players
1. Increase the competition penalties for Level I violations to allow a five-year postseason ban.
2. Increase the financial penalties for Level I violations to allow loss of all revenue sharing in postseason play, including revenue from the NCAA Tournament.
3. Increase the penalties for a show-cause order to allow bans of more than one season
4. Increase the restrictions on head coaches to allow bans of more than one season
5. Increase the penalties for recruiting visit violations to allow full-year visit bans
“The NCAA should create independent investigative and adjudicative arms to address and resolve complex and serious cases involving violation of NCAA rules,” Rice added.
Overhaul the AAU enterprise
The majority of spring and summer non-scholastic basketball events, AAU tournaments, are run by the three major shoe companies: Nike, Under Armour and Adidas.
The commission believes the NCAA, the NBA and USA Basketball should be ambitious in starting its own spring and summer circuits in order to clean up recruiting.
“The commission today calls on the apparel companies to significantly increase their transparency and accountability efforts,” Rice said. “These are public companies. It appears to us, however, that apparel companies may not have effective controls in place for their spending in non-scholastic basketball. These public companies should be concerned about how their money is being used. I have served on quite a few public boards, and I can tell you, this should be an area of concern.”
The Board Of Governors still have to review these proposals and the NCAA must clear each item before any changes are made in the NCAA’s rulebook.
