NCAA Announces Major Rule Changes, 109 Schools Oppose Player Payments

The Recruiting Impact of 4-Year Scholarships Is Overstated

Coaches will still find a way to purge unwanted players from their rosters, no matter what new options the NCAA comes up with. Related: An Alabama perspective.

Nick Saban Says Alabama, Entire SEC Will Offer Four-Year Scholarships After All

Alabama will guarantee its football players complete educations after all, Nick Saban has said.

205 Institutions Vote Against Multiple-Year Scholarships

Florida Recruits Receiving Four-Year Scholarships

If A College Football Playoff Won't Help Players, We Don't Need It

College football needs fundamental changes. But a playoff? That's just something selfish fans want when they should focus on what's most important: helping the players get what they deserve.

109 Schools Oppose NCAA's $2,000 Player Payments Rule Change

You knew the NCAA's decision to allow member schools to pay athletes up to $2,000 in addition to scholarships and cost of living expenses would be divisive. Power conferences like the SEC and Big Ten have called for the change, while smaller schools and especially academics-centered (there's not a nice way to say "insufficiently sports-crazed") have plenty of cause to object.

And object they have -- 109 of them, according to a document that lists dissenters (ht SEC blog Team Speed Kills) and comments from many of them. The doc also lists objectors to other NCAA movements, with Prairie View A&M showing up all over the place. The Panthers have had it.

Regarding the $2,000 issue, FBS schools Army, Boise State, Bowling Green, ECU, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Rice, Rutgers, Utah State and Wake Forest appear, along with large FCS programs like Appalachian State and a horde from the Colonial Athletic Association. Among the FBS schools, you'll note a couple that are known to be especially cash-strapped.

The issue goes beyond football, of course, but football's distinguished subdivisions are useful here.

Boise State was one of the several schools to include comments in their objections. A note from the Broncos:

1. 2001-96 creates an unfair playing field between institutions. It expands the divide between the "have's" and "havenot's." It creates a recruiting advantage for those that can afford it and puts those that can't at a disadvantage.

2. 2001-96 creates a divide internally between those student-athletes who receive a full ride and those that do not. Webelieve this is unfair and unjustifiable.

3. 2001-96 creates a Title IX issue. Looking at head count sports alone, football and men's basketball have 98 full rides ascompared to 47 on the women's side. That widens the gap allowable to be in compliance with Title IX.

Today In NCAA Hypocrisy And Hilarity

Sun Belt Authorizes Members To Spend Money They Don't Have

Gene Smith Thinks Only Small Number Of Schools Could Cover $2,000 Stipend

According to Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith, only "60-70%" of the 347 Division 1 schools would be able to afford the cost of paying student-athletes $2,000 under NCAA President Mark Emmert's new proposal.

Under the proposal, conferences will have the option to participate or not. So colleges are not required to take advantage of the rule change.

Also, schools have an option to either provide $2,000 or to receive additional athletics aid up to the full cost of attendance.

Schools will essentially have the option to pay their players up to $2,000 in addition to their scholarships. Power conferences like the Big Ten and SEC have lobbied for this change, since their schools have the money to throw around $2,000 like it's nothing.

No word on whether or not Gene's OSU will participate but something tells me, if they want to, they'll be more than able.

For more college sports, visit SB Nation's many exquisite college sports blogs.

NCAA OKs Extra Money For College Athletes: Schools Can Pay Players Up To $2,000

It's not going to be easy for some people to digest the news that the NCAA just said schools will soon be allowed to pay their players up to $2,000 a year in addition to their scholarships.

For some, it sounds like part of a reform long past due. Others are going to wail about broken innocence and the student-athlete getting a small* amount of money. Nevermind that the NCAA invented the term "student-athlete" in the first place.

The basics of the rule:

The Board also adopted legislation giving student-athletes who receive full athletics scholarships the opportunity to receive additional athletics aid up to the full cost of attendance or $2,000, whichever is less.

The working group that made the recommendation told the board the $2,000 figure is meaningful in addressing the miscellaneous expenses student-athletes now have. Institutions will not be required to offer the benefit, but conferences are encouraged to consider common application within their membership.

But, really, it's nothing new. Every round of the debate includes at least one person who points out that students in other fields get paid -- even academic scholarships often include full cost of attendance perks. Why not athletes?

Two stacks amounts to a pebble compared to the mountain of money college football players have built for their schools and conferences and to the empire basketball players have made of the NCAA. But it's a move in the right direction, even though it's hard to buy that it's being done solely for the good of the athlete.

It removes the agent's common excuse for sliding money to players, since now players can afford ever-so-slightly more stuff on their own. And it provides the moneyed conferences a recruiting edge -- the Big Ten and SEC were the first two to call for the change.

* Seriously, y'all. That's $40 per week.

For more college sports, visit SB Nation's many spectacular college sports blogs.

New NCAA APR Rule Would've Kept UConn Out Of March Madness

Under new rules passed by the NCAA on Thursday, the national men's basketball champion Connecticut Huskies wouldn't have even been eligible for the Big East Tournament, let alone March Madness. The NCAA announced that over the next five years, Academic Progress Rate will be incorporated as a component of postseason eligibility. That includes football bowl games.

The nuts-and-bolts details of the new rule:

For access to post-season competition in 2012-13 and 2013-14, teams must achieve a 900 multi-year APR or a 930 average over the most recent two years to be eligible.

In 2014-15, teams that don't achieve the 930 benchmark for their four-year APR or at least a 940 average for the most recent two years will be ineligible for post-season competition.

In 2015-16, the 930 benchmark for post-season competition participation - and additional penalties - will be implemented fully. The APR requirement for post-season competition participation would be waived only in extraordinary circumstances.

UConn's APR last time around was 893.

APR is a metric used to determine how many of a team's players are progressing toward graduation. For more on just what APR aims to calculate, I'll turn you over to Wikipedia. Whether it's actually resulted in any classroom production, or at least enough to make up for its many weaknesses, is another story. For one thing, APR hurts the most successul programs by penalizing for players who excel enough to turn pro early. Not to mention it causes one player's dropout to reflect poorly on an entire team and a head coach's career. 

Previously, the NCAA had only punished schools with scholarship losses for APR shortcomings. Being unable to play for a title or in a bowl game is a much harsher penalty than playing with one or two fewer scholarship athletes.

For more college sports, visit SB Nation's many exquisite college sports blogs.

NCAA Approves Athlete Payments, Multi-Year Scholarships And Postseason APR Bans

The NCAA announced a trio of major rule changes Thursday, springing from a series of summer rule recommendations. They're all going to impact college sports significantly, but the one likely to draw the most attention is the part about PAYING STUDENT-ATHLETES CASH PAPER:

The Board also adopted legislation giving student-athletes who receive full athletics scholarships the opportunity to receive additional athletics aid up to the full cost of attendance or $2,000, whichever is less.    

Schools will essentially have the option to pay their players up to $2,000 in addition to their scholarships. Power conferences like the Big Ten and SEC have lobbied for this change, since their schools have the money to throw around $2,000 like it's nothing.

But the one that's going to stir up the most controversy very soon is the APR bit. Academic Progress Rate is a flawed metric, and over the next few years we're going to see it keep a deserving team from postseason competition:

The new post-season eligibility structure will take effect in the 2012-13 academic year, with a two-year implementation window before the benchmark moves from 900 to 930.     

However, the option for a school to offer a scholarship beyond one year might be the most important change of all:

The Board also approved multi-year grants up to the full term of eligibility, though one-year grants will remain the minimum. A prescribed minimum award value should apply to all scholarships (percentage amount to be decided in the coming months), and institutions could increase the allotted aid during the period of the award.

As Team Speed Kills points out, the Mississippi States of the world now have a bargaining chip. If Alabama's only offering a one-year scholly and the Bulldogs are offering two, that's a much more competitive recruiting atmosphere than if both were offering the same terms.

For more college sports, visit SB Nation's many exquisite college sports blogs.

So When Will College Football Players Boycott A Bowl Game?

Hundreds Of College Athletes Sign NCAA Petition For Share Of TV Money

For what it's worth, "more than 300" college football and basketball players have signed their names to a document urging the NCAA to make TV money available to athletes.

NCAA's New APR Scores Standard Includes Football Bowl Games Too

The NCAA's plan to raise minimum academic progress rate scores from 900 to 930 would severely limit the number of basketball teams that could enter the NCAA Tournament, based on the scores turned in last year. The SWAC, for one, would have had only one tourney-eligible team. Other tournament-based sports would also see their available pool of competitors diminished.

Did you know Division I football gets to be included too? FCS teams play in a tournament, so of course they're in, but even FBS' bowl system, despite being totally meaningless, is subject to the new standard as well, per the NCAA's official release.

And that's not all! The NCAA also voted to ensure itself greater power:

The Division I Board of Directors adopted a Legislative Council recommendation that the number of schools required to initiate an override of legislative action be increased to 75 from 30, effective immediately.

The Council recommended the increase because the number of active Division I members has increased significantly since the original number was set. The Board's action also increased the number of requests necessary to suspend legislation from 100 to 125.

Fun stuff.

Poor Academic Performance Could Knock Teams Out Of NCAA Tournament In 2015

NCAA president Mark Emmert told ESPN Radio host Scott Van Pelt on Thursday that the association's Division-I Board of Directors has approved a plan to institute a minimum academic standard for teams participating in the NCAA Tournament, with roll-out expected by 2016, according to The Bylaw Blog. Teams falling under a 930 on the Academic Progress Rate would apparently being barred from the next NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA already has penalties for poor APR scores; most notably, UConn basketball was dinged two scholarships for the 2011-12 season for posting a low APR score. APR is a measure of player academic eligibility and retention.

Bylaw Blog noted that if the system had been in place last year, teams like UConn and Syracuse wouldn't have been eligible for the tournament. The rule could also make things murky at the bottom of the bracket, as school from small conferences are often among those with APR trouble.

SEC Media Days 2011: Mike Slive Outlines 'National Agenda For Change'

Live coverage from Birmingham, where SB Nation is taking in the spectacle of SEC Media Days.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive's annual address to kick off his conference's three-ring Media Days circus was billed as a must-see by official sources, leading to rampant speculation among the assembled media members that he was planning on stepping down. Slive puts those rumors to rest straightaway with a quick Mark Twain quote and gets to the meat of his agenda: A four-part master plan to enact sweeping-ish change in the conference and around the sport. Slive says "intercollegiate athletics has lost the benefit of the doubt," and here's what he wants to do about it:

• Redefine available benefits. It's clear Slive wants a national conversation on cost of attendance (COA) scholarships. He acknowledges in about five words that this would cause financial hardships at other schools, and dismisses the notion of caring about that just as quickly by hedging that the SEC has to do what's best for its own student athletes. Other items of import Slive would like to see on the table: Multi-year scholarships, a process by which players beyond the current six-year window could return to school and earn their degrees, and (here's the big one) a "refocusing of efforts to develop a regulatory approach" on student-athlete contact with agents. 

• Strengthen academic requirements. Slive would like to see an increase in required GPA for freshmen athletes from 2.0 to 2.5 in core curriculum work, along with an annual satisfactory progress bar prospective SAs must clear at the high school level. 

• Modernize recruiting rules. Slive says it's time to "push the reset button" on the regulatory approach to college football recruiting. In his opinion, the idea of a completely level playing field in recruiting is unrealistic, thanks to existing and unavoidable disparities in physical resources at different programs. Rules on phone calls and texting don't make any tangible headway as far as making up that ground, to hear him tell it. 

• Support NCAA efforts to continue improving the enforcement process. Slive (and other conference commissioners headed to the upcoming NCAA President's retreat) would like to see a streamlined NCAA manual focusing on core issues. Having had to page through that thing more than once, I can certainly sympathize. 

NCAA Prez Wants Big Changes, Paying Players Not One Of Them

In Which Paying Players Leads To The College Football Lockout

NCAA Holding Presidential Retreat To Prevent '90s Fashion Sprees

Jim Delany And The Art of Face Control

Don't begrudge Jim Delany doing his job advocating for his league and the traditional powers of college football, but there's an end game here well beyond getting some more pizza money into the pockets of student athletes.

NCAA President Mark Emmert: Time To 'Explore' Paying College Players