BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
The five wealthiest athletics conferences are positioned to gain new clout within the NCAA, paving the way for them to spend money more freely to help athletes and make rules that could exclusively benefit their institutions, according to an NCAA document obtained by The Chronicle.
The 14-page proposalāwhich was distributed on Thursday by Nathan O. Hatch, president of Wake Forest University and chair of the Division I Board of Directorsācalls for a variety of changes in the NCAA's system of governance.
Among them are a simplified legislative structure that would give more power to athletic directors and others who work closely with students; a "competency-based" selection process for filling governing-body positions; and a higher bar for less-wealthy institutions to override rules they don't approve of.
The ideasāwhich are designed to spur debate at the association's annual convention next week in San Diegoāare by no means final. But they offer a window into the NCAA's efforts to clean up its beleaguered governance process.
In some ways, the draft suggests little change in the NCAA's way of doing business. The proposal would allow for more voices in the governing process, but would maintain the voting power of the elite conferences. It would allow smaller Division I conferences the same access to the NCAA men's basketball tournament and would call for the same distribution of NCAA revenue.
But the proposal would give the top five conferencesāthe Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12, and the Southeasternāmore autonomy to act in their best interests. It would, however, require those leagues to allow the rest of Division I to weigh in on any changes they sought.
The proposal calls for a 17-member Division I board that would probably be made up entirely of presidents (it could have several "distinguished individuals," the document says, to provide outside perspectives). The board would continue to serve as the main governing body for the division, with responsibilities for strategy, policy, and legislative and management oversight.
The proposal appears to merge the NCAA's legislative and leadership councils into a single body whose primary responsibilities would include legislative and championship issues, along with academic oversight.
The new "council" would be composed of athletic directors, faculty athletics representatives, conference commissioners, and presidents from leagues that were not represented on the board. The council would include representatives of all conferences and would have three to five at-large seats.
The board would move toward what the document calls a "competency-based" model and a more formal nominations process, requiring that members of its council substructure be selected based on "competency, related experience, and other factors with traditional representation and diversity factors, and which will define specific criteria/requirements for each position considered."
There would also be a "Presidential Advisory Group" charged with providing strategic input and advice to the board on matters in the lower levels of Division I.
The document discusses a number of areas where the biggest leagues could have more autonomy. They include:
The NCAA convention includes a two-day forum where some 850 college presidents, athletic directors, and others are expected to discuss ideas for improving the governance system. Following those discussions, the NCAA board could consider new legislation as soon as April.
The 14-page proposalāwhich was distributed on Thursday by Nathan O. Hatch, president of Wake Forest University and chair of the Division I Board of Directorsācalls for a variety of changes in the NCAA's system of governance.
Among them are a simplified legislative structure that would give more power to athletic directors and others who work closely with students; a "competency-based" selection process for filling governing-body positions; and a higher bar for less-wealthy institutions to override rules they don't approve of.
The ideasāwhich are designed to spur debate at the association's annual convention next week in San Diegoāare by no means final. But they offer a window into the NCAA's efforts to clean up its beleaguered governance process.
In some ways, the draft suggests little change in the NCAA's way of doing business. The proposal would allow for more voices in the governing process, but would maintain the voting power of the elite conferences. It would allow smaller Division I conferences the same access to the NCAA men's basketball tournament and would call for the same distribution of NCAA revenue.
But the proposal would give the top five conferencesāthe Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12, and the Southeasternāmore autonomy to act in their best interests. It would, however, require those leagues to allow the rest of Division I to weigh in on any changes they sought.
The proposal calls for a 17-member Division I board that would probably be made up entirely of presidents (it could have several "distinguished individuals," the document says, to provide outside perspectives). The board would continue to serve as the main governing body for the division, with responsibilities for strategy, policy, and legislative and management oversight.
The proposal appears to merge the NCAA's legislative and leadership councils into a single body whose primary responsibilities would include legislative and championship issues, along with academic oversight.
The new "council" would be composed of athletic directors, faculty athletics representatives, conference commissioners, and presidents from leagues that were not represented on the board. The council would include representatives of all conferences and would have three to five at-large seats.
The board would move toward what the document calls a "competency-based" model and a more formal nominations process, requiring that members of its council substructure be selected based on "competency, related experience, and other factors with traditional representation and diversity factors, and which will define specific criteria/requirements for each position considered."
There would also be a "Presidential Advisory Group" charged with providing strategic input and advice to the board on matters in the lower levels of Division I.
The document discusses a number of areas where the biggest leagues could have more autonomy. They include:
- Providing additional aid to meet athletes' full cost of attendance and other "enhanced benefits" to support students' needs.
- Offering "lifetime opportunity" funds for the undergraduate education of current and former athletes.
- Ensuring that players' health and safety needs remained top priorities.
- Creating athletics "dead periods" for athletes to gain access to opportunities outside of sports.
- Redefining the rules governing agents and advisers to assist athletes with career planning.
The NCAA convention includes a two-day forum where some 850 college presidents, athletic directors, and others are expected to discuss ideas for improving the governance system. Following those discussions, the NCAA board could consider new legislation as soon as April.
