With the NCAA naming a new NCAA CEO last week, what structural or rule changes would you implement if you were in charge of the NCAA.
A few I would implement:
A few I would implement:
- Get rid of National Signing Days. Athletes can commit any time after their junior year. Athletes can't sign NLI with a school within 72 hours of visiting a school. If athletes break their NLI, they must sit a year and have 4 years eligibility. This puts some teeth on an athletes commitment. And a coaching staff can feel somewhat confident they can stop recruiting to fill a positional need. There would be exceptions, allowing an athlete to break their NLI due to a change in head coach prior to signing day. Or if a school gets put on probation.
- Eliminate the stupid concept of red-shirting athletes. Every athlete in every sport has 5 years and can play 5 years. It's silly to have a 4 game limit for football players to redshirt. Less silly, but still unneeded is a medical 6th or 9th year. Play your 5, get a degree, play professionally or get a job. Make the scholarship available for a graduating HS athlete.
- If I really wanted to shake things up, I would divide schools into 2 groups:
- Schools that want to participate in a pre- professional model. Athletes in profitable sports are employees of the school. Subject to a collective bargaining agreement where revenue is shared and teams are subject to salary caps. Also, media rights would be collectively negotiated. There would be attendance, alumni financial support requirements, etc. to compete in this pre-professional group.
- A second group would be created for schools that want to participate in a traditional student-athlete scholarship model. Athletes could earn NIL for marketing deals. But pay-for-play recruiting would be prohibited. Schools that violate would face a 3-10 year sport specific death penalty. Media rights deals would be collectively negotiated. Schools would agree to pay medical costs for a period after eligibility is up. There would also be degree progress requirements to be eligible.