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Controversy swells over offering athletic scholarships to eighth and ninth graders
William “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor of the University of Maryland system and co-chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, called on colleges and the NCAA to end the practice of offering scholarships to students as young as the eighth grade. “I find the practice appalling, quite frankly,” Kirwan told the USA Today. “I certainly hope the NCAA will step in and put a stop to it. I certainly will voice my objection to (NCAA President) Myles Brand and others at the NCAA.” Kirwan’s comments come in response to the recent action by University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie, who offered a scholarship in the last week to eighth-grader Michael Avery from Lake Sherwood, California and ninth-grader, Vincent Zollo, from Greenfield, Ohio.
NCAA issues penalties and waivers for APR failures
The NCAA announced that 218 teams at 123 Division I institutions will be sanctioned for failing to meet the minimum academic benchmarks measured by the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR). Sanctions included loss of scholarships, reduced practice time, and a potential of post-season bans if poor APR performance continues. According to the NCAA, about 3.5 percent of 6,272 teams received penalties. This is up from last year, when 2 percent of teams were penalized. However, the number of teams receiving penalties was much less than the projections indicated last spring as a result of increased scores that met the minimum benchmarks, the NCAA’s administration of waivers for certain cases, and mitigating factors, such as granting relief for teams that demonstrate measurable improvement and other criteria.
Bowl Championship Series keeps status quo, rejects playoff
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which matches the final regular-season’s top two NCAA Division I-A college football teams in a championship game separate from its Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls, will not change its current format at least for the next several years. This decision was reached on April 30 by the commissioners who manage the BCS. Two of the commissioners requested a consideration of an alternate format, which would have built a four-team playoff into the current five-game structure. However, according to the USA Today, the lack of endorsement of any changes assures that the current system will remain in place through at least the 2013 season. In 2014, the Big Ten and Pac-10 contract with the Rose Bowl expires.
NCAA Basketball Academic Enhancement Group considers restructuring summers
The NCAA’s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group met on April 25 and discussed a variety of proposals aimed at improving the academic performance of men’s basketball players. The group is working toward enhancing off-season access by coaches to incoming players as the best chance to direct young players toward an academic setting; many of the players instead place basketball above academics as their college priority. In a press release from the NCAA, the group’s discussions have also included: the timing of the playing and practice season, high transfer rates between schools, the high rate of change of head coaches, and the culture of youth basketball.
