A Call to Action: Appendix A: Additional Issues for Consideration
A Call to Action: Reconnecting College Sports and Higher Education
- A Call to Action: Letter of transmittal
- A Call to Action: Foreword
- A Call to Action: Ten Years Later
- A Call to Action: A Call to Action
- A Call to Action: Appendix A: Additional Issues for Consideration
- A Call to Action: Appendix B: Action on Knight Commission Recommendations of March 1991
- A Call to Action: Appendix C: Meeting Participants
- A Call to Action: Appendix D: Acknowledgments
- A Call to Action: Appendix E: Statement of Principles
Appendix A: Additional Issues for Consideration
The following issues were discussed during the course of the Knight Commission's deliberations but were not considered in enough detail to enable the Commission to make specific recommendations. We list them here because we believe they are worthy of careful consideration.
Freshmen Ineligibility. While the arguments in favor of freshmen ineligibility are compelling in many respects, it is also true that such a policy would preclude many athletes who are fully capable of both succeeding academically and competing at a high level their freshman year from doing so.
Recruiting Restrictions. Unquestionably, recruiting is the bane of many a coach's existence. It is time-consuming, expensive, and fosters a skewed sense of expectations and priorities on the part of the recruited athlete. The Commission discussed restrictions on recruiting such as limiting the geographic range from which an institution could recruit, restricting recruiting expenses to a percentage of the overall athletics budget, shortening recruiting seasons, and reducing the number of permissible contacts with recruits. The effects of such proposals, however, likely would vary widely across institutions and thus they must be carefully reviewed.
Need-Based Financial Aid. The possibility of basing all financial aid to athletes on need to both reduce costs and to free students from the current dynamics of the coach-athlete relationship was discussed. Regardless of these benefits, though, other students on campus are off e re d scholarships for different talents. Further, many argue that athletes already are exploited for their skills despite the value of their athletic scholarships, and to reduce them would only exacerbate the situation.
Early Departures to the NBA. The use of collegiate level programs by basketball players to develop their skills for a year or two before going to the NBA- with little regard to academic considerations - is inappropriate. It is unclear, however, whether such athletes can or should be prevented by either NBA or NCAA restrictions from leaving college early for the professional level. In this regard, the Commission has urged the NBA (and the NFL) to develop minor leagues so that athletes not interested in undergraduate study are provided an alternative route to professional careers.
Certification and Accreditation. The Commission considered whether the larger accreditation process for colleges and universities should uniformly include review of athletics programs. A potential drawback of this could be the demise of the NCAA certification program, with all the benefits that stem from its detailed and extensive mandatory self-study and review.
Antitrust Exemptions. The possibility of supporting an antitrust exemption for the NCAA to regain control of televised football and its associated revenue was raised, as well as an exemption for controlling coaches' salaries. In the former instance, however, Commissioners were uncertain whether it would be in the best interests of intercollegiate athletics if the NCAA were to control college football television and revenues. In the latter case, more information and research are necessary before such a recommendation can be made.
