Meetings of the NCAA's top two committees and the D-I BOD on Wednesday were part of what is "expected to be a yearlong process to decide how to make significant changes to the way the NCAA is run," according to Ronnie Ramos of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. The meetings "began formal talks about how to best govern the 348 schools that comprise its top division." Michigan State President and NCAA Exec Committee Chair Lou Anna Simon said, "We’re at a crossroads, and the sense in the room was that people want to try and make it a much better organization." NCAA President Mark Emmert said, "There is a strong sense of urgency to move the association forward. There is a deep concerted effort on behalf of the board and the membership to find ways to get the Division I governance system to work better." Simon, along with Wake Forest President and D-I BOD Chair Nathan Hatch, said that they "were 'very confident' a solution on how to best change the NCAA will be reached about a year from now." Simon: "The room was committed to understanding the importance of the moment, in terms of this crossroads, and being very committed to working together." Emmert, Simon and Hatch stressed that this process "would be more deliberate and include much more input from the membership." Hatch said that the goal was "to arrive at a decision by August 2014" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/9).
RULES ARE RULES: Hatch, in response to whether some of the NCAA rules regarding payments to college athletes should be modified, said, "I stand by the NCAA's commitment to amateurism, and I believe the way we've done that is the correct way. So I believe the rules we have, we agree with." NCAA Enforcement Dir Jonathan Duncan said that he "does not anticipate modifications to those rules" (AP, 8/8). Emmert, Simon and Hatch said that they "don't see any reason to alter the rules that prohibit an athlete from profiting by signing his name" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/9).
