The NCAA Convention, which began Thursday in Maryland, "marks the beginning of significant changes to the organization's operational structure," as the Power Five conferences "will convene Saturday with new authority to control many areas," according to George Schroeder of USA TODAY. The "expected passage of a proposal to provide full cost-of-attendance scholarships" is among the first items on the agenda. ADs as part of the changes "will assume more prominent roles in enacting policy," and current Power Five conference athletes "will make up 15 of 80 votes during autonomy matters." Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch, who chairs the NCAA D-I BOD and also chaired the steering committee for governance, called this "a pivotal time for Division I and a very turbulent time in college sports." He added that through autonomy, the Power Five conferences "hope to 'defend the amateur model of student-athletes.'" NCAA President Mark Emmert "echoed some of those comments and Hatch's tone of urgency." Emmert said during an address to delegates at the convention's opening session, "We don't have the luxury of determining the pace of change around us. We can't sit still." In addition to cost of attendance, the Power Five schools "are expected to consider enhanced concussion safety protocols during their business session Saturday." Other long-term priorities "include continuing educational opportunities and health insurance for athletes after they've finished their college playing careers." Univ. of South Carolina President Harris Pastides suggested that it "might take two years to get many of the agenda items enacted." Schroeder said there is "continued apprehension about what autonomy will mean for the rest of the NCAA's members" (USA TODAY, 1/16). Hatch said, "The most significant thing is that Division I holds together." ESPN.com's Mitch Sherman noted autonomy "is aimed to do just that." Other topics that autonomy "might affect involve insurance benefits for student-athletes, the implementation of mandatory, four-year scholarships, and a review of rules that ban contact between agents and college athletes" (ESPN.com, 1/15).
GOT TO LOVE THE DRAKE: In N.Y., Ben Strauss notes members of the Drake Group, which "advocates for academic overhaul in college sports," met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "to discuss a presidential commission to examine college sports." The NCAA "has ramped up spending on its lobbying efforts." The groups have "competing visions for a new era of college sports," and Congress is paying "closer attention" as they take shape. The Drake Group released a proposal that "called for a federally chartered entity to oversee college sports." At the meeting with Duncan, the group "discussed a House bill calling for a commission that would take a hard look at the NCAA’s functions." Univ. of New Haven Professor and Drake Group Past-President Allen Sack said, "Every dime these schools make has to go into educating the athletes. I’m not in support of the labor union industrialist model because we need to focus on the academic mission" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/16).
