College leaders stressed recently an effort to ease the time demands on today’s student athlete. There seemed to be uniformity among the power five conferences that this could get done rather quickly — implementing days off during the season and downtime in the offseason — to ease the pressures on today’s young athlete.
So I was surprised and disappointed that the plan was delayed for further study and didn’t even come up for a vote at the NCAA’s annual convention. Student athletes taking part in the meetings in San Antonio were also upset by the lack of action, but in talking to collegiate leaders who sat in on the debate, they assured me this will get done. That’s good, because for all the talk about providing for student athlete well-being, failing to act on this issue would have sent the wrong sign from the NCAA and its members.
University of Texas Women’s Athletic Director Chris Plonsky said membership agreed that time demands on athletes must be better managed, but there is debate about the right policy, with momentum growing to address the issue on a sport-by-sport basis because of the variation in season lengths and amount of travel. So I’d expect something along that route rather than an all-encompassing rule.
Plonsky believes a study of possible solutions shouldn’t take long and could result in a vote during a special meeting sometime this year. “We are making progress,” she said. “We are trying to provide more flexibility all around for our student athletes.”
Michigan State AD Mark Hollis echoed Plonsky, saying the goal is to allow athletes to have access to the same experiences as the rest of the student body. Hollis acknowledged that student athletes were frustrated by the delay. “In their minds, it’s on a slow pace. But we’re trying to get to the right place in an appropriate way. Every sport is different and every community is different. How can you put rules in place on a very diverse set of campuses?” he said.
I can understand the need for customized policy, but hope this doesn’t significantly delay a much-needed benefit to athletes and slow the momentum of change in the NCAA.
What the power five conferences did approve, and which shouldn’t be overlooked but instead applauded, was a pivotal rule focused on improving player health and safety, as a wall was established between the medical and the athletic personnel at each school. Medical professionals will now have final authority for when a player can return to competition after a concussion or injury. Hollis called it one of the most progressive policies on player safety in all of sports.
“Having a physician who doesn’t report to a coach or athletic director is extremely important to the integrity of our health and wellness process,” he said. “I was extremely happy to see that get passed.”
Plonsky agreed and said officials left the convention feeling the rule was the “most important rule that we have ever passed in the medical area.”
Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
