NCAA Considering New APR System To Hold Coaches Accountable

Martelli Feels Individual APR Would Be Unfair To Coaches

MIDLEVEL SCHOOLS: USA TODAY's Wieberg in a separate piece writes when the NCAA announced its latest round of academic-related penalties this month, "the swath wasn't as wide as the numbers suggested." Two midlevel universities, San Jose State Univ.  and the Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham, were "docked more scholarships -- a combined 23.62 in six sports -- than all 65 schools in college football's six biggest-name, biggest-money conferences." Wieberg notes one explanation is the "bigger budget schools are more capable of beefing up academic-support programs and taking other supportive measures such as covering summer school costs for incoming athletes and reducing missed class time by flying rather than busing to games." Boise State President Robert Kustra "views the league-to-league disparity as a challenge rather than an injustice." NCAA VP/Membership Services Kevin Lennon said that the "disparate impact on conferences comes in part from schools in the six power leagues doing a better job of limiting those so-called 0-for-2 players and thus limiting their exposure to sanctions." Lennon: "We have to let a little more wind under the sails to fully assess it." Lennon "envisions APRs as a trigger for low-scoring schools near the bottom of the Division I food chain to question whether that's where they belong" (USA TODAY, 6/30).

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