After last week's decision by a federal judge in Kansas
City that the NCAA pay $67M in damages to about 1,900
assistant coaches, one of the NCAA's "primary reasons for
existence -- providing member schools with a way to make
rules designed to keep any school from gaining a competitive
advantage -- is under challenge," according to Asher &
Horton of the WASHINGTON POST. Other NCAA "rulings pending"
include a case concerning the academic standards athletes
must meet to receive athletic scholarships and to compete as
freshmen, and another challenges the use of standardized
test scores as a cutoff for receiving an athletic
scholarship. Asher & Horton also write that "in a doomsday
scenario, there may not be a place for a 1,000-member NCAA
as it exists today," but lawyers say the "oft-discussed"
formation of a super conference comprising schools with the
top 50 to 60 athletic programs "would face the same legal
scrutiny the NCAA does" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/12). In
Hartford, Ken Davis writes that the "actual loss" by the
NCAA "may not be measured in dollars and cents, but in a
loss of credibility and authority" (HARTFORD COURANT, 5/12).
