ACC Commissioner John Swofford, saying that college athletics has reached a crossroads, joined the chorus of administrators calling for reform Sunday during his address to the media at ACC Kickoff in Pinehurst, N.C. Swofford said he supported a restructuring of the NCAA enforcement process and increasing the value of the grant-in-aid to cover the full cost of education for all student-athletes on scholarship. “We’re at a tipping point right now,” Swofford said. “We’ve got to adjust in a progressive way to the times we live in.”
Swofford echoed many of the points made by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive last week. Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe addresses the media later this week, as does the Big Ten’s Jim Delany. They are expected to back up Swofford and Slive. “If we’re going to have any chance to make significant change, it’s critical that the commissioners, the conferences and ultimately the presidents are in lockstep,” Swofford said. “If we’re not, it will be very difficult to move any kind of significant agenda forward.”
