NCAA board endorses major changes in rules enforcement
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors endorsed sweeping recommendations Thursday to dramatically change the way the association deals with those who flout its rules.
Teams that commit the most egregious acts of misconduct would be subject to postseason bans of up to four years. And all revenue generated by those teams during the years the violations occurred would be negated. The NCAA also hopes to better hold rules-breaking coaches individually accountable with suspensions or show-cause orders.
A vote on the broad set of proposals is not expected until the board's October meeting. Other changes, which would not take effect until Aug. 1, 2013, include:
• A four-tier violation structure would replace the current two-tier — major and secondary — model.
• The Committee on Infractions, which acts as judge and jury in investigations, would expand, enabling it to handle more cases in a timely manner.
The new penalty guidelines would give the committee more leeway, when warranted, in imposing harsh sanctions more consistently.
And in a general criticism of the current climate in college sports, former men's basketball coach Tom Penders told USA TODAY Sports that the reward for cheating now clearly outweighs the risk of getting caught.
"A lot of these schools, they don't want to know the rules, they don't care about the rules," Penders said. "They are just going to be bold."
To that point, Ed Ray, Oregon State president and chair of the working group that made the recommended changes, said in a statement that college coaches want changes in how the NCAA deals with cheaters.
"Coaches come to me and say, 'I feel like a chump,' " Ray said. " 'I am trying to do things the right way and I have peers who laugh at me because I don't play the game and bend the rules the way they do.'
"That has got to stop. Most coaches are terrific people who love their student-athletes, try to do it the right way, try to have the right values and succeed. They are very frustrated. This has got to stop. I think most coaches are saying it's about time. We want a level playing field."
The board endorsed a four-tier violation structure to better address infractions that range in severity. A Level IV violation would consist of an inadvertent isolated issue that does not result in a large competitive advantage. A Level I violation would be characterized as a "severe breach," a transgression that "seriously undermines or threatens the integrity of the NCAA enduring values," the NCAA said.
The infractions committee, which hears all serious cases before a ruling is made, would grow to as many as 24 members from its current 10. The make-up of the committee would also expand to include current or former university presidents, vice presidents or other senior administrators, current and former directors of athletics, former NCAA coaches, conference officials, faculty, athletics administrators with compliance experience and members of the general public with a legal background.
The proposals also set out to better hold coaches accountable for establishing a tone of compliance. The most rampant rules-breakers could be subject to suspensions or a show-cause order of up to 10 years.
Regarding all of the recommendations, Ray said, "Our intention is to make this real in October."
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