NCAA accountability

[MarkD83]

It is the "non-playing" season for NCAA basketball (there never is an offseason) and there are quite a few discussions about NCAA rules on this board.

One thing that struck me is that when the NCAA hands out a ruling or we discuss something about an NCAA rule interpretation, no single person is identified at the NCAA office.

Perhaps instead of changing all of the "silly rules" if the media would indentify the person making the statements or rulings at the NCAA office then some personal accountablility would be placed on NCAA decisions.

If your name was on ESPN.com along with an obviously "silly decision" you would think about whether the rule made sense or not.

[SCMatt33]

It is the "non-playing" season for NCAA basketball (there never is an offseason) and there are quite a few discussions about NCAA rules on this board.

One thing that struck me is that when the NCAA hands out a ruling or we discuss something about an NCAA rule interpretation, no single person is identified at the NCAA office.

Perhaps instead of changing all of the "silly rules" if the media would indentify the person making the statements or rulings at the NCAA office then some personal accountablility would be placed on NCAA decisions.

If your name was on ESPN.com along with an obviously "silly decision" you would think about whether the rule made sense or not.

That's just the thing. The "NCAA" is very very small. Just as they claim, the NCAA is mostly made up of representatives from the members. All of the committees, whether it be men's BB selection, infraction, or one that is lesser known, are made up mostly of conference comissioners, athletic directors, etc. Think about the ACC. The ACC has a commissioner, plenty of staffers including assistant commissioners, directors of different departments etc. but for the most part, the "ACC" is made up of the 12 institutions working together. The same is true of the NCAA, just on a larger scale. Mark Emmert is not like the NCAA version of Roger Goddell, can unilaterally punish players whenever he feels like it. The NCAA is always accountible to its members. If 345 Division I schools got together and said that they wanted players to be paid, the "NCAA" couldn't stop it. Ultimately, it is the members who are accountable. The problem is that rarely do 345 schools get together to agree on anything, so we are stuck with outdated rules that can't get changed because it wouldn't be benficial to several parts of DI.

[MarkD83]

That's just the thing. The "NCAA" is very very small. Just as they claim, the NCAA is mostly made up of representatives from the members. All of the committees, whether it be men's BB selection, infraction, or one that is lesser known, are made up mostly of conference comissioners, athletic directors, etc. Think about the ACC. The ACC has a commissioner, plenty of staffers including assistant commissioners, directors of different departments etc. but for the most part, the "ACC" is made up of the 12 institutions working together. The same is true of the NCAA, just on a larger scale. Mark Emmert is not like the NCAA version of Roger Goddell, can unilaterally punish players whenever he feels like it. The NCAA is always accountible to its members. If 345 Division I schools got together and said that they wanted players to be paid, the "NCAA" couldn't stop it. Ultimately, it is the members who are accountable. The problem is that rarely do 345 schools get together to agree on anything, so we are stuck with outdated rules that can't get changed because it wouldn't be benficial to several parts of DI.

I agree that changing the rules would be difficult but most of what we read is about interpretation of the rules. In the thread about the "mistimed" offer by Coach K there is a long post showing the text of the rule. Some one at the NCAA office has to be the one interpreting this rule. The case with Coach Hall at KY not being able to coach UK alums also had to be interpreted by someone at the NCAA office telling KY that he could not coach. So where is the interview with the person at the NCAA who is interpreting the rules? The media questions may not change the rules but the person facing the questions may end up taking personal ownership to get things moving for no other reason then they don't want to be grilled by the media.

[SCMatt33]

I agree that changing the rules would be difficult but most of what we read is about interpretation of the rules. In the thread about the "mistimed" offer by Coach K there is a long post showing the text of the rule. Some one at the NCAA office has to be the one interpreting this rule. The case with Coach Hall at KY not being able to coach UK alums also had to be interpreted by someone at the NCAA office telling KY that he could not coach. So where is the interview with the person at the NCAA who is interpreting the rules? The media questions may not change the rules but the person facing the questions may end up taking personal ownership to get things moving for no other reason then they don't want to be grilled by the media.

I was the one who posted the rule. I also included a link to a previous NCAA interpretation of the rule. That sums it up in a short paragraph that once a prospect has left on a road trip, a coach may not have any communication with that prospect until he has been released from the final tournament of the trip. That interpretation was made three months ago by the NCAA academic and membership affairs staff. Because the potential violation is minor, they will likely adhere to this interpretation and self report a secondary violation, which will either have no penalties or very minor penalties (Coach K loses a few phone calls in exchange for the prohibited call). In this case that's really all that is necessary. If a member school wants to take it further, I'm sure the ultimate decision would be made by a membership committee. You can be certain, however, that all major issues (changing rules, handing out major penalties, selecting championship fields) are all done by representatives of member schools, not NCAA staffers. The names of all of these people are available to the public. I can look up who is on the infractions committee or who the director of academic and membership affairs is, so its not like they are hiding from the public. In general, most people don't really care who the specific person is, they just want to hear what the "NCAA" said on the matter.

[MarkD83]

The names of all of these people are available to the public. I can look up who is on the infractions committee or who the director of academic and membership affairs is, so its not like they are hiding from the public. In general, most people don't really care who the specific person is, they just want to hear what the "NCAA" said on the matter.

Thanks for the offer. I wasn't thinking of any specific rule but just the process. Coach K will have to answer questions from the media about this at some point. KY and Coach Hall had to answer questions regarding why he could not coach in an exhibition. Maybe if a person or persons from the NCAA also had to have a press conference to answer questions about rules interpretation they would start to make progress on whether the rule made sense or not. For Coach K and Duke I am glad it will be minor and in a few weeks we will be talking about the China trip.

[gumbomoop]

FYI - You're gonna wanna read this. Some teams have a different NCAAT bubble problem.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...tting-real-now

[Indoor66]

FYI - You're gonna wanna read this. Some teams have a different NCAAT bubble problem.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...tting-real-now

Absolutely, positively about time!

I like the rule change and wish they would make it effective immediately.

[lotusland]

FYI - You're gonna wanna read this. Some teams have a different NCAAT bubble problem.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...tting-real-now

WOW! This seems huge. I'm sure there will be plenty of gaming the system by adding degree programs in REM sleep and Film Critique but still coaches will have to recruit kids who can do minimal college work and go to class even if they plan to be one and done. I like it.

[gep]

WOW! This seems huge. I'm sure there will be plenty of gaming the system by adding degree programs in REM sleep and Film Critique but still coaches will have to recruit kids who can do minimal college work and go to class even if they plan to be one and done. I like it.

I think you're not too serious... but doesn't the school still have "power" to dictate what kind of degrees they will "authorize" as an accredited degree? That said, I like the REM sleep degree. I would have aced that without effort

[gumbomoop]

FYI - Tried to link 2009-'10 APR scores for ACC institutions, both women's and men's bball. Link for specific sports didn't work, but if you go to link below, you can select sport, year, and ACC to get scores.

http://web1.ncaa.org/maps/aprRelease.jsp