NCAA begins its hoops reform
RALEIGH, N.C. — The NCAA is carving out a limited role for agents to work with college basketball players and is changing key parts of its rules-enforcement system as part of numerous reforms in the wake of a corruption scandal.
The Indianapolis-based governing body for college sports announced Wednesday that its Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors had adopted a “series of significant policy and legislative changes” as part of an effort to “fundamentally” change the NCAA’s structure. Some are immediate, while others first require action from other agencies — such as the NBA changing the age limit for draft-eligible players that has fueled the wave of “one and done” at the college level.
That follows late-April recommendations from the commission headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice following a federal investigation into alleged bribes and kickbacks designed to influence recruits on choosing a school, agent or apparel company. Georgia Tech president and Board of Directors chairman Bud Peterson said the NCAA had pushed through changes in about 3 1/2 months that would “normally take us about two years through the governance process.”
“Today was obviously a very important day for the NCAA and especially for men’s basketball, and ... Division I,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday afternoon.
The agent changes are about transparency and offering a legitimate avenue for communication or advice that previously could’ve taken place in the shadows — and raised the likelihood of attracting unscrupulous actors.
Now college basketball players can work with an NCAA-certified agent while testing the waters of declaring for the NBA draft. College players first would have to request an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee about their draft prospects after the season, and that would clear the way to enter into a written agreement — disclosed to the NCAA or school — with the agent.
That agreement must end if the player returns to school.
Agents would be allowed to cover minimal expenses such as meals and transportation associated with meetings or workouts with pro teams, though the NCAA said that might require revisions to the Uniform Athlete Agent Act.
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