Last year’s national men’s basketball champions may not have brought home the trophy if recommendations made 10 years ago by a national advisory panel had been approved by the NCAA.
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics’ recommendations for improving the academic side of college athletics were finally approved by the NCAA Thursday.
One of the approved initiatives was originally proposed by Bill Friday, a founding cochairman of the commission and a former UNC-system president.
The new policy will make a college athletic team ineligible for football bowl games or basketball tournaments if a certain percentage of players aren’t meeting graduation requirements.
These requirements will begin phasing in the next academic year.
Amy Perko, executive director of the commission, said if this policy were approved last year, nine men’s basketball teams would have been ineligible for March Madness — including national champion University of Connecticut.
“The commission has had long standing recommendations that call for stricter academic standards, so that the academic success of athletes coming to the institution is paramount,” Perko said.
The NCAA also adopted the Knight Commission’s recommendation to give student athletes who receive full athletics scholarships the opportunity to receive additional athletics aid up to $2,000.
Athletic spending has increased while academic spending remains flat, according to a report by the commission.
