NCAA – North Platte Post Archive

New Division I Chief Puts Transfer Rules on Priority List

Posted on April 26, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s newly appointed Division I chief believes it is time to change transfer rules and contain costs of championships in college sports.

In a 40-mintue interview with The Associated Press, Kevin Lennon outlined a broad, ambitious plan of what he believes can be accomplished over the next year.

One of the hottest topics: finding a way to stem the wave of transfers, particularly in men’s basketball.

Two ideas being floated would dramatically affect graduate transfers. One would give schools some ability to restrict where those players land. The other would require grad students to sit out one year before becoming eligible, something undergrads already must do.

Lennon also believes university leaders should look at cutting the cost of Division I championship events without changing the athlete experience.

Emmert: Freshmen Ineligibility Problematic, Worth Debating

Posted on April 23, 2015April 24, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert says he is glad the Big Ten has sparked a debate about freshmen ineligibility, even though it is an idea fraught with potential problems.

Emmert spoke at a meeting of Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday.

He says the NCAA helped Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany with the conference’s recent white paper on a so-called year of readiness for freshman football and men’s basketball players.

Emmert says freshmen ineligibility could be a way to close the gap between those student-athletes who enter college lagging behind the rest of the student body academically.

Emmert says the question that needs to be addressed is: Are students sufficiently serious about being students as well as athletes and are they prepared to be successful as students?

APNewsBreak: New Concussions Deal with NCAA Proposed

Posted on April 14, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — There is a new proposed settlement in a head injury lawsuit against the NCAA brought by football players and other college athletes.

Notice of a new deal came in a filing in federal court in Chicago late Tuesday night.

It’s the second proposal in the case. U.S. District Judge John Lee rejected the initial settlement in December.

The core of the new agreement is the same as the one Lee rejected. The new one also would toughen return-to-play rules after a concussion and would create a $70 million fund to test current and former athletes in contact and non-contact sports for brain trauma.

The new proposal also seeks to address Lee’s criticism. That includes his concern there was a lack of clarity about how athletes normally designated as non-contact sports could benefit if they suffer concussions.

Big Score: College Bowl Game Payouts Surpass $500 Million

Posted on April 14, 2015

Bowl games paid more than a half billion dollars to college football conferences and schools last season, an increase of almost $200 million from the final season of the Bowl Championship Series to the first of the College Football Playoff.

According to an NCAA report to be released Tuesday, the 39 postseason FBS games distributed $505.9 million to the participating conferences and schools. The schools spent $100.2 million to take part in bowl games.

Total payouts from 35 postseason games from the 2013-14 season were $309.9 million while schools spent $97.8 million to participate.

The increase in payouts is due mostly to the increased value of media deals with the seven games — six bowls and a national championship game — that are part of the College Football Playoff.

NCAA Reports Homers up Significantly Midway Through Season

Posted on April 1, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Home runs are up 39 percent in Division I baseball compared with the first half of the 2014 season, an indication the introduction of the flat-seam ball is having the desired effect.

According to the NCAA midseason statistical report Wednesday, the per-team home-run rate has gone from 0.36 a game to 0.50.

Fifty teams have hit 20 or more home runs. Eighteen teams had hit that many at this point a year ago. Forty-three players have seven or more homers, compared with 19 players who had that many through March 2014.

College baseball switched from a raised-seam ball to a flat-seam ball this season with the hope it would help inject more offense into the game. Research showed a flat-seam ball was not affected as much by wind resistance.

Attorney: NCAA Decision Conflicts with Previous Rulings

Posted on March 17, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An attorney for the NCAA says a ruling that opened the door for college football and basketball players to be paid goes against previous court rulings, including a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The NCAA is appealing a decision last year that the organization violated antitrust laws by limiting student-athlete compensation.

Seth Waxman told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that courts have never said the rules meant to protect student-athletes’ amateur status violated antitrust law. He cited a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that said athletes must not be paid in order to preserve the character and quality of college athletics.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Hausfeld told the appeals court the Supreme Court’s comment about paying athletes was made in passing and was not integral to the outcome of that case.

NCAA Hoping New Travel Policy Will Help Avoid Problems

Posted on March 16, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA is ending most overnight travel in this year’s Division I basketball tournaments.

Under a new policy, teams that fly to tournament sites and have start times after 3 p.m. local time will spend the night, win or lose. Teams that take buses to games, within 350 miles, will have the option of driving home when they’re eliminated.

The changes come after several snafus last year led to complaints.

Teams making the men’s and women’s Final Four also will receive $3,000 per athlete from the NCAA for up to two family members to attend games. An additional $1,000 per player will be added for teams that advance. The family stipend is being used as a first-time pilot program.

Kentucky Leads the Way

Posted on March 15, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Wildcats, a Badger and a Blue Devil. The NCAA has announced its 68-team field for the men’s basketball tournament, and there were no major surprises when the top seeds were revealed.

As expected Kentucky is the top overall seed and No. 1 in the Midwest Region. The unbeaten Wildcats will open play Thursday in Louisville against either Manhattan or Hampton.

Kansas has the No. 2 seed in the Midwest despite its loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 title game. ACC champion Notre Dame is third, followed by Big 10 semifinalist Maryland.

The top-seed in the East is Villanova of the Big East. This is the second time ‘Nova has been a No. 1 seed. The Wildcats will face Lafayette Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Virginia is No. 2 in the East, followed by Oklahoma and Louisville. The Cavaliers had a top seed in their grasp until they lost in the ACC quarterfinals.

Duke is the top seed in the South. This marks the 13th time the Blue Devils have been a No. 1 seed. They open play Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the winner of the North Florida and Robert Morris game in Dayton, Ohio.

The second seed in the South is Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference champs. Iowa State is third and Georgetown fourth.

And the top-seed in the West is Wisconsin. The Badgers are the top team from the Big Ten and will play Friday in Omaha, Nebraska against Coastal Carolina. This is the first time Wisconsin has been a top seed.

Arizona has to settle for the second seed in the West despite winning the Pac-12 title in convincing fashion. Baylor is third, followed by North Carolina.

The 68 team field is comprised of 32 teams that won automatic berths by winning a conference championship and 36 at-large schools.

The first games in the NCAA Tournament are Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio, in what the NCAA now calls the First Four.

Has Rough Season for College Hoops Taken Luster off March?

Posted on March 11, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There is concern about the current state of men’s college basketball with the NCAA Tournament little more than a week away.

Scoring is at a near-record low this season. Fouls are a pervasive problem. Attendance has dropped precipitously in many places, and television ratings are struggling to reach last year’s levels.

Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s vice president for men’s college basketball, says the game could be hurt if scoring stays down and physical play continues.

Attendance in men’s Division I basketball has fallen seven straight seasons, from an average of 5,327 in 2006-07 to 4,817 last year. Both CBS and ESPN are weathering ratings declines this season.

The NCAA tried to intervene last year, instituting a series of rules reforms designed to boost scoring. They have largely failed to stick.

Year After Rule Changes, Game Looks a Lot Like it Used To

Posted on March 5, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — One year after the NCAA changed how rules were enforced to open up the men’s basketball game, it looks a whole lot like it once did.

Fouls, free throws and scoring increased at the start of last season with a new emphasis on eliminating some of the physical play, especially around the basket. Those statistics leveled off as the season went along, and they’re now back to near where they were two years ago.

Coaches and players say officials went back to calling the game the old way for the most part, and they’re glad to see it. One of the athletic directors involved in the changes says players adjusted as well, and the game is better because of it.