NCAA – Page 8 – North Platte Post Archive

Rules Committee Wants Stricter Block-Charge Calls

Posted on May 9, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA men’s basketball rules committee wants a stricter interpretation on charge-block calls next season.

It still must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in June.

The most significant change would require defenders to be set in legal guarding position before an offensive player jumps to draw a charge. If the defender moves in any direction, other than vertically to block a shot, it would be called a block.

Other potential changes include expanding the restricted area in front of the basket, calling fouls for defenders who push a leg or knee into the rear end of a player of an opponent and calling a foul on the offensive player if he gained position by pushing back. Those changes would only be used on an experimental basis.

Playoff Panel Weekly Top 25 Starting Oct. 28

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The college football playoff selection committee will release a weekly top 25, starting Oct. 28, and panel members will be required to recuse themselves when a school they work for comes up for discussion.

The selection committee will use the same voting procedure and recusal policy as the committee that chooses the 68-team field for NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The 13-member panel, which includes five current athletic directors, will meet in person and the rankings will be released on Tuesday nights on ESPN.

The committee will chose and seed the four teams that will play in the national semifinal and pick some of the other teams that will play in the four other marquee New Year’s bowls.

NCAA Files Motions That Could Delay O’Bannon Trial

Posted on April 30, 2014

The NCAA has filed a flurry of motions in federal courts, seeking rulings that could delay the start of the landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and others.

The latest filings target both the judge assigned to the case and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on issues that are at the center of the trial, now scheduled to begin June 9 in federal court in Oakland, Calif. Among them is a request for U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to reconsider an earlier ruling that the NCAA cannot use the defense that money from big revenue sports like football and basketball is used to fund smaller sports and women’s sports.

Other filings ask for the 9th Circuit to give the NCAA permission to appeal the class action certification decision earlier by Wilken, and for any litigation over the video game portion of the case to be either severed or for the trial to be postponed until a reputed $40 million settlement reached last year between the plaintiffs and EA Sports and others is finalized.

Committee Won’t Dictate Number of Conference Games

Posted on April 29, 2014

IRVING, Texas (AP) — College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock says the selection committee does not want to dictate how many conference games leagues play.

Hancock and the conference commissioners are meeting this week to work out the remaining details of the four-team playoff that will replace the Bowl Championship Series this season.

The Southeastern Conference recently announced it will stay with an eight-game league schedule instead of going to nine games. The Pac-12 and Big 12 play nine league games and the Big Ten is moving to nine. The Atlantic Coast Conference plays eight league games, plus five of its teams will now play Notre Dame each season.

Hancock says the “totality” of a team’s schedule will be evaluated by the selection committee for its difficulty. The number of conference games won’t matter.

Female Athlete Joins Legal Fight Against NCAA

Posted on April 26, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In a lawsuit filed in Minneapolis federal court on Friday, former Kennesaw State basketball player Ashley Holliday became what is believed to be the first woman to be a named plaintiff in an antitrust action against the NCAA.

The complaint, filed by Zelle Hofman, alleges that full scholarships granted by the NCAA do not cover the full cost of attending college.

The lawsuit cites studies alleging full-scholarship athletes often fall $3,000 to $5,000 short of what it takes to go to school while limiting an athlete’s avenues for making up the difference. The class-action lawsuit, similar to others around the country, is comprised of men’s and women’s football and basketball players who were given full scholarships.

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Shariff Floyd is among the other named plaintiffs.

Government to Review Northwestern Bid to Unionize

Posted on April 24, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has granted Northwestern University’s request that it review its ruling that football players at the university are essentially employees of the school with full collective bargaining rights.

It said a previously scheduled vote by Northwestern football players on whether to unionize could go forward Friday but ballots would be impounded for now.

The Chicago office of the National Labor Relations Board ruled on March 26 that Northwestern scholarship football players are essentially employees of the school — and thus have the right to form a union and exercise full collective bargaining rights. Northwestern is appealing the potentially far-reaching decision, insisting that its scholarship athletes are students first and don’t have collective bargaining rights.

The full five-member federal board is now weighing the appeal request.

NCAA Board Endorses More Power for Big Schools

Posted on April 24, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s board of directors endorsed a proposal Thursday giving schools in the five largest football conferences more autonomy and more voting power in changing rules within the organization.

The changes would allow the wealthiest schools to adopt some legislation on their own, including provisions for money beyond what current scholarships cover, up to the full cost-of-attendance, expanded insurance coverage and money to help families travel to NCAA tournaments.

The proposal would affect the 65 schools in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.

NCAA President Mark Emmert supports the move. A formal vote is expected in August. If passed then, the transition could begin this fall.

The board also approved allowing schools to provide unlimited meals and snacks to athletes.

NCAA Could Force Hardship Transfers to Sit 1 Year

Posted on April 18, 2014

Student-athletes who seek transfers due to “difficult life circumstances” might have to sit out a season but gain an extra year of eligibility starting in 2015-16.

The NCAA Division I Leadership Council has recommended the elimination of immediate eligibility for players approved for hardship waivers. The NCAA says the proposed change would give athletes a year to focus on academics and the circumstance that led them to seek such a transfer in the first place before they can play.

The proposal is also intended to reduce concerns about waiver process abuse and claims of inconsistent decision making. The NCAA approved 127 of 236 such waivers from July 2012-June 2013.

The NCAA’s Board of Directors will rule on the proposal on April 24.

NCAA Committee Approves Expanded Meal Allowance

Posted on April 15, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s legislative council has approved a proposal to expand the meal allowance for athletes.

If approved by the board of directors April 24, Division I schools could provide unlimited meals and snacks to everyone who plays a college sport, including walk-ons.

Tuesday’s vote came eight days after Shabazz Napier closed out Connecticut’s championship run by complaining that he sometimes went to bed “starving” because he couldn’t afford food.

Committee members also voted to reduce the penalty for a first positive drug test from a full season to a half season if it’s not for a performance-enhancing drug. The NCAA only tests during championship events.

The council also approved a measure to create a three-hour break between preseason football practices.

All changes would take effect Aug. 1.

Panel of Administrators: NCAA System Must Change

Posted on April 15, 2014

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A panel of college administrators agree the NCAA business model has to change to survive.

Three administrators participated in a discussion Tuesday on integrity and the commercialization of college athletics — Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner Beth DeBauche, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart and former Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe.

Many athletic departments are flush with cash thanks to multi-million dollar TV deals. Conferences have started their own networks and coaches’ contracts continue to soar.

Now athletes are demanding their fair share.

Barnhart says the issues didn’t develop overnight. Beebe says realignment only increased students’ desires for their share of the money generated.

While DeBauche sees the current crisis as an opportunity to make college athletics healthier than ever, the panel also agreed the question now is how to do that.