The NCAA News
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Nonprofit organization U. S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 4794 A message to readers Steering committees hear of The NCAA News Council restructuring plan This issue of The NCAA News is the culmination of an cxtcnsivc study of the types of publications that might best fulfill the informational needs of the NCAA membership and the intercollegiate athletic community in Consideration of the plan to restruc- sion ILAA or the nonfoothall group. charged with developing the plan. general. The NCAA Executive Committee’s goal was to develop a con- ture the NCAA Council hlghhghtcd As a possible solution to the prob- That subcommittee then will prcscnt a tinuing publication for the full reporting of sigmficant information about the meetings of the division stcermp lem of carmarking positions, the Divi- detailed plan, in legislative form, to collcgc athletics and to dclivcr the publrcation to the membership in a committees June IO-I 1 in New sion I committee suggcstcd expansion the August Council meeting. Mem- timely fashion. Orleans. of the Council to 44 positions, rather bers of the subcommittee are the three We believe the new News ~ to be published 46 times a year and, As rcportcd m the April 30 ISSUCot than 40. steering committee chairs ~ John R. beginning later this summer, to be dclivcrcd to most rcadcrs in two to the News, the tentative plan ~- de- Some members of the committee Davis, Aldo A. Sebbcn and Donald four days ~ will achicvc that goal. veloped as a result of a resolution also suggested that the plan bc acted M. Russell - and Council members Approximately I8 years ago, the NCAA News was introduced as a adopted by the 1982 NCAA Conven- upon at the 1983 Convention but that Charles H. Samson and Gwendolyn six-times-a-year publication “with the purpose of improving both inter- tion ~ would restructure the Council implementation bc dcfcrrcd until the Norrell. nal and external relations.” That first issue said Lhat “improved com- by expanding it to 40 or more mem- following year. In another matter considcrcd by all munication lcads to bcttcr understanding.” bcrs, assuring rcprcscntation for ccr- The Divisions II and III Steering three committees, the Divisions II and As News issues increased in frequency following the I964 inaugura- tain major intcrcsts in Division I and Committees supportrd the tentative III committees did not favor a propos- tion (to the I8 issues per year produced most recently), efficient distribu- permitting the mcmbcrship of each dim plan and urged that it he acted upon al by the Eligibility Committee that tion of information about the NCAA and intercollegiate athletics has vision to elect its own Council mem- and implemented at the 1983 Convcn- the full NCAA enforcement program continued to bc its goal; but that purpose regularly has hcen compromihcd hers tlon. Both favored rctcntion of the be applied to an institution’s women’s by slow and unpredictable dclivcry, making the information less useful The Division I Steering Committee 2-I-I division rcprcscntation ratio program when it dccidcs to place that and less mtcrcsting. considered several concerns regarding but disagreed on whcthcr the VICC~ program under NCAA Icglslation. This new approach is intcndcd to solve that problem. and WCcamcstly the plan, especially in terms of the prcsidcnt of a division should be They noted that the mcmbcrship was hope all of the News’ rcadcrs will notice a slgmhcant mlprovcmcnt in the number of positions that would be ear- elected by the division membership or informed when the governance plan NCAA’s communications efforts and ~111want to read each lssuc Your marked for Division I-AA institutions by the division’s Council mcmbcrs. was adopted that ineligibility for comments and suggestions, of course. will hc welcome aI all times. and for those mcmbcrs not sponsoring Divisions I and II tavorcd the tormcr NCAA women’s champlonshlps football in Division I That committee approach and Division III the latter would bc the only penalty assessed to also expressed concern that the mini- All of those concerns and others a women’s program In the 198l~to~ mum number of allocated positions discussed by the steering committees 1985 transition period. for women should not fall into any will hc con\ldcrcd m the near tuturc The Division I committee, howcv- one category ~ Division I-A, Divi- by the special Council subcommittee See rP.strucrurrng, puge 3 Basketball rules e;<Deriments mav net results By James A. Sheldon aged experimentation in those two NCAA News Staff areas as a result of a decrease in scar- In March, the nation’s coaches told ing, what many people thought was an the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules excessive use of zone dcfcnscs and Committee exactly what they thought because some teams were holding the of shot clocks and three-point plays. ball a httle too long in the opinion of Three months later, they seem to be some,” Steitz said. singing a different tune. Steitz cited the Virginia-North The rules committee’s annual sur- Carolina game in the finals of the vey was returned in March, and the Atlantic Coast Conference postseason sentiment against shot clocks and tournament as an example of a game three-point plays was significant. that concerned the rules commlttcc. NCAA coaches voted 343-53 agamst The Tar Heels used a 7%minute stall the idea of a 30-second clock, 275- to hold on to a 47-45 victory before a 119 against a 4S-second clock and an national television audience. emphatic 39 I-I against a pro-style 24- The rules committee also examined second clock. The idea of a three- NCAA scoring trends and found that point play was rejcctcd, 25% 124. average per-game scoring dropped for Yet, three months later, I4 NCAA the scvcnth straight season. NCAA allied conferences had requested and teams scored 135.08 points a game in were granted approval by the rules 1981-82, the lowest average in 30 committee to conduct experiments years. 1982-83 NCAA Men’s Basketball with either or both of these widely dis- Armed with evidence such as that, Rules Committee Approved Experiments cussed ideas. Why the apparent flip- the rules committee turned its atten- m Conference Shot clock 3-point play* flop? tion to the two changes many people Y According to Edward S. Steitz, felt could spur a return to high- Atlantic Coast 30 sec. (off last 4 min.) 19 ft. secretary-editor of the rules commit- scoring, fast-paced basketball: shot Big East 45 sec. (off last 5 min.) tee, conferences were encouraged to clocks and three-point plays. What the Big Sky - 21 ft., 3 in. experiment with both ideas. committee found was an abundance of Big Ten - 20 Il., 3 in. “The rules committee had encour- rhetoric but little research. *Metro - - The committee was not prepared to Missouri Valley - 19 ft. institute either rule change without Ohio Valley 30 sec. (off last 4 min.) - In the News further experimentation, Steitz said. Old Dominion - 20 ft., 3 in. “The rules committee, by necessi- Pacific Coast + 30 sec. (off last 4 min.) 19 ft. ty, is a pretty conservative court,” he Southeastern 45 sec. (entire game) - Professionalism has no place in col- said. “We feel we have the best game Southern - 19 ft. lege sports, according to Furman Uni- on the street, and we’re not going to Southwest 45 sec. (off last 5 min.) - versity’s Francis W. Bonner .2 change it without proper experimenta- Sun Belt 45 sec. (off last 4 min.) 19 ft. tion.” Western Maine 45 sec. (entire game) 19 ft. Extremely heavy wrcstlcrs are causing i concern about their own health and Both the Southwest Athletic and the the health of their opponents . .3 Big Eight Conferences conducted ex- ‘Measured from front of rim. periments with a 30-second clock in x + Clock started when ball crosses division line. The I98 l-82 championship season the mid-1970s. and the Sun Belt and / *Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference will permit winds to a conclusion with track and Southern Conferences have conducted up to six personal fouls a game. baseball action _.. .4 more recent experiments with a 45- second clock and three-point play, rc- (Note: The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee Coaches subcommittee plans meeting has established guidelines for rules experimentation. to discuss recruiting concerns 7 spectively. However, the committee wanted to see further testing. Because of the number of requests this year, the com- d mittee limited approval to those requests received by Cable-television experiment proves The call went out encouraging con- June 3, 1982. Future requests should be sent to Ken- successful for Wichita State Universi- ferences to experiment, and the rc- k- ty athletic department _. 12 sponsc was overwhelming. neth Stibler, NCAA Men’s Basketball Research Sub- committee, Biscayne College, Miami, Florida 33054.) See rule experiments. pup I I The NCAA Comment 2 JUNE 16, 1982 Professionalism out of place in college sports An article is selecred.for Columnury Cruji because the editors is the “win at any cost” syndrome. And as the victories come, as students those athletes who do not belong in institutions of believe it makes a point and discusses a topic that will interest the malady intensifies and spreads, and a growing trend toward higher education. We often hear it said that “college is not for readers. Publication herein, however, does nor imply NCAA professionalism becomes apparent. everyone,” but that truism is too ottcn forgotten when the young News endorsement of the views expressed by the author. To win, you’ve got to have the best athletes.