The NCA January 25.1984, Volume 21 Number 4 Official Publication 0 ional Collegiate Athletic Association Penalty limit added to interference rule By Michael V. Earle the offensive formation. Prior to the The NCAA News Staff change, offensive players positioned The NCAA Football Rules Com- nine or more yards from the middle mittee passed significant rules aimed of the offensive for,mation were at greater player safety and modified permitted to block below the waist the defensive pass-interference pen- outside the legal clipping zone. alty ar its recent mectlng in Kansas “The major emphasis of the rules Ciry, Missouri. committee’s deliberations was again In an effort to reduce the numbrr aimed at greater safety for the par- of legal chps, the rules committee ticipants,” said David M. Nelson, voted to allow only players who are secretary-rules editor of the com- within the legal clipping zone and mittee. “These are the most significant positioned legally on the line of rules changes in regard to safety for scrimmage to clip. The players being the players since the early 1970s. blocked also must be in the zone. Reducing the clipping zone and Previously, the players outside the eliminating the opportunity for zone (a rectangular area extending blocking below the waist are major five yards laterally on either side of steps in minimizing the risk of injury.” the spot of the snap and three yards The rules committee also modified behind each scrimmage line) could the penalty for defensive pass inter- legally clip upon entering the zone. ference. Instead of being penalized In another safety-related rules as a spot foul, defensive pass inter- change, the committee voted to ference now will be a 15-yard penalty prohibit defensive players from from the previous spot and an auto- blocking below the waist or clipping, matic first down. Pass interference including while in the legal clipping had been a spot foul since I9 17. The zone, on any down in which there is committee contended that defensive Women’s issues discussed a punt. The committee also modified teams were penalized too severely the rule regarding “crack-back for interference on long pass plays Arhlerics administrators enjoy a lighter moment during rhe women’s round table af the NCAA blocks.” No offensive player seven penalized as a spot foul. Convention earlier this month. More than 200 administrators and coaches of women? or more yards from the middle of the “This is the first major rule change programs discussed legislation considered at the Convention and orher matters relating to offensive formation may block any affecting defensive teams in many, women’s athletics. opponent below the waist toward many years,” said LaVell Edwards, football coach at Brigham Young University and a member of the Records won’t resolve best-conference debate committee. “It will take away the cheap touchdown as a result of the By James M. Van Valkenburg fourth with four titles. Collegiate Athletic Conference at pionships are the Big Eight, Western so-called ‘Hail Mary pass.‘The spot NCAA Director of Statistics On the other hand, the Big Ten .568, SEC at .556 and Big Eight Athletic Conference and Metro with penalty for pass interference was too One way to fuel the annual debate leads in tournament won-lost per- Conference at S55. Next after the three each, the West Coast Athletic severe on the defense. This is a good about which Division I conference is centage at .665, and the ACC at .64l top four in Final Four appearances Conference and Metro Atlantic rule change.” the strongest is to examine the all- also outranks the Pat-IO’s .627. And are the Metro at 13, Southwest Athletic Conference two each, and Another notable rules change was time record of each conference in the in Final Four appearances, the Big Athletic Conference I2 and SEC I I Midwestern City Conference one. the modification of the touchback 45year history of the National Colle- Ten again leads at 27 with the Pat- IO Next after the first four in cham- See Records. puge 3 provisions on kickoffs. Kickoffs that giate Division I Men’s Basketball next at 25, and the Big Eight third at travel beyond the end lone in flight Championship, using 1984 lineups. I9 and ACC fourth with I8 trips to will be brought out to the 30-yard Another way is to look at each the Final Four. line rather than the 20-yard line. The conference’s NCAA tournament From another angle, the Big Ten SW Penalry. puge 8 record and full-season won-lost and ACC have shown much more * * * record against Division I opponents balance than the Pat-IO. Remove outside the league in the 1980s only. UCLA’s record, and the other Pac- That four-year review will be in next IO members combined have a 56-52 Committee week’s edition of The NCAA News. tournament record with II Final Inexaminingall-time NCAA tour- Four appearances and three cham- troubled by nament records 01 Division I con- pionships-good but not No. I. Take ferences, it is difficult to separate the away IndIana’s record, and the Big Pacific-IO, Big Ten and Atlantic Ten still would have an X6-49 record violations Coast Conferences. For instance, for a .637 percentage. with 22 Final Although no major changes were the Pacific-10 leads in tournament Four appearances and three cham- made in offensive blocking rules at pionships. Similarly, removing North victories, I 16 to I I5 for the Big Ten the recent NCAA Football Rules and 98 for the ACC. The Pat-IO also Carohna would leave the ACC at Committee meeting, the committee 64-37 with nine times in the Final leads in championshlps with 13-10 expressed a great deal of concern Four and two championships. by IJCLA-against the Big Ten’s about offensive holding and illegal Next in tournament won-lost seven, wirh the Southeastern Con- USCof the hands. ference next at five and the ACC percentage are the Metropolitan The committeecontended that rules on holding and illegal use of the hands are clear and that no rules Regional NYSP meetings changes are necessary. But the com- mittee believes that players are scheduled at four sites holding and illegally using their hands in excess of what might be expected Regional meeting dates have been have in the past to give our partici- during a game or season. set as the National Youth Sports pating institutions an opportunity to “Holding and illegal use of the Program begins its 16th year of promote the program in their areas hands are the most serious problems operation on campuses of NCAA and begin signing up potential par- confronting college football,” David member institutions. ticipants.” SQQ Commirree. page 8 “Federal funding for the NYSP The first of the regional sessions already has been approved, and we will be held February IO-I I in Los In the News are waiting for final conditions to be Angeles. Other meeting dares and determined by the Department of sites include February 24-25 in Kansas Athletics should not be singled Health and Human Services’ Office City, March 9-10 in Atlanta and out as the chief cause of problems in of Community Services,” said Ruth March 23-24 in Philadelphia. higher education-. _. _. _. 2 Basketball notes and statistics in M. Berkey, NCAA assistant executive Cosponsored by the NCAA and all divisions . _. .3-j director and administrator of the the Office of Community Services, NYSP. the NYSP provides opportunities A summary of Council actions “We are holding our regional for sports training and competition, from meetings in Dallas m early January _. 6 planning meetings earlier than we see Regional, pug’ 8 Tyrone Corhin of DePaul, one of two unbeaten Division I reams 2 January 25,1984 I 1 I The NCAA Comment Athletics not to blame for education’s ills The protracted pre-Convention and 1984 NCAA Convention and the ACE encouraged its Eastern media contacts to credit in a questionable extension course conducted in a consideration of the Association’s governance issues was trumpet the contest on those terms. More than one reporter garage 1,000 miles from the accredited university managing structured on a set of perceived conditions that were divergent assigned to cover NCAA activities declared in advance of the the course is labeled an athletic abuse although that same from the facts. These perceptions were underscored by some Convention that they favored Proposal No. 35; a writer for a course is attended by numerous nonathletes. For another, of the proponents of the American Council on Education’s noted national sports magazine emotionally editorialized to students of all kinds at numerous institutions for years have Proposal No. 35, and their vision of things, in turn, was that elfect on the Public Broadcasting System, and one of known which courses and which instructors are not likely to accepted by a number of responsible individuals within higher Washington, D.C.‘s, foremost education publications com- endanger their grade-point averages. It takes alleged favoritism education and significant components of the Eastern media. promised its integrity as an independent journal in the toward athletes, however, to attract media notoriety. From July 1983 to January IO, 1984, these assertions were process. To blame NCAA governance for higher education’s repeatedly publicized: Unfortunately, a great many conscientious chief executive inadequacies and ills is deceptive at best. Within the regional I Chief executive officers cannot adequately influence the officers, faculty representatives, athletics directors and primary accrediting agencies, it seems that little of substance has been course of national athletics legislation hecausc they cannot women athletics administrators were maligned by this done to deal with many inappropriate, nonathletic practices take the time to participate in NCAA Convention deliberations, I I of accredited institutions.