If NCAA Executive Director Dick Schultz has his way, current freshmen like Michigan basketball player Chris Webber and San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk will be able to enter the 1993 drafts and still retain their college eligibility if they decide not to turn pro.
Delegates at the NCAA convention took the first step Thursday toward allowing underclassmen to be able to test their market value in the pro football and basketball drafts by approving legislation aimed at liberalizing draft rules for baseball and hockey players.
”This is a step to opening it up for everybody,” Schultz said.
Schultz hopes the final step will come next year when a proposal is expected to be on the table that will put football and basketball on the same footing in the draft as baseball and hockey, sports that operate under different draft rules.
In baseball and hockey, underclassmen can be selected whether they declare themselves for the draft or not. Technically, they were allowed to receive an offer from the drafting team but weren`t permitted to negotiate;
many did anyway.
Now, under the new rule passed Thursday, underclassmen in baseball and hockey can openly negotiate with teams without losing their eligibility. If a player doesn`t like the offer, he can return to school and still be able to compete.
”This legitimizes what`s already been going on in those sports,”
Schultz said.
The measure, though, also is expected to have a trickle-down effect for football and basketball. Currently, in those sports, underclassmen have to declare themselves for the draft and thus renounce their remaining
eligibility. Schultz wants to ensure that those underclassmen not selected would be able to retain their college eligibility.
He said his concern isn`t for the top players, but rather for those underclassmen who opt for the draft and then aren`t picked. As it stands now, they lose their scholarships and a chance to resume their eligibility. In 1990, 20 of the 38 juniors who declared for the NFL draft weren`t selected.
”I`m not worried about the top guys,” Schultz said. ”I`m worried about the student-athletes who don`t get picked. Then they are neither fish nor fowl.”
Schultz knows passing the measure will be a difficult test. In fact, the NCAA`s pro sports liaison committee had recommended the complete proposal be put on the agenda at this year`s convention. But the NCAA Council suggested a watered-down version, because support wasn`t there for the full package.
There`s opposition from football coaches, who aren`t thrilled with the prospect of their top players leaving early. There`s also concern that a liberalized arrangement will further open the door to unscrupulous agents.
Also, the pro leagues aren`t thrilled with the idea of giving underclassmen another bargaining chip in the draft. In essence, they fear hearing, ”Give me more money, or I`m staying in school.”
Temple Athletic Director Charles Theokis, chairman of the pro liaison committee, thinks the NCAA can overcome those problems. He hopes another year of education within the membership will provide the necessary support.
”This is a major move in redefining something called amateurism,” he said. ”It`s simple. When a player takes green dollars, he`s a professional. When he`s just reviewing opportunities, he`s not. I don`t think we`ll lose athletes. In fact, some athletes who might have gone could end up staying because they will be better informed.”
In other news, the NCAA also took the first step in having a coach`s outside income come through the university. The membership passed a measure requiring coaches to have prior approval from university presidents for such items as shoe contracts and speaking engagements.
The presidents are moving toward getting complete control of all the outside income, which usually makes up the bulk of a coach`s package.
”If a coach is worth $600,000, we should have the courage to say he`s worth $600,000,” Schultz said. ”His income shouldn`t be done on a piecemeal basis.”
The least important measure of the day drew the biggest laugh from the membership. The NCAA voted to allow schools to use two colors on their stationery.
”I`m glad I stayed around for this one,” said Michigan State President John DiBiaggio. ”Now I can go home.”
The convention concludes Friday morning.
