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NCAA to consider delaying some academic reforms

Mark Emmert

NCAA President Mark Emmert welcomes guests to the 2012 NCAA Convention Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

AP

The NCAA is expected to hear a proposal on Thursday that will give certain programs and future recruits -- both high school players and junior college transfers -- an extra year to adjust to more stringent academic requirements.

From the AP:

The board of directors is scheduled to hear a recommendation Thursday that would give low-resource schools, primarily historically black colleges and universities, an additional year to meet new minimum Academic Progress Rate standards that will be tied to postseason eligibility. The NCAA’s Committee on Academic Performance is making the proposal, though it is unclear whether a vote will be taken this week.

The changes that would be made for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons would allow the programs considered low-resource -- in the both 15th percentile of an overall average of institutional spending per student, athletic expenses per student-athlete and the average Pell Grant per student -- to either have a four-year rolling average of 900 on their APR scores of a two-year average of 930. For 2014-2015, the schools falling below the four-year rolling average of 930 would need a two-year average of 940, and by 2015-2016, the two-year average will be non-existent.

“When you look at a BCS program and the level of resources they have and the staffing they have, it’s a very, very different model,” NCAA President Mark Emmert told the AP on Wednesday.

This is a good move by the NCAA. Programs should be allowed the opportunity to adjust to changes that are being implemented.

It won’t help out the most high-profile APR victim, however.

UConn, the 2011 national champion who would be ineligible for the 2013 NCAA tournament under the current system, is far from a low-resource program. For UConn to be granted eligibility for the 2013 tournament, they would need to NCAA Committee on Academic Performance to decide to base their eligibility on the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 APR scores, something that most believe to be an unlikely occurrence.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.