5 recommendations
The Commission on College Basketball, headed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, presented recommendations Wednesday for major reform. Here are five of the key recommendations:
Goodbye one-and-done: The Commission calls on the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association to make 18-year-olds eligible for the NBA draft, which means they could go straight out of high school to the league again. It's not up to the NCAA legally to eliminate one-and-done, so Rice is asking the NBA and NBPA to make those changes.
Allowing agent-athlete communication: It's against NCAA rules for college athletes to hire agents. The Rice Commission states wants that to change, saying athletes need to receive information on how to proceed with a professional career. The Commission said agents should be allowed to make contact as early as high school and not affect eligibility.
Undrafted players can return to school: The Commission recommends, "(high school and college) players who are not drafted should be permitted to change their minds and attend college or return to college, provided they remain academically and otherwise eligible. … But the player must return to the same school, and the player must request an evaluation from the NBA's Undergraduate Advisory Committee before entering the draft."
Harsher penalties: The Commission recommended stricter penalties for rule breakers moving forward, including five-year postseason bans and increased financial penalties for programs with repeat violators, potential lifetime bans for major rules violators.
Limit shoe company influence: What does the NCAA think about the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EBYL) and its counterparts with Adidas, Under Armour and other shoe company sponsored high school tournaments? They essentially want college coaches not to attend those summer events but instead ones potentially affiliated with the NCAA, USA Basketball, the NBA and WNBA. The Commission said: "The corruption we observe in college basketball has its roots in youth basketball. The reforms recommended by the Commission will be fruitless unless the NCAA gives serious attention to regulating summer programs."
Marcus Fuller
