By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.6, September 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0906/bbamateur.htm
After two years of work by NCAA Division II's Amateurism Project Team, Management Council, and Presidents' Council, Proposal 12, titled "Amateurism: Activities Prior to Initial Enrollment," passed by an overwhelming vote margin at January's NCAA Convention. Now, Division II baseball coaches are waiting to see what effects the legislation will have on their sport.
The new rules, which went into effect August 1, allow Division II student-athletes far more flexibility in their pre-collegiate competitive activities. The legislation permits pre-enrolled athletes, during their high school years, to enter a professional draft, be drafted by a professional sports team, receive compensation for athletic competition, participate on a professional team, and/or accept prize money based on finish position without jeopardizing collegiate eligibility at Division II institutions.
However, there is a penalty for doing any of the above once an athlete completes high school. Athletes who do not enroll at a collegiate institution during the academic term following their class's normal graduation date, but instead opt to participate in organized competition (such as on a professional team) will forfeit one season of collegiate eligibility for every year they compete. In addition, athletes will be required to complete one academic year in residence before being eligible to play for their institution. Some exceptions are provided if athletes compete for certain national teams, military programs, or college preparatory schools.
Division II delegates also approved a separate, but related, proposal regarding receipt of educational expenses before collegiate enrollment. The new rules permit prospective student-athletes to accept funding for educational expenses from individuals or entities other than agents, professional sports teams or organizations, or boosters. However, all funds must be disbursed directly to the student-athlete's prep school or private school.
Regarding Proposal 12, Skip Fite, Head Coach at Augusta State University and a member of the Division II Baseball Committee, thinks the change won't have an immediate effect. "I don't think it's going to have a major impact during the first year or two," he says. "But as time passes and we learn how the rule works, in three or four years we might start seeing an impact. Right now, it's so new that a lot of people don't realize it's there."
Fite also thinks it's unlikely that many Division II coaches will alter their recruiting tactics by scouting minor league games instead of high school and junior college games. "The rule states the athlete has to contact the coach," Fite says. "I'm sure that might be a fuzzy area--if a kid signs a contract, a coach can tell him, 'If it doesn't work out, give me a call.' But I think that's going to be a rarity."
The best thing about the new legislation, Fite says, is that it will allow some players another opportunity to play college ball. "Sometimes these guys sign contracts, but because of an injury or lack of maturity, they can't handle the rigors of pro baseball," he says. "I think it's good they get a second chance, because sometimes a 17- or 18-year-old won't make the right decision. Even though they'll have to pay a price by sitting out a year in college, at least they'll have the chance to play."
NCAA Division I schools have also been hotly debating new amateurism rules. A package of proposals was approved by the Division I Management Council in April--and is now in the comment period until it returns to the Council for its fall legislative meeting.
One new change to the initial package from October 2000 amended the organized competition rule to state: "prospects who participate in more than one year of organized athletics following graduation or discontinuation of high-school enrollment would forfeit all Division I eligibility."
The original proposal was based on a one-for-one trade-off between years of organized competition and years of eligibility. The amendment is intended to address concerns that institutions might enroll "ringers" with only one year of eligibility.
Some Division I baseball coaches have used the phrase "opening a can of worms" to describe the potential effects of the amateurism changes. "The relationship between college baseball and professional baseball overall is very delicate," says Notre Dame Head Coach Paul Mainieri. "If college coaches start encouraging kids to quit after getting a signing bonus to play college ball, major league baseball teams would not react very well to that. Right now, the pro teams wait until after the players' junior year to sign them, but the new rule may very well make them take another look at that--and ultimately end up hurting the college game.
"The spirit of the rule is good," Mainieri continues, because some kids will make a mistake by trying a pro career, and then want to go back to school to get an education. But even though it's well intended, some people might have a tendency to manipulate it to their advantage. Then you start to worry about its effects."
Another opponent of the new amateurism rules is National Federation of State High School Associations Executive Director Robert Kanaby. Speaking to delegates at the NCAA Convention in January, Kanaby expressed concerns that certain elements of the proposals will seriously jeopardize the viability of high school athletics. In particular, Kanaby criticized the pay for play, prize money, and tuition payment components of both the Division II and pending Division I proposals.
Kanaby outlined similar sentiments in a letter to The NCAA News earlier this year. "The new NCAA pre-enrollment amateurism reform proposal is a wolf in sheep's clothing," he wrote. "It looks warm and fuzzy, but it contains elements that threaten the core values of education-based athletics in America.
"Experts tell us that athletics are most valuable educationally when they are in proper relationship with academics, and that pay-for-play would upset the apple cart ... Only five percent of high school athletes will become college athletes, but the majority will become students at your colleges. As you weigh the merits of the reform proposals, you should assess the risks and benefits (the welfare, if you will) not just of a few superstars, but of all your students."
Division III is also considering amateurism deregulation, but with a different slant. It has removed the "pay for play" element. If the legislation were to pass as the Division III Amateurism Task Force has proposed and the Management Council has endorsed, prospective student-athletes could play for a professional team, but they could not accept a salary and retain Division III eligibility.
The package of Division III proposals also include provisions that would: permit prospective and enrolled student-athletes to accept funds from the U.S. Olympic Committee's Operation Gold program; permit prospective student-athletes to accept prize money based on place of finish in a sponsored event; permit prospective student-athletes to sign a contract or commitment of any kind to play professional athletics; and permit a prospective student-athlete to enter a professional league's draft and be drafted without compromising the prospective student-athlete's NCAA eligibility.
If the Presidents' Council favorably review the Division III proposals at its August meeting, Division III member schools will vote on them at the 2002 NCAA convention in January.
For more information on NCAA amateurism proposal packages, log onto www.ncaa.org/agents_amateurism.