Breakdown: NCAA Changes – Investigation Cooperation, Outside Sources, Increased Penalties
On Wednesday, the NCAA released their changes to their rules. In reality, it is a sweeping reform that touches a lot of different areas but really might not effect as much as they might have intended. Some of these are for the better, most are not or ineffective.
With a lot of these geared towards high school and entry level to college, we decided to take a massive look at these new rules and regulations and give our take on what to expect and if there is any real backing for them in this multi-part series.
The rules listed below are as stated in the press release from the NCAA.
College Cooperation With Investigation, Infractions
New Rule: As a term of employment, school presidents and athletics staff must commit contractually to full cooperation in the investigations and infractions process. Full cooperation means reporting violations in a timely manner; sharing all knowledge and documents requested in a timely manner; providing access to all electronic devices, social media and other technology; and maintaining confidentiality. The chair of the Division I Committee on Infractions or the Independent College Sports Adjudication Panel can impose immediate penalties when schools or individuals do not cooperate (including loss of revenue or postseason opportunities). These bodies can consider lack of cooperation as admission of a violation. – NCAA
What It Means: This is an interesting thing that the NCAA has put in here because while they say they don’t have subpoena power, they are trying to get a lot closer to that then they were. This seems like a little bit of a railroad trying to put this language in so it will essentially force presidents, athletic directors, and coaches to abide by giving them leniency to act on misinformation or no information. Now, the NCAA can say, because a coach refuses to talk at all, they can almost take that as guilty and punish based on that. This is something that really should have been in there all along, I just wonder what kind of push back there will be because now you don’t have that scapegoat.
Outside Sources For Investigation
New Rule: People charged with investigating and resolving NCAA cases can accept information established by another administrative body, including a court of law, government agency, accrediting body or a commission authorized by a school. This will save time and resources previously used to confirm information already adjudicated by another group. – NCAA
What It Means: This is another interesting addition because of the timing. Now, the NCAA can take and use whatever legal documents the FBI is willing to hand over and not have to verify or corroborate on their own. They can essentially take it as gospel and act on it. It will save the NCAA money but also, they don’t have the man power to do it effectively so this is a massive help for them. If and when the FBI investigation is complete, this will be of note if that documentation will be made public or at least be visible by the FBI.
Harsher Penalties For Colleges
New Rule: Those who break the rules face stronger penalties, including longer postseason bans (up to five years), longer head coach suspensions (could extend beyond one season), longer employment limitations for coaches and staff who violate rules (potential for lifetime show-cause orders), increased recruiting restrictions and the loss of all revenue associated with the Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. – NCAA
What It Means: Now, with all the other things that the NCAA has done, allowing for more force in interviews, using outside sources, they can now act on it and enforce things much more strictly than they have in the past. The guess is here, you don’t put all of this in play if you don’t plan to use it. The language is going to ruffle some feathers so what is the point of going through all of that if you don’t plan on enforcing it.