NCAA Delegates Await Word From Presidents : Cost-Containment Measures Expected to Be a Key Topic of Special Convention

An event nearly six months in the future that could drastically alter college athletics occupied the thoughts and conversations of NCAA convention delegates Wednesday.

After months of anticipation, members of the NCAA were expected to receive the formal announcement of a special convention called by the Presidents Commission.

A major topic at that special convention, which will convene on June 29 in Dallas, reportedly will be cost-containment measures that can be initiated by the governing body of college sports.

The special convention, which has been rumored to be a possibility since October, could look into a number of money-saving measures that would radically affect a number of sports.

Measures that might be discussed could include cutting back on scholarship limits, placing a limit on how many hours a student-athlete would be allowed to practice, and even the abolishment of spring football practices.

Meanwhile, there was the business to be dealt with now. After a day of committee meetings, the 1,800 delegates will begin voting Thursday on the 151 legislative proposals covering a wide range of topics.

Measures that will restructure college recruiting were expected to in the forefront. One proposal would ban boosters from recruiting, and another would cut the recruiting seasons for football and basketball almost in half.

Interest has been growing stronger on a proposal that was expected to be submitted by the Pacific-10 Conference concerning the NCAA’s drug-testing program.

The proposal, aimed at the testing to be done after this year’s basketball championships, will ask the NCAA to come up with an alternative punishment should a student-athlete test positive for drugs. The rule now reads that any team using a player who is declared ineligible has to forfeit the championship and the money earned by participating.

The biggest stir at the convention so far was created when the NCAA’s Postseason Football Committee announced Tuesday that a sub-committee had been formed to look into the possibility of a one-game playoff to determine a national champion. The sub-committee will submit its report in April.

The convention, scheduled to run through Saturday afternoon, could end by late Friday after two days of voting on the various proposals.