NFL Sets New Rules for Collegians

College juniors planning to declare for the NFL draft will be required to do so by Feb. 1 under a new set of guidelines set down by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Thursday.

In letters from Tagliabue to college athletic officials, the NFL said it would also increase the number of draft-eligible players brought in for evaluation at the annual scouting combine and limit off-season mini-camps to three days, two of which must fall on Saturday and Sunday, until the end of the academic semester.

College officials had expressed dismay at interference in the academic year by pro scouts and tryout camps that caused many players to leave school. An Associated Press survey last month revealed that 198 of the 331 players drafted in April did not complete their academic studies, and that at least 82 were one semester or less from finishing their degrees.