Tougher Eligibility Rules Are Studied

Freshman eligibility requirements might get tougher, but freshmen probably still will be competing under new guidelines proposed this week by the NCAA Presidents Commission.

The 44-member commission is expected to end a two-day meeting today by calling for strengthened academic standards throughout Division I.

“The trend is toward strengthening initial requirements rather than keeping all freshmen out,” NCAA President Judy Sweet said.

The strengthened standards could include requiring freshmen to have a 2.5 instead of a 2.0 grade-point average in college preparatory courses and increasing the minimum number of credit hours needed to stay eligible throughout a college career.

The commission’s proposals will be put to a vote of schools at the NCAA’s annual convention in January. But the commission, powerful and well organized, successfully got a wide-ranging reform package through the 1990 convention.

“There are many freshmen who are quite capable of handling academics and athletics,” Sweet said. “The priorities for legislation will be academic standards.”

The presidents also will consider establishing a sliding index for college-board test scores and grade-point averages.

Freshman eligibility rules now require a cumulative grade point of 2.0--or ‘C’--in at least 11 high school core courses. They also demand a minimum score of 700 on the SAT or 18 on the ACT, the standard college entrance exams.

An NCAA committee has suggested the commission ask for a 2.5 GPA in 13 courses without changing the test scores.

“There are a great many things on the plate,” Sweet said. “Continuing eligibility standards will be one.”