Amateurism on Agenda at NCAA Convention

The NCAA will address the issue of amateurism deregulation at its convention this week in San Diego, said Iowa Athletic Director Christine Grant, chairwoman of the subcommittee on amateurism and agents.

Grant’s committee has crafted a proposal that allows athletes to participate as professionals before enrolling in college, provided they do not use an agent to sign a contract. An athlete would have to sit out one year and would lose a year of collegiate eligibility for every year played as a pro.

The proposal expands a current rule for college tennis players, who are allowed to accept prize money before enrolling, Grant said.

The proposal will be given to the management council in April and be open for 60 days of input from schools.

“The more we investigated the issue, the more we realized that the advantage doesn’t come from money, but from experience,” Grant said. “Our concern is the 21-year-old freshman playing against 17- and 18-year-old freshmen.”

The greatest impact of the proposed deregulation probably would be in basketball and baseball.

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John E. Berry Jr. of Williams College will be recognized tonight at the NCAA Honors Dinner as the recipient of the Award of Valor.

Berry, a two-sport athlete at Williams, passed up his last year of eligibility in football to give a kidney to his older brother, DeAngelo. DeAngelo, a 26-year-old husband and father of three children, was diagnosed with renal failure. When John discovered he was a donor match, he decided not to compete in football this season.

The NCAA Award of Valor most recently honored Hawaii football player Shannon Smith, who died while he saved a child from drowning in March 1997.