Eligibility Rule Moves Ahead

The NCAA moved Tuesday toward allowing high school basketball players to declare for the NBA draft and even be drafted without losing their college eligibility but stopped short of the sweeping changes in amateurism rules that had been proposed.

Players still would lose their eligibility if they hired an agent or signed with a team under a proposal that was forwarded by the management council to the NCAA board of directors for a vote April 25 in Indianapolis.

If approved, the rule would go into effect before the 2003 draft, leaving NBA teams and college coaches to play a guessing game about what prospects will do--and giving prospects a chance to see if--and where--they are drafted before making a decision.

It would be a headache for college and pro teams. But such a rule would allow those who make ill-advised decisions to declare for the draft--such as undrafted players Taj McDavid from South Carolina in 1996 or Ellis Richardson from Sun Valley Poly High in 1998--to play in college without appealing to the NCAA.

It also would have allowed Tyson Chandler to reconsider after his rights were traded from the Clippers to the Chicago Bulls on draft day, though questions remain about how long a team would retain a player’s rights.

One NBA general manager compared the situation to drafting a European player who might not arrive for an indefinite period, but another NBA official has said although more players would probably declare, it could make teams less likely to choose young players.

Overall, there were fewer changes approved than some predicted.

A proposal that would have allowed men’s and women’s basketball players already in college to be drafted and then choose to return to college competition was rejected, along with a number of other proposals related to amateurism supported by outgoing NCAA President Cedric Dempsey.

The current rule allows basketball players to return after declaring for the draft only if they withdraw at least a week before the draft or go undrafted--though they must not hire an agent.

However, the council gave a thumbs-up to a new proposal that would give football players the right to change their minds after declaring for the NFL draft--but only for 72 hours.

That measure comes on the heels of Tennessee receiver Donte Stallworth losing his eligibility after declaring for the draft despite trying to withdraw only several hours later. Although the NFL agreed, the NCAA would not allow him to resume his college career.

The football issue will not receive a final vote before this fall.

Among the more radical proposals that were rejected were those that would have allowed prospects to sign professional contracts, compete with professionals and receive compensation beyond expenses before competing in college.

In other issues addressed, the NCAA management council backed a series of proposals that would increase academic standards regarding initial eligibility and progress toward a degree.

Those measures will be returned to the NCAA membership for further review before final consideration in October.

“This action means the council endorses the concept of changing our initial-eligibility and progress-toward-degree standards,” said Percy Bates, faculty athletics representative from the University of Michigan and chair of the NCAA management council.

In other action, the group emphasized that summer workouts for football prospects should be overseen by someone with authority to cancel or change the workout for safety reasons--a reaction to last year’s rash of football-related deaths.

The group also supported a proposal that would eliminate limits on how much a student-athlete can earn by working while enrolled, and it forwarded recommendations lifting the moratorium on the number of postseason bowl games and allowing teams with 6-6 records to be eligible for bowl games.