A New Day

In the past, many student-athletes have opted to correct their academic situation by enrolling in multiple prep schools as a post grad student or re-classifying themselves/repeating a grade when they transfer to another school. However, the NCAA has implemented a new rule that will change the landscape of college basketball and it affects the class of 2011 and beyond.

As of August 1st 2007, the “Timely Graduation Requirement” states that a prospective student-athlete must complete the core curriculum requirements no later than the graduation date of the prospective student-athletes class. This new rule will put an end to student-athletes that use extra years of high school in order to qualify for a Division I scholarship. This rule forces the student-athlete to work harder to graduate within the four year time period or they will be forced to enroll in a junior college. Junior college is not a bad option for a student-athlete that struggles academically and sometimes it is the best option.

We live in a time when more than half of our high school students do not graduate on time and sadly many don’t graduate at all. Every year in the U.S. there are more high school/college dropouts than those who make it to graduation. In high school, the dropout rate and/or students that cannot graduate in 4 years continues to rise at an alarming rate. The new NCAA rule will have the same affect on the college game that Proposition 48 had in 1986 and its current version, Proposition 16, that was introduced in 1995. The irony is that student-athletes graduate at a higher rate from college than their non-athlete counterparts. In spite of that fact, the initial eligibility rules continue to get more stringent.

The implementation of all of these new rules will lead to three things: 1) elite athletes that do not qualify for a Division I scholarships within the 4 year period or have GPA/SAT issues will opt to go overseas. 2) The average student-athlete that does not qualify will ultimately end up in junior college. If the student-athlete is talented enough, he/she will receive a scholarship from the two year school. 3) The NJCAA will be highly competitive. However, for those with Division I aspirations, an Associates Degree will have to be earned at the two year school.