Knight Commission Urges NCAA to oppose 12 game season

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Posted here since it relates to I-AA:

Knight commission urges NCAA to oppose 12-game football season (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ap-ncaa-12thgame&prov=ap&type=lgns)


MIAMI (AP) -- The Knight commission urged the NCAA to oppose the addition of a 12th regular-season game for Division I football teams until the effects of recent academic reforms for players become clear.

The NCAA Division I Management Council has backed legislation that would allow Division I-A and I-AA schools to add a 12th game starting with the 2006 season. The NCAA Board of Directors on Thursday considers the legislation, which has the support of most athletic directors.

The Knight commission last week sent a memo to the NCAA Board of Directors. The commission is a privately funded group formed in 1989 to promote reforms and greater presidential control of college sports.

The NCAA's latest academic reform movement is based on a points system that measures the retention and graduation rates of each team. Teams that fail to meet minimum standards -- about a 50 percent gradation rate -- are in danger of losing scholarships. Teams that persistently fall short of the NCAA's minimum requirements could face postseason bans.

According to the report released in February, half the 328 Division I schools have at least one team that could face sanctions.

``This coming fall will be the first time juniors will be subject to the increased progress toward degree requirements, and the academic performance program will be in effect as well,'' the Knight commission wrote in its letter. ``The commission, by a substantial majority, urges the board to oppose the addition of a 12th football game until the impact of these academics reform is clear.''

It seems pretty spurious to me. What does one have to do with the other? I could see this if a 12th game had anything to do with academic requirements. But there's no evidence that a 12th game would help or hurt, and nothing in this article says anything about that one way or another.

[TexasTerror]

More practices overall. More time away from the books. That is what they would say. Also, are we talking earlier season or are we stretching every team in the nation closer to finals? Seems finals are getting earlier at some schools and getting later at others. Who knows? I can see some reasoning behind their claim...

[colgate13]

hmmm... The NCAA members all think to themselves...

"Another chance for a home game and revenue... or unknown effects on academics and student welfare."

What side do you think is going to win out here?

[mainejeff]

I know that most college football players use their bye week to study all weekend, but come on........

[ChickenMan]

Amazing... a 12 game football schedule is too much... while the major NCAA baseball programs play schedules of 60 to 70 games... which include extended road trips that require far more time away from classes than do 5 or 6 away football games. Then there's the 32 to 36 basketball games that NCAA schools play each year... :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Coastal89]

Good point CM I don't see how baseball players keep up with their course work.

[TexasTerror]

I side with you guys without question, I was just stating what those folks at the Knight Commission were thinking. They're probably spending bye weeks coming up with their proposals for the NCAA folks.

[Mr. C]

This is totally about image and PR and nothing to do with reality. The Knight Commission is a joke, designed to make it look like someone is truly interested in making serious academic changes. In my years of covering college, I have found almost 100 percent of university presidents are concerned more with PR than anything else going on at their schools. Adding a 12th game has NOTHING to do with academics.

[bonarae]

The Ivy League is by the Knight side. Academics should be the greater half of the college life. Right? But if athletics is concerned, it should not be more than half of a player's full schedule...

[HensRock]

I beleive this has more to do with the scientific method.
The way I read it is that the Knight Commission is not against a 12-game schedule per se - just against it at this time. The new reforms have just been put into place and they would like at least a few years to assess the impact of these reforms while holding all other variables (such as number of games per year) the same. This will give them a "control" to their experiment so they'll have a fair basis for comparison. I can understand that. Adding a 12th game next year will put additional demands on the student-athletes which may conteract any positive impact in academic performance that the reforms may have provided.

At least that's my take on it.

[ChickenMan]

I seriously doubt that a 12th game would negatively impact a student athlete. If they are serious about their academics a 12th game won't be any problem... if they aren't.. a 6 game schedule would be too many.

[HensRock]

But could you show that statistically?

Better yet, could you show the benefit of a reform you put in place if someone else is changing other things at the same time?

[ChickenMan]

I don't think we need an another "commision" composed of a bunch of egghead academics to discover what we already know...


If they are serious about their academics a 12th game won't be any problem... if they aren't.. a 6 game schedule would be too many

;)

[GannonFan]

I think it's a bit idealistic to assume that you could hold all the variables constant for the next handful of years just to assess the impact of the academic reforms. What if after 5 years they decide to tweak it again - does that mean holding things constant for another 5 years to decide if those changes worked? Such inability to deal with real life and the necessity for everything to be perfect or else could only come from the minds of the ivory tower crowd. While I admire the Knight Commission's idealism, they are obviously very impractical and potentially irrelevant.