Ncaa Convention

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dick Schultz began the 1991 NCAA convention with a look ahead to 1992.The executive director's state of the association addres included the news that he will meet this spring with coaches from all sports to begin reducing and simplifying recruiting rules. He also talked about streamlining the enforcement process and leaving flexibility for valid exceptions, but not until after he discussed additional penalties for rules violators."We are in the process of establishing a meeting in Kansas Cit next spring," Schultz said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association convention ended yesterday on the friendliest note imaginable.Delegates from Division I-A schools presented Division III colleagues with a legislative gift.Division III returned the courtesy, supporting a rules change that Division I-A wanted badly.It was a case study in the back-scratching and arm-twisting that drives NCAA convention business. More important to the divisions involved, it worked.Division III hasn't had a bigger victory.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's proposed alternative to the NCAA's Proposition 16 would benefit a wide range of student-athletes, but particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency.The MEAC standards would rely less on standardized tests and more on high school achievement. Under the MEAC plan, student-athletes would be required to have a minimum high school grade-point average of 2.25 in 13 core academic courses, and the Scholastic Assessment Test and American College Test would be optional.

Gene Corrigan, the commissioner of the Atlantic CoastConference and President of the NCAA, calls it a "better way to run a shipyard."Stuart Haskell, commissioner of the North Atlantic Conference, calls it "the Boston Tea Party in reverse."Atop the agenda for the 90th NCAA convention in Dallas next week is a controversial set of legislative proposals that would restructure the NCAA.The current system of one-school, one-vote would be replaced by a series of representative bodies, with presidents in charge.

COLLEGE PARK -- Before he ever talks to a high school senior, Jim Miceli is on the spot.Miceli joined the Maryland football staff as recruiting coordinator in June, but his job is in jeopardy. It's not that the Terps are disappointed with his work, but the cost-containment proponents in the NCAA have proposed that the position be abolished. It's one of the cuts that Division I-A football is expected to face at the NCAA convention next January."It's going to happen one of these days," Miceli said.

Federation and reform are the buzzwords for the 84th annual NCAA convention. And they translate to money and academics -- the two issues often at odds when it comes to college sports.More than 1,900 delegates are expected to set an attendance record in Nashville, Tenn., where college presidents will try to gain control of intercollegiate athletics next Monday through Friday."Everybody that's an NCAA observer seems to think that this may be the most important convention the NCAA has had," said Dick Schultz, NCAA executive director.

Football is safe at Towson State, for now.The school's nine-member Intercollegiate Athletic Committee has decided to await the outcome of the NCAA convention in January before making any decisions regarding the athletic program.The committee is reviewing the proposed 1991-92 budget submitted by athletic director Billy Hunter while also looking at an athletic department deficit of $181,809 in 1989-90. Officials have discussed a number of options to reduce the deficit, which is projected to reach $257,018 for two years.

Johns Hopkins athletic director Bob Scott is convinced that the Blue Jays will be able to remain in Division I in lacrosse, even though the rest of the program competes in Division III.Proposal 51, to be considered at the 84th annual NCAA convention in Nashville, Tenn., next week, would prohibit Division II or III members from running a Division I program in a selected sport, unless they receive majority approval from the other Division I members who play that sport."I've tested the waters, and I think we'll have the support we need if the proposal is enacted," Scott said.

UMBC yesterday became one of the first five Division I schools given the full NCAA seal of approval under new national guidelines.In a telephone conference call with reporters, NCAA officials announced that these schools passed the new test: Arizona State, UMBC, St. John's, West Virginia and Wyoming.Under the new guidelines, all 302 Division I schools must be reviewed once every five years for academic integrity, financial stability, administrative structure and progress toward equity for women and minorities.

The agenda called for basketball, but much of the talk was of the uncertain future of the East Coast Conference.The seven-member conference will be down to five by the end of the year, and continuation could be determined by legislation that will come before the National Collegiate Athletic Association convention in January.Discussions occurred during the conference's annual basketball preview yesterday, a chance for coaches to say that individually several of their players are great, while overall downgrading their team's chances and boosting those of the opposition.