Eligibility Rule for NBA Draft Choices Revised

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After making history Monday by voting to allow student-athletes to work during the academic year, the NCAA seemed content to bask in the glow as its convention concluded Tuesday with little drama.

The most notable developments included the shift of responsibility back to the athlete with the passing of Proposal 81, which says a player who is selected in the NBA draft no longer has eligibility left, and the approval of Proposal 137, a rule designed to protect endangered college sports, such as men’s volleyball, water polo and gymnastics, so that the U.S. can continue to field competitive Olympic teams.

Many basketball coaches are concerned that the draft rule passed three years ago might have backfired, affording athletes earlier exposure to agents and thereby potentially jeopardizing eligibility. That rule allowed athletes to retain their eligibility despite having declared for the draft, as long as they had not hired an agent or signed a contract.

There was also concern that a certain segment of players, just under the highest level, had insufficient information to determine their market value.

The new rule specifies that athletes who aren’t selected will retain their eligibility. If they are drafted, however, whether or not they sign, their college careers are over.

The NCAA is hoping now that the NBA follows through on a promised undergraduate advisory committee, similar to a current NFL panel.

“I believe in as much freedom for the student-athlete as possible,” Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger said. “I think they ought to be able to go try out and come back. If it doesn’t work out, I don’t think they’re especially tarnished.

“John Elway, when he was an undergraduate at Stanford, played in the New York Yankee baseball chain. I don’t see any difference between that and letting a kid go see what he can do at the professional level.”

The final piece of legislation, regarding the Olympic sports, had been defeated several times before. But the delegates were urged to remember Atlanta and listened to emotional appeals from such varied sources as Chuck Neinas of the College Football Assn. and Kathy Scanlan, president of USA Gymnastics.

The measure allows competition in NCAA championships even if the number of schools sponsoring such programs falls below the NCAA minimum of 40.

Scanlan pointed out that five members of the men’s Olympic team at Atlanta were NCAA athletes, that four of the women had retained NCAA eligibility and that Kerri Strug had intended to do so before “opportunity smashed down her door.”

One other proposal gaining approval after much discussion was No. 135, which allows for the testing of a student-athlete who previously has tested positive for a banned substance by another athletic organization.

However, it could not be determined on the floor whether the non-NCAA organizations included high schools.