NCAA Rules You'd Change

isucy86

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Apr 13, 2006
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With the NCAA naming a new NCAA CEO last week, what structural or rule changes would you implement if you were in charge of the NCAA.

A few I would implement:
  • Get rid of National Signing Days. Athletes can commit any time after their junior year. Athletes can't sign NLI with a school within 72 hours of visiting a school. If athletes break their NLI, they must sit a year and have 4 years eligibility. This puts some teeth on an athletes commitment. And a coaching staff can feel somewhat confident they can stop recruiting to fill a positional need. There would be exceptions, allowing an athlete to break their NLI due to a change in head coach prior to signing day. Or if a school gets put on probation.
  • Eliminate the stupid concept of red-shirting athletes. Every athlete in every sport has 5 years and can play 5 years. It's silly to have a 4 game limit for football players to redshirt. Less silly, but still unneeded is a medical 6th or 9th year. Play your 5, get a degree, play professionally or get a job. Make the scholarship available for a graduating HS athlete.
  • If I really wanted to shake things up, I would divide schools into 2 groups:
    • Schools that want to participate in a pre- professional model. Athletes in profitable sports are employees of the school. Subject to a collective bargaining agreement where revenue is shared and teams are subject to salary caps. Also, media rights would be collectively negotiated. There would be attendance, alumni financial support requirements, etc. to compete in this pre-professional group.
    • A second group would be created for schools that want to participate in a traditional student-athlete scholarship model. Athletes could earn NIL for marketing deals. But pay-for-play recruiting would be prohibited. Schools that violate would face a 3-10 year sport specific death penalty. Media rights deals would be collectively negotiated. Schools would agree to pay medical costs for a period after eligibility is up. There would also be degree progress requirements to be eligible.
 
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I feel like those rules would be a good start. Level the playing field, even if Bama is paying double the salary of ISU, at least there's not all this under the table BS. I also think that programs should be able to pay for parents to visit at least a few times a semester and pay for the players to fly home a few times a semester.
 
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In basketball, move the arc under the hoop out another 3 feet and eliminate all charge attempts on shots at the rim.
 
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In football, I'd like to change substitution timing.

I think the offensive team should get 10 seconds for their subs. This means them running on to the field. After 10 seconds, an offensive player cannot enter the field (those currently on the field may continue to leave.) So this brings the play clock to 30 seconds.

The Defensive team gets the same time as the offensive gets, but gets an additional 10-15 seconds to make their adjustments. Bringing the play clock down to 20-15 seconds. Once the clock hits 15 seconds, the offense is free to snap the ball.
 
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Eliminate the on field targeting call. Only replay official can call targeting. It's obvious the Big 12 has their head way up their ass on this rule.
Agree with this. And don't stop the game. Give them the possession to review and the player can't come out the next possession if it's targeting.
 
With the NCAA naming a new NCAA CEO last week, what structural or rule changes would you implement if you were in charge of the NCAA.

A few I would implement:
  • Get rid of National Signing Days. Athletes can commit any time after their junior year. Athletes can't sign NLI with a school within 72 hours of visiting a school. If athletes break their NLI, they must sit a year and have 4 years eligibility. This puts some teeth on an athletes commitment. And a coaching staff can feel somewhat confident they can stop recruiting to fill a positional need. There would be exceptions, allowing an athlete to break their NLI due to a change in head coach prior to signing day. Or if a school gets put on probation.
  • Eliminate the stupid concept of red-shirting athletes. Every athlete in every sport has 5 years and can play 5 years. It's silly to have a 4 game limit for football players to redshirt. Less silly, but still unneeded is a medical 6th or 9th year. Play your 5, get a degree, play professionally or get a job. Make the scholarship available for a graduating HS athlete.
  • If I really wanted to shake things up, I would divide schools into 2 groups:
    • Schools that want to participate in a pre- professional model. Athletes in profitable sports are employees of the school. Subject to a collective bargaining agreement where revenue is shared and teams are subject to salary caps. Also, media rights would be collectively negotiated. There would be attendance, alumni financial support requirements, etc. to compete in this pre-professional group.
    • A second group would be created for schools that want to participate in a traditional student-athlete scholarship model. Athletes could earn NIL for marketing deals. But pay-for-play recruiting would be prohibited. Schools that violate would face a 3-10 year sport specific death penalty. Media rights deals would be collectively negotiated. Schools would agree to pay medical costs for a period after eligibility is up. There would also be degree progress requirements to be eligible.
No transferring to Bama.
 
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Agree with this. And don't stop the game. Give them the possession to review and the player can't come out the next possession if it's targeting.
I'd also be for levels of Targeting since I don't think all of them should be treated equally. A player that gets ejected when he goes to make a clean tackle only to have the running back/receiver lower their helmet at the last minute should not get the same treatment as a player that launches helmet first into a players facemask.

Maybe something like:

Targeting I- penalty and sit out a series, but not full game
Targeting II - penalty and ejection, back for next game
Targeting III - Penalty and ejection, miss first half of following game
 
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1. Fouling while up 3 late is a technical foul. This gives us better finishes to games and makes it more fun to watch at the end. People talk about wanting players to decide the games and nothing else, well here you go.

2. Timeouts under 1 minute to go moves the ball to halfcourt(or whatever the NBA rule is)

3. All NIL payments must be disclosed to the NCAA. Undocumented NIL will lead to a penalty against the school and the doner. Too many penalties against a donor will lead to them being blacklisted from paying players. The offer must be reported before it is taken.

4. Players who transfer for NIL of a certain amount must sit a year, but do not lose a year of eligibility. All other reasons to transfer are still free game. The NIL that player gets cannot exceed that limit until they are at the school they transfer to for a full year

5. Targeting adopts a flagrant system. Flagrant 1 is a 10 yard penalty for more harmless and accidental hits. 2 is 15 yards and an ejection for a dangerous hit under current rules. 3 is 15 yards, an ejection, and a suspension and only gets called for clear and obvious head hunting.
 
Get rid of fair catching kickoffs and getting the ball at the 25. Stupid.
I'd like to see the return rules be more like the CFL. I know there are safety issues, but it is football. The fair catch on kickoffs does give us in the stadium more time to go to the bathroom, though.
 
Actually penalize the players creating the dangerous situation in targeting. If a ball carrier lowers his head on contact - they are penalized. Oh wait, that's been a penalty for 50 f'ing years, happens about 50 times a game, yet is never called.

Also, if a ***** receiver catches the ball and then ducks down with his head down bracing for contact and turns a textbook tackle into "forcible contact to the head and neck area" they should be disqualified.

Current targeting rules:
- We can't expect offensive players to learn to change, that's just an instinct to put your head down and risk spinal injury multiple times a game.
- It's critical that we ask a defensive player to defy laws of physics by being in perfect position, unloading his hips and in a hundreth of a second change course to avoid head/neck contact because the ball carrier is going down. We know it's hard, but they will just have to adjust in the name of safety.
 
I would have the official have a wireless headset for replays. They are not the ones reviewing the call, so why do they need to run clear across the field to grab a headset and then run all the way back. At least they can make the meeting point at mid field rather than at one of the 20 yard lines.
 
Five Year Eligibility with one 'free' transfer. No immediate eligibility waivers for the second transfer.

Eliminate the Medical Hardship Waiver. Sometimes life sucks. Five Year Eligibility basically 'bakes in' an injury year anyway.

Reduce WBB Scholarships to 13. The game is really ready to grow now lets make it so that there are more than 5 or 6 teams running the sport.

Expand NCAA Tournament to 72 making Tuesday and Wednesday 8 games for the final at large spots. All conference champions go directly into the bracket.
 
No ejections for targeting unless it's something like a full on head butt.
Agree, getting booted from rest of game and 1st half of next isn't a good rule. I could see player sitting out the series or X minutes of game time. Like penalty box in hockey.

I also think launching with crown of helmet should be only version of targeting where player has to sit.