NCAA to reduce team scholarships due to low scores

INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA president Myles Brand wants college teams concerned as much about academic scores as final scores. If they aren't, they might be barred from NCAA tournaments.

Brand warned the underachievers Tuesday they could get hit with the NCAA's harshest sanctions — fewer scholarships, reductions in practice and even a postseason ban. Nearly 150 teams face potential scholarship losses and another 26 are on the brink of a postseason ban because of poor academics.

"Academic reform is here to stay, and those penalties resemble what we give for major infractions. So these are serious penalties and there are a number of teams that received those," Brand said after releasing this year's Academic Progress Report. "Yes, there are individual institutions who have seen a steady decline [academically] over the last four years, and for them, the situation is dire."

Brand was mostly pleased with what he saw in the report.

Overall scores improved by four points since the NCAA began collecting data in 2003. Scores are also up in 26 of 29 sports over the last four years, and fewer teams were penalized than even NCAA officials expected last year. One reason was the substantial academic improvement made by football and baseball players. Those sports increased their average scores by 11 and 12 points since 2003, respectively, which equate to graduation rates in the mid 60s.

There was plenty of reason for concern, too.

More than 700 of the 6,272 Division I teams fell short of the mandated cut score of 925 to avoid penalties, and 218 were assessed punishments ranging from warning letters to reductions in practice times. Some were granted waivers while others showed enough improvement to avoid penalties.

But the 26 teams that have now scored less than 900 in two consecutive years must improve now. A third consecutive score below 900 would keep them out of NCAA tournaments 2009-10, and a fourth straight year on the list could lead to having Division I status revoked.

"The penalties should tell people that we take this very seriously," said Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA's committee on academic performance. "These penalties will be equal to, or greater, than the most serious penalties you can take in infractions cases."

Schools already facing possible postseason bans include football teams at San Jose State, Southern and Temple, and men's basketball teams at New Mexico State, Centenary and East Carolina.

Thirty-six teams were assessed two penalties and three schools had more than one team hit twice — Alabama-Birmingham in men's basketball, football and men's golf; San Diego State in baseball and football; and San Jose State in baseball and men's basketball.

Florida International had five teams — baseball, football, men's basketball, men's outdoor track and field and women's swimming — receive one sanction each.

Money is also becoming a more notable factor. According to the report, 180 teams cited low resources as the reason for poor scores while 253 teams said they were hurt by the departures of academically ineligible players. Teams can cite more than one explanation for scores when filing the report.

Brand acknowledged there is a correlation between money and APR scores although he called on athletic directors and university presidents to set better priorities.

"It's not as much about how many resources you have, as it is about where you put it," he said. "If you have a problem, you should put it more toward academic development and not as much toward suites or new facilities, for instance."

The numbers show large Division I schools, like those in the Bowl Championship Series conferences, performed relatively well.

Eighteen BCS teams were penalized, eight in men's and women's basketball and two in football. Of those, only four teams — Kansas State, Purdue, Southern California and Tennessee — made the NCAA men's basketball tournament. All four could lose up to two scholarships next season but only if a player leaves school while academically ineligible.

Also making the list were traditional powers like LSU baseball and Tennessee men's swimming.

Tennessee and West Virginia, with three teams each on the list, were the only BCS schools with more than one team sanctioned. Each school had three teams make it — West Virginia in men's soccer, wrestling and women's rowing and Tennessee in men's basketball, men's swimming and baseball.

While retention rates have risen steadily the past four years, Brand remains concerned about men's basketball. That sport had an overall score of 906.2 for retaining players.

It's already led to a committee debate about how to help such teams, including discussion about how coaching changes affect APR scores.

"The number of coaching changes is increasing," Brand said. "So that has been a difficulty, and we're looking at ways to mitigate that for student-athletes. We look at that in granting waivers, but coaching changes can be problematic."

The NCAA also is reconsidering how it views summer school classwork, transfers and the fact that basketball is a two-semester sport. Brand said he hopes there will be changes by next year.

Other trends in the report show:

—Women continue to outperform men, with a four-year average of 969 compared to 951.

—Historically black colleges and universities, which last year had a disparate percentage of low scores, fell more in line with national averages this year.

—The percentage of athletes who leave school academically ineligible has decreased from 3.7 percent in 2003 to 2.9 percent last year.

The scores were based on academic performance from 2003 to 2007. Athletes earn one point for remaining academically eligible each semester and another point each semester they remain at the school, accumulating a maximum of four points each year. The scoring is altered slightly for schools on a quarters-based calendar.

"We've been at this long enough now that we can recognize what teams and schools have problems, and we understand that not all problems are the same," Brand said. "We'll work with those teams and schools to help give them the best opportunity for success."