Some schools get academic rule delay

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors agreed Thursday to give some schools an additional year to meet more rigorous academic standards tied to postseason eligibility.

Low-resource institutions won’t have to hit the four-year average of 930 on the Academic Progress Rate until 2016-17, one year later than all other schools. And though the two-year averages will be waived for the low-resource schools, all institutions must maintain a four-year average of 900 to be eligible for championship events each of the next two seasons.

In a statement issued Thursday, NCAA president Mark Emmert said the governing body had an “obligation” to help those schools make a successful transition.

But critics believe the delay will only prolong an inevitable push to do anything to keep athletes eligible.

“I think what the lower-resource schools are going to do is turn into more eligibility brokers where they’ll advance academic support in some areas but the main goal will be to keep kids eligible,” said David Ridpath, an assistant professor in sports administration at Ohio University and past president of the NCAA-watchdog The Drake Group.

Low-resource schools are defined by the NCAA as those ranked in the bottom 15 percentile, based on the combined average of institutional spending per student, athletic expenses per student-athlete and the average Pell Grant per student.