NCAA Talks About Strengthening Its Penalties

The Chronicle of Higher Education From the issue dated June 27, 2008 NCAA Talks About Strengthening Its Penalties By LIBBY SANDER Fourteen years have passed since the National Collegiate Athletic Association last revised the punishments it doles out to institutions that run afoul of its intricate rules. With big-time college sports growing ever more complex, calls to strengthen those sanctions are growing louder. But at a meeting last week of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the discussion revealed a key question dogging those who police college sports: What, exactly, deters someone from breaking the rules? Two members of the NCAA's Division I Committee on Infractions are stumped. "I've always had a healthy respect for how much of a deterrent effect we have," said Gene Marsh, a law professor at the University of Alabama and a past chair and current member of the committee. But, he said, "I also wonder how much effect we have at all." The infractions committee investigates allegations of wrongdoing, whether in recruiting or in how athletes get their textbooks. In many cases, institutions self-report their violations and can receive penalty reductions for cooperating with the NCAA's investigation. Penalties can be as light as a public reprimand or as severe as the loss of scholarships or a ban on postseason competition. Josephine Potuto, a law professor at the University of Nebraska and the committee's chair, said the panel is discussing "upping the ante on violations" and will look at new types of penalties. Committee members may also dust off old ones that have not been used in years, she said. The conversation is continuing, and the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors will have the final say. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2008 by The Chronicle of Higher Education