The new rule allowing Division I institutions to give select student-athletes an additional $2,000 miscellaneous expense allowance has been suspended until the Board of Directors convenes in January, according to the official NCAA website.
As of Dec. 15, enough schools (125) have called for an override of the legislation to prompt the automatic suspension under NCAA bylaws.
“Based on conversations I have had, I am confident that there remains a very high level of support for this permissive legislation to provide better support for our student athletes,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in the article. “I am also confident that we can develop implementation changes that will address most of the concerns raised by many of our campus leaders. It is absolutely critical that we implement this legislation, for example, in a way that supports Title IX and women’s athletic programs. Modification of the legislation language can certainly achieve this essential requirement. Similarly, changes can be made that will clarify how this legislation can be implemented more smoothly and with less confusion.”
The Board will meet in Indianapolis on Jan. 14 and will have several options. It can do nothing, which keeps the suspension in place until an override vote occurs, it can reconsider its adoption and eliminate the rule, or it can alter the proposal in some way to try to address the concerns of those asking for the override.
Changing the rule would create new legislation that would then be subject to another 60-day override period.
Unless the Board takes action to alter the proposal, prospective student-athletes who sign with schools during the upcoming signing periods in February and April will not have the option to receive the additional $2,000 allowance.
