Dempsey hopes NCAA ties postseason eligibility to academics

INDIANAPOLIS -- Outgoing NCAA president Cedric Dempsey hopes university leaders will take another step toward academic reform next October by voting on a proposal that would make postseason eligibility contingent on academic success.\nDempsey is retiring later this month after nine years in charge of college sports' largest governing body, and he met with reporters Wednesday to discuss his achievements and his vision for the future.\nIU President Myles Brand replaces Dempsey in January.\nThe key component to moving forward, Dempsey believes, is to make academic success a factor in determining whether teams can compete in NCAA tournaments.\n"We will send a very strong message when we do that," he said. "To me, it's the lynchpin of the whole academic-reform movement."\nDempsey said he believed proposals would be made in April and could be voted on by next October, although he cautioned it may take an additional six months before reaching a vote.\nBrand, best known as the man who fired Bob Knight, has been a vocal proponent of academic reform. He even gave a speech to the National Press Club in January 2001, four months after firing Knight, in which he proposed an "academics first" approach to college athletics.\nIn October, the NCAA adopted a package of proposals that will place a greater emphasis on grade-point averages rather than standardized test scores and will require student-athletes to earn a greater percentage of credits each year to remain eligible.\nDempsey called that a good first step.\n"There will likely be another element ready for a vote next year that will deal with academic standards for teams competing in postseason competition and that will not be based solely on graduation rates," he said.\nGraduation rates have been criticized in the past. Student-athletes who transfer or declare early for professional drafts are counted against an institution, and in a sport such as basketball, where recruiting classes are five or fewer, that can greatly affect the final number.\nBrand said last month that the NCAA needed to update its process. He wants quicker snapshots of academic progress and believes there should be a more equitable way to measure whether student-athletes are making the grade.\n"If you leave in good academic standing right now, it counts against a coach and that's not fair," Brand said.\nDempsey believes the NCAA should create a formula to measure academic progress but did not elaborate on what may be included.\nThe biggest issue is likely to be determining penalties.\nBrit Kirwan, former chairman of the NCAA's board of directors, suggested in January that universities could earn "extra" scholarships for higher rates and could be penalized by losing scholarships if they fall below a certain standard. He also discussed making teams with repeatedly bad records ineligible for postseason play.\nBrand reiterated that point last month.\nBut Dempsey thinks the NCAA must make the penalties hit hard.\n"I'm not sure that taking away or adding a grant is that strong a message," he said. "I really favor a strong position. That, obviously, would be the most difficult piece of the legislation"