DI Legislative Council sets date and time for initial men’s basketball practiceNCAA.org |
| The Division I Legislative Council adopted legislation that puts the start date for men’s basketball practice at 42 days before a school’s first regular-season game. The measure also limits teams to 30 days of practice in that 42-day period.
The Council adopted a separate proposal that eliminated the requirement that the first men’s basketball practice begin no earlier than 5 p.m. on the first allowable day, preferring to allow schools to exercise their own best judgment when considering appropriate start times for basketball practice. Both proposals will go into effect for the 2013 season.
The proposals had been tabled since April 2012, when the Legislative Council tabled the bulk of the proposals in that year’s cycle to allow the Rules Working Group to fulfill its charge of making the Division I rulebook more meaningful, enforceable and supportive of student-athlete success.
The Rules Working Group and thought leaders from the membership and the National Association of Men’s Basketball Coaches recommended adoption of the proposal. It creates a flexible preseason practice schedule that allows practice days and off days instead of the current schedule that leads to practice occurring every possible day. The more flexible approach provides coaches with the ability to determine how to use practice opportunities.
The original proposal allowed practice to start 40 days before the first game, but the Council members adjusted the rule to accommodate for celebratory events often planned around the first men’s basketball practice. Because a significant number of teams start playing games on the first day the rules allow it (the second Friday in November), the first day for practice would fall on a Sunday, which is not conducive to celebratory events on campus. Expanding the time period to 42 days allows the first practice to be held on a Friday. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association expressed preference to maintain its current 40-day period as an expansion posed potential conflicts with a weekend when recruiting can occur.
In other business, the Council recommended the Board suspend Prop. No. RWG 13-3, which eliminated the rule banning certain modes of communication (including text messaging) and eliminated numerical limits on phone calls. More than 75 schools requested an override of the rule, requiring the Board to reconsider its earlier action. The Council believes the proposal should be suspended and considered as a group with three other recruiting-related proposals that were either suspended by the Board or referred for further discussion before adoption. The other proposals would:
The Board will consider the recommendation at its May 2 meeting in Indianapolis. Proposals adopted by the Council are considered final at the close of the Board meeting. |
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