Change Becoming the New Normal
The landscape of intercollege athletics seems to be in a perpetual state of flux. From conference realignment to NCAA initiatives that toughen academic standards and provide increased academic and economic support to student-athletes, it seems that change is becoming our new normal.

Last week, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors passed several sweeping initiatives that will have a dramatic impact on college athletics. The bulk of the legislation is aimed at bolstering the academic performance of both teams and individuals.

One of the most dramatic initiatives will be implemented next year, when the NCAA begins the two-year phase-in of a plan that mandates minimum academic performance levels for teams to participate in postseason competition, including bowl games. Postseason eligibility will be based on a team's Academic Progress Rate (APR)**. Programs that fall beneath the NCAA's new benchmark (or cutline) will be ineligible for postseason play.

The board also strengthened eligibility requirements for incoming freshmen and junior college transfers. Freshmen have been eligible to compete at the intercollegiate level since the early 1970s. Academic requirements will now require high school prospects to maintain at least a 2.3 grade-point average in the 16 core courses to be immediately eligible to compete. The NCAA has also increased the minimum GPA for junior college transfers to be immediately eligible from 2.0 to 2.5.

The final piece of legislation adopted by the board allows institutions to increase grants to student-athletes who receive full scholarships by $2,000 a year or the full cost of attendance, whichever is less, in order to help address the miscellaneous costs of attending college. It is a proposal that many Big Ten member institutions support and I expect that our conference will vote to adopt the initiative in the coming months.

Overall, I believe these proposals are a step in the right direction, especially the academic reform measures. Having served on NCAA committees in the past, I know how difficult it can be to build the type of consensus required to pass more rigorous academic standards and I applaud the board for their efforts. No system is perfect and I'm sure these proposals will generate plenty of debate. Requiring both student-athletes and institutions to prioritize academics is the right thing to do.

We will work hard to ensure that the University of Minnesota is in 100 percent compliance with these new initiatives as they begin to be implemented. They are our new reality. And it will be our ability to cope and adapt to these changes that will define our future success.

Until next time, Go Gophers!

Joel Maturi
Director of Athletics
** Academic Progress Rate scores are determined by eligibility and retention for each student-athlete on scholarship during a particular academic year. Student-athletes are awarded one point for each semester they are enrolled and one point for each semester they are eligible for intercollegiate competition. A student-athlete can earn a maximum of four points during an academic year. The team APR is then calculated by taking the number of possible points for a particular sport and dividing that number by the total number of points earned from student-athlete retention and eligibility over the same period of time. The percentage is then multiplied by 1,000 to obtain the team APR score.