clarinews@clarinet.com (MIKE RABUN, UPI Sports Writer) (01/12/90)
_A_d_v_a_n_c_e_ _w_e_e_k_e_n_d_,_ _J_a_n_._ _1_3_-_1_4 _U_P_I_ _S_p_o_r_t_s_F_e_a_t_u_r_e _(_1_,_3_0_0_) _ _D_i_c_k_ _S_c_h_u_l_t_z_ _H_o_p_e_s_ _T_o Light Fire Under NCAA DALLAS (UPI) -- Richard D. Schultz looks like a successful investment broker. Or perhaps the kind of fellow who would be employed in a fashionable jewelry store. He certainly does not look to be the kind of guy who goes around trying to make history. And yet he is going to give it his best shot. It may well be that Schultz is merely jousting at windmills. The task, after all, is formidable. How, after all, can anyone change the public perception of the NCAA -- which is one of an unwieldy organization that moves with all the speed of a snail, is immune to reform and indifferent to the people it is supposed to serve. The first thing to do, apparently, is to throw a bomb into the middle of the whole mess and then announce that anybody who thinks that he doesn't mean business had better think again. That, in effect, is what Schultz did during the 84th annual convention of the NCAA -- one of the most autocratic and Byzantine organizations in the free world. ``It was,'' said NCAA President Al Witte, ``an historic moment.'' And, as it turned out, it was not the only historic event during the NCAA gathering last week. University presidents, weary of hearing talk and seeing little action when it came to easing the pressures on athletes, stepped in and did something about it. And they promised to do more. The length of the basketball season was cut, spring football practice was shortened, schools must now make public the percentage of athletes who graduate and a bid to remove the stringent academic standards for incoming freshmen was rebuffed. Those actions were all instigated by the President's Commission. And the presidents are not through. Major cost-cutting proposals are expected at next year's convention in Nashville, Tenn. Athletic directors around the country found themselves overwhelmed by the presidents' push for reform. Some athletic directors voiced the belief that the presidents should simply be putting down broad guidelines for the NCAA and that the details should be left to those in the athletic departments. Schultz, to some extent, agrees. But he also recognizes athletic directors have waited too long to address the reforms. ``I would hope that we could eventually have an atmosphere where presidents could establish policy and leave it to the athletic directors and faculty representatives to come up with ways to implement that policy,'' Schultz said. ``I don't think the presidents want to be involved in the nitty gritty. I think they get involved only when they feel the pace is too slow. And that was the case here. ``I would hope the athletic directors took the presidents seriously because the presidents stated their position very strongly. The athletic directors should not have been surprised. I think the presidents on the floor (of the convention) extended an olive branch. They would be pleased to seek input from the various groups and I think that will take place.'' Reform was certainly in the wind at the Dallas convention. But Schultz has more than reform in mind -- he wants a revolution. Schultz stunned the more than 2,000 delegates with his opening address, during which he proposed to virtually wipe out off-campus recruiting, urged that coaches be hired for a minimum of five years, that time demands on athletes be dramatically reduced and that athletes be given a cash bonus for graduating within five years of their initial enrollment. ``I just felt in my own mind that the engine was running in the wrong direction,'' Schultz said a few days later. ``I was serious when I said those things. They were not intended to be public relations move. Public relations moves are not sufficient. We need to make substantive changes. ``I give about 200 speeches a year and I never feel comfortable making speeches. I usually don't write anything out in advance. But I knew what I wanted to say in this one.'' Among other things, he said in his speech: -- ``We must make a commitment to a comprehensive compliance program. To insure this is done, it is important that each institution's chief executive officer designate a senior administrator to serve as compliance coordinator.'' -- ``We must drastically reduce off-campus recruiting. This solves a number of problems, such as many of the integrity issues as well as many cost-reduction concerns. There is no need for six, in-person, off-campus visits. We hire presidents, commissioners, faculty and coaches with far fewer interviews. We need further restrictions on the number of coaching staff members allowed to travel as well as shorter recruiting periods.'' -- ``Let's consider a tenure program for coaches on a basis comparable to the faculty. Initial contracts would be for five years with no termination except for rules violations or other ethical or moral reasons. Coaches would not be allowed to break a contract during the initial five years.'' -- ``Let's establish an emergency loan system for needy athletes and transportation expenses home for those who are required to forego vacations for reasons of athletics participation. And we should consider an endowment fund that would permit a small cash bonus for an athlete graduating within five years. We must make the athlete as indistinguishable from the rest of the student body as humanly possible.'' Schultz' recommendations are bold ones and they caught many within the NCAA by surprise. One person who was not surprised, however, was the current NCAA president. Al Witte, faculty representative at the University of Arkansas, was one of many people with whom Schultz consulted before making what amounted to a, ``coming out speech.'' ``When the association chose a new executive director,'' Witte said, ``we wanted someone who would be more in the public eye. Walter Byers (who retired 2 1-2 years ago) remained pretty much behind the scenes. But that was his personality. That was the way he liked to be. ``I think we will see a lot of the things Dick wants take place. I think the time for reform is here. Nothing happens overnight. But in the next decade or so we may look back on his speech as a turning point.'' Schultz is not worried about turning points so much as he is getting the reform process started. ``We have all seen what has been written about college sports,'' Schultz said. ``We have seen the polls and heard the criticism. There are 270,000 NCAA athletes and the negative things you read about happen to less than 1 percent of those 270,000. ``But I understand that. I know that people write about what the public wants to read about. Nevertheless, the negative perception is there and you are what you are perceived to be. And I'm not denying we have problems. Of course we do, or there wouldn't be a negative perception. ``To change that perception, we have to make a lot of changes within the NCAA. And I think that process began with this convention.'' The cynics can only wait, however, to see if that process will continue. _A_d_v_a_n_c_e_ _w_e_e_k_e_n_d_,_ _J_a_n_._ _1_3_-_1_4