An April 20 vote by the NCAA Division I Management Council will determine whether Division I schools will be allowed to publish media guides next season.
Proposal No. 03-88 would ban the printing of D-I collegiate media guides, thus limiting them to the Internet in a digital format. The proposal was spearheaded earlier this year by the Atlantic Coast Conference and was voted on for initial approval during January's Management Council meeting. It passed, 35-15.
According to a story in the February 16 NCAA News, Proposal 03-88 was developed after the recruiting subcommittee of the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet suggested Proposal 03-32, designed to combat the growing problem of using media guides as a recruiting tool.
Proposal 03-32 would allow the continued printing of media guides,but would prohibit their distribution to potential student-athletes.
The proposals have raised concerns among sports information departments throughout the nation, including Ohio's.
I think that SIDs (sports information directors) are really worried that there's going to be legislation passed
and I think there will be Ohio sports information coordinator Jim Stephan said. In talking to people there's a lot of confusion out there with SIDs. Everybody thinks it's a bad idea
but I don't think people really know where to turn.
Some questions might be answered beginning today, when the Mid-American Conference athletic directors meet in Cleveland to discuss, among other topics, NCAA legislation, said Thomas Boeh, Ohio Director of Athletics.
The meeting is the first of several steps to reach a consensus for MAC voting during the forthcoming Management Council, scheduled for April 18-20 in Indianapolis. Boeh will represent the conference during the Council.
This is as political as it is anything
Boeh said. If you're going to take a position and you're going to be strong with it
you want to make sure your vote is counted.
Should either proposal pass, it could change the sports information industry. The passing of 03-32 would likely result in the removal of information geared more for potential recruits than for the media, while the passing of 03-88 might completely send the industry to the Internet.
17
Archives
Matt LaWell
