Big Ten won’t go it alone on freshmen ineligibility

It's a long way before the Big Ten makes freshmen athletes ineligible, and, most likely, it will never happen.

The league, however, is discussing the topic.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Big Ten unanimously decided it would be important for the league to 'reach out to a diverse group of thought leaders in an effort to obtain as much feedback as possible to a number of important areas impacting academics on campus.'

No. 1 on that list was 'the potential establishment of a year of readiness for all sports — or select sports.' It also included 'student-athlete time demands; playing seasons; initial eligibility requirements; and other areas impacting academics on college campuses across the country.'

After stating it will seek feedback on freshmen ineligibility, the Big Ten added, 'Knowing that matters of such impact would never be adopted unilaterally by a single conference or institution, it is important to the conference to devise a strategy and timeline that would encourage, and allow the conference to obtain, input from all.'

So, no, in no uncertain terms is the Big Ten going to go it alone on freshmen ineligibility.

'Yeah, it's one of those things where it's going to be all across the board or not,' Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery said during his Tuesday news conference. 'In and of itself, I think it's a great idea. It's not fair to certain people that are ready maybe. You look at a guy like Mike Gesell. He doesn't need a year. Off and running, 4.0. 'Coach, I got the offense, I got the play, ready to go.' He would still get the same number of years of eligibility, maybe it would help him.

'You can't do it conference by conference, we're going to try it. No, that can't happen. That would be a disaster.'

This discussion began in mid-February when Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said he and his league were 'pushing' the concept forward. No official proposal has been made. Freshmen ineligibility ended in 1972.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in the statement: 'While we are comfortable generating multiple ideas about an 'education first' approach to intercollegiate athletics in the twenty-first century, we won't go it alone on any of these matters. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the NCAA Division I governance structure, and to exploring a broad exchange of ideas from both inside and outside of intercollegiate athletics.'

McCaffery said it would be a 'recruiting disadvantage.'

'Our commissioner is too smart. Our league is too smart. This idea has merit for all the right reasons,' McCaffery said. 'That's how we think, but it would have to be, I think, something that we would all agree to.

'The reality is, basketball players want to play right away. A lot of them are not ready, but they all think they're ready. They don't want to sit a year. That's my feeling. I guess I shouldn't be speaking for everybody, but that's my feeling. That's what you're asking me.

'Hopefully, we'll look at it and see if it makes sense, either do it or not do it. But, you know, I think if you look at why you're considering it, it would clearly help your graduation rates, the academic progress. Let's remember, these kids are all in academic institutions, and that's important.

'Some guys struggle right away. Maybe it would curb transfers. I think that's probably another reason for the transfer epidemic. Over 600 last year. Would that get that number to go down? They would settle in and they would learn the system and they would feel comfortable at the institution. Every transfer is not because of playing time. It's a bad fit geographically, socially.'

McCaffery's opinion doesn't matchup with Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz's on the topic.

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg talked to Ferentz on the topic last week (link here).

'That would be one of the healthiest things we could do for college sports right now,' Ferentz said. 'Recruiting's kind of a runaway train, and what a lot of people don't consider is there's a lot of serious pressure that's put on some players' shoulders that I'm not sure is healthy for them big-picture-wise.'

Ferentz has had three sons play for him during his 17 seasons as Iowa's head coach. All three (all of whom happen to play offensive line) took a redshirt year.

McCaffery's has a pair of sons, Connor and Patrick, who'll likely have basketball beyond high school. In fact, Connor has committed to the Hawkeyes for the 2017 recruiting class.

'I don't look at it differently for Connor McCaffery [a sophomore at Iowa City West] than I would for Mike Gesell,' coach McCaffery said. 'Just because Mike is not my son doesn't mean I don't want and think the same things for him that I would for Connor.

'I try to pride myself in conveying that to the parents of the players I recruit. To sit here and argue against that rule, I think it would be foolish because there are so many good things about it.

'Sometimes you got to figure out a way to make it all work because it's not going to be real appealing to the guys who are talented enough to go right to the league or were planning on being one‑and‑done. They're not going to want to sit a year. That's another component that might be impacted.

'Those guys now go overseas and play a year so they can go right to the NBA. There's so many moving parts to that kind of thing. I think the fact they're talking about it makes a lot of sense.'

Here's the full statement from the Big Ten:

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Big Ten faculty, administrators and student-athlete representatives met this week to further discuss the importance of keeping education central to the mission of intercollegiate athletics.

The conference unanimously decided it would be important at this juncture to reach out to a diverse group of thought leaders in an effort to obtain as much feedback as possible to a number of important areas impacting academics on campus. Those areas include the potential establishment of a year of readiness for all sports — or select sports; student-athlete time demands; playing seasons; initial eligibility requirements; and other areas impacting academics on college campuses across the country. Knowing that matters of such impact would never be adopted unilaterally by a single conference or institution, it is important to the conference to devise a strategy and timeline that would encourage, and allow the conference to obtain, input from all.

'While we are comfortable generating multiple ideas about an 'education first' approach to intercollegiate athletics in the twenty-first century, we won't go it alone on any of these matters,' said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. 'We look forward to working with our colleagues in the NCAA Division I governance structure, and to exploring a broad exchange of ideas from both inside and outside of intercollegiate athletics.'

It is the Big Ten Conference's hope that reaching out to others in advance of the 2016 NCAA National Convention will allow those in attendance at the convention to engage in a more meaningful discussion informed by both the student-athlete welfare issues scheduled to be addressed at the convention, and the input provided by thought leaders around the country regarding issues more directly impacting academics.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com