REPORT OF THE FEBRUARY 18-20, 2004, MEETING OF THE

NCAA DIVISION I ACADEMICS/ELIGIBILITY/COMPLIANCE CABINET

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. Legislative – Requests for Legislative Action at the April NCAA Division I Management Council Meeting. (See Attachment A for the full text of the proposals.)

(1) NCAA Proposal No. 2003-15 (as amended by Proposal No. 2003-15-1) – Summer Financial Aid – Prior to Initial, Full-Time Enrollment.

(a) Recommendation. The NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Com-pliance Cabinet recommends that the Management Council reconsider and approve Proposal No. 2003-15, as amended by Proposal No. 2003-15-1. [For 28, against 6]

(b) Rationale. Proposal No. 2003-15-1 would permit an institution to provide athletically related financial aid to an “at risk” prospective student-athlete in any sport to attend the institution in the summer prior to the prospective student-athlete’s initial, full-time collegiate enrollment. The cabinet noted that research regarding the summer basketball legislation indicates “at-risk” student-athletes who participate in a summer program demonstrate increased credit hours at the end of their freshman year. The cabinet supports defining “at-risk” prospective student-athletes as those who are determined to be “at-risk” by the definition applied to all students at the institution, including those who are subject to any special admission process or program. When an institution does not have an official “at-risk” designation for incoming students, the standard shall be a core-course grade-point average and/or standardized test score to be identified through an analysis of the Summer Bridge Program research. Finally, due to costs and budgetary concerns, the cabinet recommended delaying the effective date until summer 2005.

(c) Budget Impact. Varies. Permissive legislation.

(2) Proposal Nos. 2004-4 and 2004-5 – NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1.5 (Six-Hour Requirement).

(a) Recommendation. The cabinet unanimously recommends that the Management Council sponsor noncontroversial legislation to specify that a student-athlete enrolled in an institutionally approved study-abroad or cooperative-education program shall not be required to satisfy the six-hour requirement for the term or terms of enrollment in such a program (Proposal No. 2004-4). Further, the cabinet also requests that the

Management Council sponsor noncontroversial legislation to allow student-athletes in their final year of their academic degree to use any academic credits (not just degree-applicable) to satisfy the six-hour requirement (Proposal No. 2004-5).