STILLWATER – You wonder if Oklahoma State basketball, which seemingly got unfairly and unceremoniously slammed last week by the appeal committee on infractions and was previously screwed by the infractions committee, would have fared better with a jury of their peers instead of the jury that included athletic and administrative officials from all three divisions of the NCAA, as well as some outside dignitaries that were appointed to NCAA committee duty.
It is too late for Oklahoma State but the constitutional work group looking to reorganize the organization with the hope of keeping it useful for the future in college athletics released a draft of a new constitution that would take away most rules-making and enforcement authority and punishment and place it with the NCAA’s three competitive divisions and their respective conferences.
The answer to Oklahoma State and missing the upcoming NCAA Basketball Tournament for the 2021-22 season is it won’t save the Cowboys. Like most things involving the NCAA this will take more time than it needs to, and it will be coming too late, at least much later than it should have.
In this draft, Division I schools would oversee all of Division I rules and enforcement issues including the policing and the punishment for rule violations. Division II would take care of its schools and then non-scholarship Division III would do the same.
This draft will be discussed further and perhaps, changed or moved forward at a special NCAA constitutional convention on Nov. 15. This is the first major step in trying to reorganize and streamline what many feel has become an archaic organization in the NCAA. The NCAA has been under pressure from state and federal legislators, the courts, and its member schools about issues ranging from athlete welfare to rules enforcement.
Another aspect in the draft is the inclusion of current athletes having representation in all areas of the NCAA including in the enforcement and punishment areas. The general consensus is that Division I schools, and even within Division I between football’s FBS and FCS subdivisions there are major differences between those schools. The same exists even more between Division II and Division III between each other and the schools in Division I. Rules, enforcement, and decisions must come from peers and not outside their level and size of schools and athletic departments.
