A place to rant and rave. Sometimes humorous, sometimes not. We've saved a few of our older entries that we felt still had some value, and we apologize in advance for any link rot that has occurred.
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932 pages, but lighter than air
The first-ever ePUB version of the NCAA Manual arrived this week, under cover of darkness.
I say that because it's not easy to find. I looked all over the NCAA Publications site and finally gave up and asked for a direct link. Thankfully, Leeland Zeller was only too happy to oblige. I'll save you some time searching:
http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4270-division-i-manual-published-january-2012-pdf-and-epub-versions.aspx
Note that this link probably won't be good for the next edition of the ePUB Manual. One can only hope the NCAA will come up with a link that will always point to the latest ePUB version of the Manual (and links for past versions could be created, as appropriate) and then publicize it directly.
About ePUB
Before we get into the details of the ePUB Manual, here are a couple of details about ePUB itself.
ePUB (short for electronic publication), is a free and open e-book standard. You can read more about it, but in brief, ePUB allows for reflowable word wrap and resizeable text and you can add images and other doo-dads to it. You can also increase the point-size and change fonts (in contrast to PDF files) to make the content a bit easier to read.
This train is rolling
If you've been following along, you've seen some of the activity and quotes surrounding the recent Presidential Retreat.
The attendees focused on three key areas--financial sustainability, academic success of student-athletes, and accountability and integrity--and offered up a slew of reforms from higher academic standards and stiffer penalties for violations to simplified rules.
And you've probably seen some of the quotes:
“The presidents all came together with a very clear, strong consensus that status quo and continued order of the day is insufficient and that we need to have change in a number of key areas and we need to have it quickly,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert.
Penn State’s Graham Spanier stated rules violators “should be afraid now, if they are going to go out and break any rules – because people have had enough of that."
Fire up your favorite search engine and you'll have no problem finding many similar ideas and quotes from both the recent and distant past.
But at this point, it doesn't matter much who said what way back when. Or whose idea something was so that credit, like a patent, can be properly bestowed.
Sometimes you need a chart
There are some interesting numbers about self-reported NCAA infractions cases in the meeting materials for the upcoming Recruiting Cabinet meeting.
This is far from a complete data set. Bylaw 15 is conspicuously missing and not all categories of Bylaw 13 violations are reported, just the leading ones. And these are just the self-reported violations.
Sometimes you need a chart to get a clearer view of the data being presented, so:
There's really nothing new here. Recruiting violations have led the way--with no other bylaw even in the rear-view mirror--for years.
And the sections of Bylaw 13 that are the either the most complex or the easiest to accidentally trip over see the most action.
Now all we (still) need are some solutions.
I (still) believe any solution is a combination of raising the speed limit and beefing up the fines. Get rid of the detail and minutiae, but make it more painful when the rules that remain are broken.
For instance, instead of trying to keep up with all the technological changes in communication and micromanaging what can be sent to prospects, set a starting point and leave it at that. The best, and usually most economical, ideas will float to the surface.
Batting averages and book awards
Babe Ruth goes 2-for-4 in his first game of the year. Which batting performance in his second game will increase his batting average the most?
a. 2-for-2.
b. 3-for-3.
c. 4-for-4.
d. Doesn't matter because his hits and at bats are the same in each case.
The right answer, of course, is c: 4-for-4.
Game 1 |
Fear Not
Okay, so if you've been, um, following along you know that we signed on to Twitter as Pac-10 Compliance the other day. And, as I write this, a total of 18 followers (some of whom I do not know) have signed on in a little under 48 hours.
We joined the World of Twitter partly to gain a little self-education and, frankly, to see what all the fuss was about.
You can learn more about Twitter yourself. And what you'll probably find is that this is probably not something worth losing a lot of sleep over, at least from a compliance point of view. If you personally become addicted to Twitter and spend all night, every night tweeting, well, that's another story.
In its purest sense, Twitter is a way to post messages ("tweets") for people who are interested in what you might have to say. Those "followers" have to opt-in. These tweets are not necessarily directed to someone, but rather to all your followers or (via the Public Timeline) the Twitter community at large.
So in that sense, the AMA's current position--that we should treat tweets as we do messages posted on a web page or via an RSS feed or on a Facebook page--seems spot on to me.
A Rose By Any Other Name
Homeless?
Roommate Wanted. Flexible 43-year old N/S seeks new home after 12 years in Birmingham. Being evicted August 1, but won't make trouble because I don't like lawyers. Will relocate. More...
Epilogue
If the Almighty Ran the NCAA
Epilogue
It is several years later.
God is seated at a large wooden desk. He looks at a huge celestial map affixed magically to a billowy, white cloud. He scratches his head, then opens an enormous cabinet and takes out a huge multi-color object with 34 sides. With two hands, he rolls it slowly across the floor until it stops, teal-side up. More...
Feel Good
Welcome to our first multi-media soapbox.
In early April 2001, the Pac-10 compliance gurus got together and talked about a lot of topics, including deregulation.
(Be patient; it's a 27.1 MB movie, but it's worth every second to download.)
You'll need QuickTime.
It Can Be Done
Along with a few of my cohorts in the Division I CCA Compliance Administrators group, I attended a meeting-of-the-minds at the NCAA the other day in Indianapolis to discuss one of my favorite controversies: deregulation.
Einstein Was Right
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
I made a quick run through the NCAA Manual the other day. I probably missed a few, but here are a few of the things we count, in no particular order.
Brush Up Your Latin
In October, the Management Council approved changes amending the Committee on Infractions' procedures for handling selected routine secondary violations. As of January 1, this selection of violations will generally be handled at the conference level with predetermined penalties--"PP" for short. These changes will eventually show up in Bylaw 32.2.
If you're like me, you try to keep your NCAA Manual up to date with all the newly adopted legislation, no easy feat in these dynamic times. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's hard.
Shut the Water Off
Restructuring of the NCAA in 1997 was designed to allow each division to more easily conduct its business and follow its own path. And when it comes to legislative proposals, there has been a path less traveled by, and indeed that has made all the difference.
If the Almighty Ran the NCAA
A play in two acts
By Mike Matthews
The time: Present day, Sunday afternoon, about dusk.
The place: An ornate, airy chamber in the clouds, somewhere above Iowa.