Coach Hewitt Talks NCAA Reform..

... with the Boston Globe. I thought I posted this article a couple of weeks ago, but couldn't find the link. Here it is again. Once again thanks to Yoni over at Collegball.blogspot.com for the link again.

Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt, who guided his team to the NCAA men's title game against the University of Connecticut this past season, says the new guidelines will force him to make a choice between taking a player he knows has qualifications to succeed and someone he thinks might have them.

"It is not easy," said Hewitt. "Do I give a kid a chance or do I not recruit him? I'll have a decision to make."

According to Hewitt, if the NCAA were truly serious about its academic commitment, there would be changes in scheduling. For instance, it could curtail basketball games in the first semester -- have none during the week -- and extend the season well into the second semester in April, when television has cash cows such as the Masters and major league baseball.

"It would be the right thing to do for kids," said Hewitt, knowing full well that the loss of television revenue for the NCAA would prohibit such a dramatic change.

Personally, I like the suggestion of requiring the athletic programs to match the grad rates of the student body of the school they are attending. The would certainly normalize things since some schools are meat-grinders - easy to get in, but hard to get out. Others are hard to get in, but if you're in, it's highly unlikely you won't graduate.

The real interesting point to all this for me is that the NCAA has created this framework for major change but have not filled in ANY of the details. That is completely in the air at this point.