New Rule Could Clear Way for International Players.
On the eve of the first round of the NCAA tournament, with the nation focused on March Madness, a game-changing piece of amateurism legislation quietly took a step closer to entering the NCAA rulebook. The school with the most to gain from it, in the short-term, is Kentucky.
NCAA proposal 2009-22 would allow international athletes who’ve played on teams with professionals, but not received compensation, to become eligible immediately, rather than face lengthy suspensions under current rules. Proposal 2009-22 was adopted at the NCAA convention in January, and passed a March 17 override deadline without the requisite number of objections from universities. It’s slated for final approval in April, three weeks after the national title game.
The rule would go into effect on Aug. 1 as “exception 12.2.3.2.1,” stating that, “In sports other than men’s ice hockey and skiing, prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment, an individual may compete on a professional team, provided he or she does not receive more than actual and necessary expenses to participate on the team.”
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