Rule Changes Threatening Mid-Majors?

(St. Louis, MO) – NCAA rule changes continue to widen the disparity between the “Power 5” conferences and everyone else in college basketball. From changing the rules on the court to the financial payouts off the court, mid-major conferences like the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences face increased challenges to compete.

On the surface I am supportive of a shorter shot clock and increasing the financial benefit to students involved in college athletics. However, virtually every change that comes to college basketball seems to be driven with the purpose to aid five of the 31 collegiate conferences that compete in Division 1 basketball.

‘Cost of attendance’ is the new buzz word in college basketball. Universities are now allowed to add money to the financial packages of their athletes. After much study the NCAA realized scholarship money didn’t realistically cover the costs of the athletes and are now giving universities some latitude to add some incidental costs to their scholarships.

I applaud this change. Too often we’ve heard of student-athletes scraping by because their scholarship only goes so far AND they are extremely limited in their ability to work another job. However, with this change the larger university’s advantage over ‘mid-major’ schools is multiplied. Not only does this adversely affect the budgets of smaller schools, but it indirectly impacts the recruiting pitch.

Now if a player is caught between Illinois and Bradley, there are the age old differences in the recruiting pitches, but now added into the mix is the possible greater pay out in ‘cost-of-attendance’ monies. Will Big 10 schools pay more extra money than OVC or MVC schools? Will that be part of the recruiting speech?

Shaving time from the shot clock is designed to speed up the collegiate game and add scoring. Once again, I applaud the hope and I think it could potentially help the game be a little less predictable.

However, most basketball fans know that a team with a perceived disadvantage in size or talent can slow the game down to give themselves a greater chance to defeat the more athletic club.

So does the 30 second clock, ‘freedom of movement’ and the extended ‘no contact’ area help or hurt Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley teams? We don’t know, but once again the intended or unintended result is potentially making it more difficult for the ‘Cinderella’ teams to make their mark.

MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin says league members don’t have to pay the ‘cost of attendance’ money, but they have chosen to do so. There will now be greater pressure on the athletic departments to raise money to offset these payments. Commissioner Elgin also hopes the on-the-court changes will be good for the game.

 

Missouri Valley teams have chosen to “roll with the big boys” and pay those cost of attendance numbers and they have muscled up their non-conference schedules too. The MVC and OVC continue to outperform their perceived obstacles, but with each passing regulation, you have to wonder how long before the power five pull away and form their own organization, rules and championships.

Elgin says the Valley can’t compete with the power 5 conference schools at a financial level, but the MVC universities have other things to sell to potential recruits.

Are storm clouds rolling in? We don’t know, but in the OVC and the Valley where the players are genuinely STUDENT-athletes we hope that NCAA officials look beyond the needs and wants of 16% of the collegiate conferences and legitimately work for the good of the game we love.

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