The NCAA's Division I Football Licensing Task Force made numerous recommendations Thursday involving oversight and certification of bowl games, including stronger academic standards that might make it tough for some schools to become bowl eligible.
Co-chaired by Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman, the task force proposed a ban from bowls for teams that don't reach 930 (out of 1,000) on the Academic Progress Rate, which measures academic performance.
Perlman said the new standard could make it tough for the NCAA to fill slots for all 35 of its bowl games. The NCAA already has adopted the benchmark for basketball and other sports, though no timetable for implementation has been established.
The task force also is recommending a new certification process that would put more responsibility on the CEOs and boards of the sponsoring bowl organization, with the NCAA staff conducting periodic audits to determine if the criteria are being met. The proposal would mean an end to the NCAA Postseason Bowl Licensing Subcommittee, which has licensed bowls since 2004.
The task force, formed in April by NCAA President Mark Emmert in response to the Fiesta Bowl's myriad of problems, also called for all bowls to be played during a three-week window to fall in line with the academic calendar so student-athletes don't miss as much time in class.
SWAC suspends 41The Southwestern Athletic Conference suspended 41 players for at least one game after a postgame fight between Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The league announced the suspensions -- 25 Pine Bluff players and 16 from Southern -- and undisclosed fines against the universities. Most of the suspensions were for one game, but eight players will miss two for using "excessive force," the league said.
The fight broke out after Southern scored on the final play and Arkansas-Pine Bluff blocked the extra point to preserve a 22-21 victory.
