SAN DIEGO -- The NCAA Presidents Commission, representing top executives of the nation's leading colleges, Wednesday called a special cost-cutting convention for next June to correct the overemphasis on athletics in higher education.
University of Maryland Chancellor John Slaughter, chairman of the Commission, said the special convention will be held June 29-30 in Dallas. It will consider cutting athletic costs and diverting the savings to academic budgets.
Since the Presidents Commission was formed three years ago, it has taken an increasingly aggressive role toward reforming college athletics.
'This represents the second major thrust since our commission was formed three years ago,' said Slaughter. 'The first involved academics and infractions. This will be equally momentus and more sweeping. We want to achieve a balance between athletics and other institutional programs.'
The special convention will consider several cost-cutting measures approved by the President's Commission on Wednesday. Those measures include a reduction in the size of coaching staffs, a reduction in the amount of financial aid granted to athletes, and the length of practice sessions and playing seasons.
The Commission also passed a resolution opposing any outside financial compensation for coaches if those outside activities interfere with their regular duties.
'We believe its possible to achieve a balance so athletics can co-exist with academic programs,' said Slaughter. 'There are other positive aspects to expand on.'
Salughter added that he did not envision the cuts to reach the level of the Ivy Leauge which places strict limits on the awarding of athletic scholarships and recruiting of student-athletes.
The Presidents Commission consists of 44 chief executive officers from the nation's colleges, including 22 from Division I schools and 11 each from Division II and III.
'This is the responsibility of the chief executive officers of the institutions and no one else's,' said Ira Heyman, chancellor of California Berkeley and head of a subcommittee which drew up the resolutions calling for cuts in athletic costs.
'It's a constant struggle, the contest for resources,' said Heyman. 'It's a matter of where you want to put your money.'
Heyman said some members of the commission want to make freshmen ineligible for varsity competition in football and basketball although he said there was a lot of opposition to that idea at the present.
'John (Slaughter) and I favor this,' said Heyman, 'but we haven't gotten much support from our colleagues.'
Heyman also said the presidents were prepared squelch any chance for a playoff to determine a national football champion.
'If we're going to put a cap on the momentum (of college sports), I don't see how there could be a playoff. We've discussed it informally and I haven't found anybody who is in favor of it,' he said.
The NCAA announced Tuesday that it would be studying the possibility of staging a one-game national championship playoff for 1-A football, perhaps as early two years from now.
Purdue athletic director George King, chairman of the NCAA's postseason bowl committee, said the success of this year's Fiesta Bowl, which paired No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Miami created public interest in such a game, 'There's no doubt about that.'
LaVell Edwards of Brigham Young, the newly elected president of the American Football Coaches Association which also is meeting in San Diego, called on fellow coaches Wednesday to oppose the NCAA's cost-cutting proposals.
Making his inaugural address at a luncheon attended by nearly 3,000 coaches, Edwards said members 'are very deeply concerned' about proposals to eliminate spring football practice, cut coaching staffs and reduce the value of athletic scholarships.
'We feel very strongly what is afoot is a de-emphasis of football,' said Edwards.
Several coaches said they believe two factions within the NCAA are joining forces to push the cost-cutting measures, those who have always taken a stand against big-time college sports and those concerned about finances.
UPI Sports Editor David Tucker presented the Coaches national championship trophy to Penn State Coach Joe Paterno at the luncheon. The NCAA gets down to the official business of the convention Thursday when the delegates begin voting on 152 legislative proposals.
There's nothing on the agenda with the impact of last year's drug-testing or academic-standards legislation and many of the financial matters are expected to be postponed until the special session this summer.
'This convention recognizes it's time to pause and reflect on what has happened in the past couple of years,' said NCAA President John R. Davis, faculty representative from Oregon State. 'In my opinion, this convention doesn't have as much earth-shaking as previous conventions.'
Davis said one of the biggest issue before this year's convention is recruiting which he called 'the Achiles Heel of college football.'
An amendment offered by the NCAA Council would prevent any recruiting contacts by anyone except actual on-staff recruiters.
'Recruiting is a major part of this convention,' said Davis. 'I don't think you can legislate honesty. But, by trying to eliminate booster participation, we hope to cut down on illegal inducements.'
