RON MALY HAS BEEN WATCHING THE PARADE GO BY FOR A LONG TIME. THIS IS ONE OF HIS WEBSITES.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Big Ten Could Turn the Clock Back To the 1970s. The Conference Is Seeking Feedback from Its Members About the Possibility Of Making Freshmen Ineligible for Competition As They Adjust To College Life. Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz Says He Favors the Idea. 'Recruiting's Kind Of a Runaway Train, and What a Lot Of People Don't Consider Is There's a Lot Of Serious Pressure That's Put On Some Players' Shoulders That I'm Not Sure Is Healthy for Them,' He Says

The Big Ten is seeking feedback from its members about the possibility of making freshmen athletes ineligible for competition as they adjust to college life.
 
Kirk Ferentz

In a statement to ESPN.com, the league says it is gauging interest from its members about a "national discussion regarding a year of readiness for student-athletes."

The league has provided background to its members about such a step but has made no official proposal at this point.

The Diamondback, the student newspaper at Maryland, reported Thursday that the Big Ten is circulating a document titled, "A Year of Readiness," which explores making freshmen in football and men's basketball ineligible for competition.

Maryland's athletic council met Thursday afternoon to discuss the document, The Diamondback reported.

"If they do well because they spend more time, get more academic advising ... their freshman year, they're going to graduate," Maryland president Wallace Loh told the newspaper. "And I think it's worth spending an extra year of financial support to ensure that they graduate."

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told CBSSports.com last week that he has discussed freshman ineligibility with several commissioners and that there will be "much more serious conversations about it in the coming months and year."

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, a former Iowa athletic director,  told CBSSports.com that there's "growing interest" in debating the possibility.

Freshmen were ineligible to compete in all NCAA sports until 1972. Some athletes enrolling for the 2016 academic year will take academic redshirt years as initial eligibility standards increase.

Big Ten football coaches and athletic directors didn't discuss freshman ineligibility at their recent business meeting, but they expect to do so in the coming months. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.com that he favors freshman ineligibility.

"That would be one of the healthiest things we could do for college sports right now," Ferentz said. 

"Recruiting's kind of a runaway train, and what a lot of people don't consider is there's a lot of serious pressure that's put on some players' shoulders that I'm not sure is healthy for them big picture-wise. ... It would allow the guy to transition a little bit with a lot less fanfare and get their feet on the ground and get a good foundation established."

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith doesn't think the freshman eligibility policy should change based solely on some men's basketball players spending just one year in college before turning pro.

"One-and-done is a small percentage -- it's not even 1 percent of our student-athletes when you take all the schools," Smith told ESPN.com. "That's way off base to me. Do we have challenges with young people who aren't really prepared the way they should be to attack college education? No doubt about it.

"I have not been a proponent of freshman ineligibility, but I keep my mind open that maybe it's something we have to consider."

--Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com