Within nearly every scandal across the NCAA, there is an issue of compliance, whether it be between the players, coaches, administrators or the NCAA itself. It was these issues of compliance—and the rules in place to combat them—that members of the UW Athletic Board focused on at their meeting Oct. 17.
Members of the UW Athletics Compliance Office presented specific recruiting guidelines and limits for each sport as well as academic requirements for athletes and scholarships to the board. The football team is allowed 85 full-ride scholarships, the men’s basketball team gets 13 and the women’s basketball team gets 15, according to the office’s representatives.
The chairman of the Athletic Board, Mark Covaleski, discussed a recent Big Ten meeting where the focus was also on compliance because of upcoming changes across the conference.
Specifically, Covaleski said the conference talked about ensuring players receive all four years of their scholarship, providing insurance for injured athletes and granting scholarships for former athletes who return to finish their degrees.
“It’s not going to have any immediate impact, like you’re going to see it tomorrow, but I think it’s a sea of change,” Covaleski said, noting the upcoming NCAA changes.
UW already has many of the accommodations that the conference will soon require and the board acknowledged that they are helping to lead the way in the Big Ten.
“Right now, we’re doing that out of the generosity of our heart, but more and more we’re going to be doing it because somebody’s pushing us to do it,” Covaleski said.
The overall message, according to Covaleski and Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez, from the conference and its commissioner Jim Delany was to reinforce that amateurism is the right model for college sports by doing more for players.
Alvarez also gave a report on the current state of Wisconsin athletics, recognizing each team for its accomplishments so far this season. The board then saw a presentation on some aesthetic improvements to various locations around the athletic department.
The board is scheduled to meet again Dec. 12.
