NFCA RELEASES FALL BALL VOTE
NFCA disclosed to its full membership the conference by conference vote in favor of the four-week fall recruiting calendar, which was forwarded by D1 member schools and adopted by NCAA – over the well-known objections of travel ball teams.
However, NFCA, which provided the list to SPY on Friday morning, said it did not know the school-by-school vote within conferences – tallies were taken by the 27 members of the NFCA Head Coaches Committee – but not reported to NFCA headquarters.
The conference by conference vote, which was previously published on an NFCA website available only to D1 members, shows that 19 conferences favored, 8 opposed. The 19 conferences which favored include 178 schools; the 8 conferences which opposed include 91 schools. Thus, two-thirds (70.3%) of the 27 HCC representatives voted in favor. But, did the school by school vote reach the required two-thirds majority? The NFCA tally only shows how the 27 HCC members voted after polling their conferences. Three conferences did not vote.
Since there is no recorded school-by-school vote, one can only speculate. If every one of the 178 schools in those 19 conferences voted yes, that would yield a 66.13% in favor, a vote shy of two-thirds. But, just as some schools within those 19 conferences may have been opposed, some of the 91 schools in the conferences voting no may have favored the four week calendar. And, in the three conferences which abstained, there may have been votes for and against the proposal. Again, without an actual tally, there is no certain means of determining if the calendar was favored by a two-thirds majority of all D1 members. Certainly, opposition to the measure was well voiced in Thursday caucus meetings, but there were also schools who favored the measure.
Still, there is the mathematical possibility that, if a bare majority of schools in each of those 19 conferences voted yes, the conference HCC representative could still advise NFCA that his/her conference voted in approval. But, in this hypothetical, that would mean that 105 schools, or 39% of the D1 membership, actually voted yes. Thus arises the question in the Travel Ball caucus: how many schools actually voted yes? NFCA officials replied that they did not have the answer.
Whatever, the issue comes up for debate at Saturday’s business session. There is a question whether even an overwhelming majority in favor of changing the NCAA rule could generate an amendment for NCAA to consider in advance of fall ball 2008. Legislative proposals to NCAA were due in July. This avenue will be explored, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s vote. There are also legal remedies.
|
Conference |
Vote on Proposal |
# of schools |
America East abstain 8
Atlantic 10 yes 11
Atlantic Coast yes 8
Atlantic Sun yes 10
Big 12 yes 10
Big East yes 12
Big South yes 6
Big Ten yes 11
Big West no 8
Colonial yes 8
Conference USA yes 8
Horizon League yes 9
Ivy League yes 8
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference abstain 9
Mid America yes 12
Mid Continent (Summit) no 7
Mid Eastern yes 11
Missouri Valley yes 10
Mountain West yes 6
Northeast yes 10
Ohio Valley no 10
Pacific Coast no 6
Pacific 10 no 8
Patriot yes 6
Southeastern yes 11
Southern abstain 8
Southland no 11
Southwestern yes 10
Sun Belt no 10
Western no 7
End