Following a federal investigation into fraud in college basketball, the NCAA announced that it is making ‘substantive changes’ to the way it operates, forming a Commission on College Basketball.

“Individuals who break the trust on which college sports is based have no place here,” NCAA President Mark Emmert stated. “While I believe the vast majority of coaches follow the rules, the culture of silence in college basketball enables bad actors, and we need them out of the game.”

“We must take decisive action,” Emmert added. “This is not a time for half-measures or incremental change.”

Consequently, the NCAA Board of Governors and the Division I Board of Directors has endorsed the formation of a Commission on College Basketball. This commission will be chaired by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who will work with Emmert in “examining critical aspects of a system that clearly is not working,” Emmert stated.

The commission will be composed of leaders from higher education, college sports, government, and the business world, as well as accomplished former student-athletes.

Specifically, the commission will focus on three areas:

The relationship of the NCAA national office, member institutions, student-athletes and coaches with outside entities, “including apparel companies and other commercial entities, to establish an environment where they can support programs in a transparent way, but not become an inappropriate or distorting influence on the game, recruits or their families.”

The NCAA’s relationship with the NBA, and the challenging effect the NBA’s so-called “one and done” rule has had on college basketball, including how the NCAA can change its own eligibility rules to address that dynamic.

Creating the right relationship between the universities and colleges of the NCAA and its national office to promote transparency and accountability. The commission will be asked to evaluate whether the appropriate degree of authority is vested in the current enforcement and eligibility processes, and whether the collaborative model provides the investigative tools, cultural incentives and structures to ensure exploitation and corruption cannot hide in college sports.

The NCAA said that this commission will begin its work in November and will deliver its recommendations on legislative, policy, and structural changes to the boards for action at their April meetings.

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