How's this for March Madness: A new NCPA study shows that 169 basketball players disappeared from the 2009 NCAA tournament teams, a reflection of dissatisfaction and lack of job security. Read more here.
View the entire study, including side by side school comparisons here.
Norco, CA—In conjunction with the start of the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, today the National College Players Association (NCPA), formerly known as the Collegiate Athletes Coalition (CAC), released results of a groundbreaking study which revealed athlete turnover rates of the top NCAA men’s basketball teams.
“I would strongly urge all recruits to consider a program’s turnover rate as a factor when choosing a team to play for,” stated NCPA President Ramogi Huma. “Turnover rates are an indicator of a college athlete’s job security and job satisfaction; high turnover rates should be a red flag to recruits and their parents.”
NCAA coaches typically offer “four-year scholarships” to recruits even though NCAA rules prevent them from putting these offers in writing. The NCAA only permits schools only to offer single year scholarships that may be revoked at the end of each year for any reason.
The NCPA continues to push the NCAA to change rules to allow schools to put multiple year scholarship offers promised in writing.
“How can the NCAA use its educational mission to justify its nonprofit status while over 30% of players are falling off rosters at various schools across the nation?” Huma questioned. “It is unfortunate to think that many of the players we’re cheering for during this year’s tournament will disappear at the end of their season.”
“There are many reasons why players do not return to the team, and none of them reflect well on the athletic program,” said Huma. “Athletes may disappear as a result of having their scholarship revoked, transfer to another school because expectations were not met, become academically ineligible, or quit the team, among other reasons.”
The NCPA compared the 2007-08 rosters with the 2008-09 rosters for every team that entered the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the exception of Northern Iowa, the information for all 2007-08 rosters were taken from the NCAA web site: http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careerteam. All 2008-09 rosters were taken from each school’s web site. Players listed as seniors on the 2007-08 rosters and players drafted by the NBA in 2008 were not counted as missing. Players listed as transfers were identified as transfers on Rivals.com, but because Rivals.com does not have all transfers listed, overall transfer numbers are somewhat unclear.
“Turnover rates do not explain the reasons for why players are vanishing from so many rosters. It’s up to universities to explain the ‘whys’ to recruits and their parents,” stated Huma. For the first time, recruits have some objective measure of what to expect at each school that is trying to get them to commit.
Since 2001, the NCPA has established itself as the voice for college athletes, and has helped bring forth important reforms including:
• Helped establish a $10 million fund to assist former athletes who wish to complete their undergraduate degree or attend a graduate program
• Elimination of limits on health care for college athletes
• Increase in the NCAA death benefit from $10,000 to $25,000
• Expansion of the NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Policy so that college athletes who suffer permanent, debilitating injuries can receive adequate home health care
• Implementation of key safety guidelines to help prevent deaths during workouts
View the entire study, including side by side school comparisons here.