New Rules Allow Players To Return After Declaring For Draft

The NCAA announced some significant rule changes today aimed at cleaning up college basketball, and they include such things as allowing a player to return to his college team if they’re not chosen in the NBA draft, and even the ability to sign with an agent if designated an “elite” player.

The NCAA on its website listed these five rules changes that also include more official campus visits, a certification program for agents and the requirement that if a player leaves to play professionally but later returns to finish his or her degree, the schools must pay all costs.

Here are the new rules, per the NCAA website:

• High school basketball student-athletes can make more frequent campus visits paid for by colleges (referred to as official visits). The visits can begin as soon as the summer before their junior year.
• Elite high school basketball recruits and college players can be represented by an agent who can help them make informed decisions about going pro.
• Agents must be certified by an NCAA program with standards for behavior and consequences for violations.
• Student-athletes will be able to participate in the NBA draft and return to school if undrafted, pending future action from the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. Currently, college athletes who are interested in going pro can declare for the draft and attend the NBA combine, but must withdraw no more than 10 days after the combine to stay eligible.
• Division I schools will be required to pay for tuition, fees and books for men’s and women’s basketball players who left school and returned later to the same school to earn their degree. The NCAA is establishing a fund for schools who are otherwise unable to provide this aid.

“These changes will promote integrity in the game, strengthen accountability and prioritize the interests of student-athletes over every other factor,” The NCAA stated on its site.

While changing rules to add flexibility for players and recruits, the NCAA also beefed up its enforcement system and strengthened penalties for violating its rules. There will be “more rigorous certification requirements to ensure transparency in operations and finances to help address issues of corruption and help support student-athletes as they make decisions about their future,” the NCAA said.

There will also be changes to the way the NCAA investigates violations, as independent groups will be created to prevent the appearance of conflicts of interest. For further details on all rules changes, you can go to the NCAA website by clicking here