Presidents Group Asks for Tougher Standards : NCAA: Athletes would have to earn a 2.5 grade-point average in core courses, plus meet minimum test scores, to be eligible as freshmen.

The Presidents Commission, which has become the most powerful voice in determining NCAA policy, recommended Wednesday that eligibility requirements for college freshmen be strengthened.

The commission, concluding two days of meetings in Kansas City, announced it is proposing guidelines that would require athletes to earn a 2.5 grade-point average--on a 4.0 scale--in high school core courses, in addition to meeting minimum scores on standardized tests, to be eligible as college freshmen.

Under current NCAA eligibility requirements for freshmen--popularly known as Proposition 48--athletes need only to have attained a 2.0 grade-point average in high school core courses in addition to meeting the minimum test scores.

The proposal revising Proposition 48, as well as others offered by the 44-member commission Wednesday, will be considered by representatives of NCAA schools when they meet in January in Anaheim at the NCAA’s annual convention.

Proposition 48 has been a subject of controversy since it went into effect in 1986, and the move to strengthen the rule could make the Anaheim convention one of the most contentious in recent years.

Still, the Presidents Commission has, in the last two years, been able to push through reform proposals aimed at cutting costs and reducing time demands on student-athletes.

Speaking at a news conference, William Cunningham, president of the University of Texas and the commission’s Division I chairman, said: “There’s no question that the reform agenda continues to make progress. There was a specific resolution passed (by the presidents this week) to the effect that we are going to continue on this track. And I think everybody feels very comfortable with the decisions we made (this week) and the decisions we’ve made in the past.”

In addition to proposing an increase in the required grade-point average for entering freshmen, the presidents proposed that the number of required high school core courses be raised from 11 to 13. The two new core courses would be in either English, mathematics or the natural sciences.

At the same time, the presidents proposed that adjustments be made in the most controversial element of Proposition 48, the standardized test scores.

Current rules require an athlete to score at least a 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and have a 2.0 grade-point average in the core courses to be eligible to play as a freshman.

Under the presidents’ proposal, a sliding index involving an athlete’s test score and grade-point average would be used.

A score of 800 on the SAT, for example, would allow an athlete to be eligible as an entering freshman with a grade-point average of 2.25. A score of 900 would allow an athlete to be eligible with a grade-point average of 2.0.

In another proposal related to tougher academic standards, the presidents presented legislation that would require athletes to complete 25% of their work toward a specific degree by the beginning of their third year in school, 50% by the beginning of their fourth year and 75% by the beginning of their fifth year (for athletes who had taken redshirt years).

“You’re seeing for the first time legislation put in place that will come as close to guaranteeing graduation (for athletes) as you can come,” NCAA Executive Director Dick Schultz said at the news conference.

The commission also sought to give schools better oversight of coaches’ activities through a proposal that would require coaches to receive prior approval from their presidents for all sources of outside income.

Under current guidelines, outside income earned by coaches is reported to presidents but is not subject to advance approval.

“I think there are some institutions that (if the proposal is adopted) may now be in position to say to a coach, ‘That particular source of income is not consistent with our institution’s mission,’ ” said David Warren, president of Ohio Wesleyan University and the commission’s Division III chairman.