Rockne's Roundtable

Sorry Lou my question doesn't relate to the SEC with their lenient disciplinary actions on drugs. It does however relate to the SEC's manipulation in over signing and the 85 scholarship cap for football. What can the NCAA do to prevent this ridiculous disadvantage for teams that are ethical and care about the scholarship athletes? Maybe a better question would be WILL THEY EVER put a stop to this? IMO this is one of the absolute biggest problems with NCAA football. Lou, what can be done to police this in your opinion?

Arahop -

Last year the NCAA took the first step in finding a way to fight against over signing by allowing teams to sign players to a four-year scholarship. Schools are not required to offer a full four years, but it is something that could obviously be a selling point in recruiting. If enough talent starts opting for teams that offer the security of a full four years at school instead of a year a time, it might force some of the rampant over-signers to change their ways.

Dan, so even nd football scholarships are year to year? i dont recall a player ever losing his scholarship due to production?

That's correct. The NCAA hasn't allowed more than a one year scholarship by rule in the past. I can't remember any Notre Dame player losing his scholarship for on-the-field performance either. I was pretty surprised to see so many schools against the idea of multi-year scholarships when it was raised this winter. Several of the schools were very up front about not wanting to keep players that don't fit in their system. I attached a link from a USA Today story that ran in late December that details a couple of schools and their objections.