OpEd: #SameGameSameRules – The Time to Level the Playing Field is Now
Dr. Christopher J. Parker
President & CEO / National Junior College Athletic Association
March Madness is well underway and for many sports enthusiasts it is the most wonderful time of the year. In this year's NCAA Division I men's and women's tournaments there are 215 student-athletes and coaches participating that have roots competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). And if you ask many of them, their time competing at the two-year level was life-changing and pivotal to the platform on which they now shine.
For the 111 student-athletes, they represent a population of approximately 85,000 of their peers competing at the two-year level each year, many of whom aspire to compete and pursue an education at an NCAA Division I institution. Unfortunately for some, that dream will not become a reality because of NCAA Division I rules that place a higher burden of academic requirements for eligibility. The NJCAA doesn't oppose eligibility requirements, we have our own for our student-athletes. What we do stand in opposition to is a higher requirement for two-year college transfers, and fewer guarantees, as compared to those transferring four-year to four-year at a Division I school. If it's the same game, then why are there different standards?
At its most basic level, one of the main issues is a Division I requirement of a 2.5 GPA for two-year college transfers, while a four-year transfer is required to have between a 1.8 – 2.0 depending on their years of enrollment, all other factors being equal. Why? When four-year transfers often have an abundance of academic resources to succeed compared to a two-year transfer, why is there such a higher entry point? Or when in some states, general education curriculums in years one and two mirror each other at their two or four-year colleges such that four-year colleges automatically accept those completed credits, the question remains why the requirement to outperform? And why does a transfer to Division I from another four-year college at any level have their athletic scholarship guaranteed until their clock runs out or earns an undergraduate degree, but not for a two-year transfer?
While some of these rules have been longstanding within the NCAA, our hope is that these issues have simply been overlooked in the tornado of change with NIL, transfer portal, litigation and the like. But the time for change is now, and with a fresh look in this new landscape of higher education, reasonable and noble leadership must prevail. The answer is simple, make the requirements and the benefits the same and let the institutions decide.
There is nothing junior about two-year college athletics, it's simply the right fit at the right time for so many and they deserve the same opportunity to earn a ticket to their own March Madness. Who's the next Greg Sankey, Sheryl Swoopes, Brad Underwood, or Yolette McPhee-McCuin that may get left behind without change now! For them, opportunities started within the NJCAA and look where they are now.
Support #SameGameSameRules Here!
Yours in sport and education,
Dr. Christopher J. Parker
NJCAA President & CEO