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COMPLIANCE CORNER "THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN" VERSE I "The Times They are A-Changin" for the NCAA. As Bob Dylan wrote and sang about in 1964, the same can now be said for the fu- ture of the NCAA. In the next two Cavalier Corner issues, we will write about some of the changes the NCAA has proposed and will be proposing for the future of the Association and Membership. In August 2011, new NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert as- sembled 50 college and university Presidents from the NCAA membership to discuss the current state of the NCAA. As a result of the meeting, President Emmert gathered five working groups to review change in the following areas: student-athlete well-being; academic performance; NCAA bylaws; the enforcement and pen- alty process; and fiscal sustainability in Division I. Almost immediately, the student-athlete well-being group ad- opted several new rules at their October 2011 meeting. Those changes included permitting member institutions to provide mul- tiple-year scholarships to student-athletes (the former rule only al- lowed one-year scholarships), permitting full-scholarship student- athletes to receive an additional $2,000 cost of living expense and permitting an institution to provide more than five years of athlet- ics aid to help a student-athlete receive their first undergraduate degree. Subsequently, the Division I membership defeated the $2,000 cost of living expense during an "override" vote in January. The NCAA working group is developing alternative proposals to the $2,000 cost of living expense for the Division I membership to review in May. However, the Division I membership did accept the ability to provide multi-year scholarships to prospective and current student-athletes and to assist student-athlete's to earn their first undergraduate degree, even if the student-athlete needs to take courses outside the former five-year window. The academic performance group also immediately adopted new standards for incoming first-year student-athletes, junior-college transfer student-athletes and adopted team academic performance standards to access NCAA Championships in their respective sport. Beginning in either Aug. 1, 2015 or Aug. 1, 2016 (the NCAA Board will discuss in April), a first-year student-athlete must earn a minimum 2.3 core course grade point average in high school with a corresponding SAT score of 1080 or ACT score of 93 in order to receive athletics aid, practice and compete for UVa. If a first-year student-athlete does not meet the new stan- dard for competition, they could receive athletics aid and partici- pate in practice on grounds if they earn a 2.00 core course grade point average and corresponding 1020 SAT score or 93 ACT score. This new standard for not competing in the first year is called, "The Academic Preparedness Year." Additionally, a first-year student- athlete must successfully complete 10 of 16 total required core courses before the start of their senior year in high school, and seven of the 10 successfully completed courses must be in English, math and science. Effective immediately, any two-year college transfer student must earn a 2.50 transferrable grade point average (up from 2.00 transferrable grade point average) along with limiting the number of transferrable physical education courses to two in order to be eligible at a Division I institution. Finally, the academic performance group established a minimum 930 Academic Progress Rate (approximately a fifty percent gradu- ation success rate of student-athletes on that team) in order for that team to compete in their respective NCAA Sport's Championship. You will be pleased to know that UVA does not have any teams that have fallen below 930. In the next issue, we will provide you an update on the remaining three working group's recommendations and proposals. So, stay tuned as "The Times They are A-Changin" for the NCAA Division I membership. Eric Baumgartner Associate Athletics Director for Compliance Rachel Clark, a second year from Los Angeles, and a member of the volleyball team, was the student-athlete representative at the VAF social in Roanoke on April 12. Donors to the VAF provide student-athletes, like Rachel, the opportunity to compete and study at the university. The following is a copy of Rachel's speech from the evening. I am a politics major with a media studies minor. I would like to thank those of the UVa athletic administration who so kindly invited me to speak at such a gratifying event. On behalf of all the student-athletes here at UVa, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the unconditional love and sup- port you have shown us. There are not enough words to show our appreciation for all of your gracious donations. Without all of you, our experience at UVa would not be nearly as fulfilling or influential as it is. When asked to speak at tonight's event on both my academic and athletic experiences here at UVa, my first thought was — how am I going to condense my feelings into only five minutes? This being said, I could go on for days on how blessed I am to be at such an outstanding academic university and part of such a strong athletic family. 6 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER Being thousands of miles away from home, my initial fear was the lack of com- fort I would find on the opposite side of the country. Needless to say, that fear was extin- guished very early. The level of trust, honesty, and care I have received from my coaching staff, professors, athletic directors, medical staff, academic advisors, and the Virginia Athletics Foundation has been phenomenal. There is such a feeling of genuine care that I have not once felt alone or unheard. Here, all of our voices matter and there is not one per- son that I have met in my time here at UVa, that does not have our best interests at heart. To my coaches who have taught me persever- ance and the importance of hard work and dedication, my academic advisors who have instilled the importance of time management and being fully engaged in my work, the medical staff who have worked day in and day out to ensure my health, to the athletic administration who believes in surrounding us with only the best, to all of you here to- night who have made me feel at home with your undying faith in each and every one of our gifts, I thank you. These have truly been the best two years of my life. When I graduate, I will be proud to say that regardless of where I am from, I will also be a Virginia Cavalier. Thank you.