NCAA ... a fox guarding the henhouse

Many sportscasters and others who expect better regulation of college football by the NCAA seem to overlook the fact that it is a creature of colleges and universities, not an independent, striving-for-objectivity regulatory organization. Kind of like the fox guarding the henhouse ... so don't expect a lot of change unless the schools want it.

From Beyond Friday Nights: College Football Recruiting for Players and Parents -- "The NCAA is a voluntary organization made up of the colleges, universities, and athletic conferences that compete in college sports. Those institutions are the members of the NCAA, and they enact rules and guidelines that govern eligibility and athletic competition. The rules and regulations are enforced by a national office ... The members and (national office) staff make up the (NCAA)."

Major rule changes adopted for Division I recruiting

They did it, for the most part. On Saturday, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted some major changes in its rules for recruiting high school players to play in Division I athletics. So effective August 1, college football programs will no longer face previous restrictions on when and how they may contact prospective recruits. The online Inside Higher Education provides a good summary of the changes and the thinking behind them, as well as a summary of much more minor changes in rules for Division II and Division III atheltics. And be sure to check out the NCAA's spin on the Division I rule changes, too.