Much has been made of the NCAA's proposal to give the five "power conferences" more autonomy, but until now the other side has not expressed what they want in the deal.

According to the Associated Press, the presidents of the schools in the Pac-12 drafted a letter to the other four power conferences detailing a 10-point proposal for changes they would like to see. The NCAA has made it known they want to give more decision-making power to schools in the conferences that make the most money by the start of this football season.

"We acknowledge the core objectives could prove to be expensive and controversial, but the risks of inaction or moving too slowly are far greater," the Pac-12 presidents wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. "The time for tinkering with the rules and making small adjustments is over."

Michael Crow, Arizona State University's president, said he was not in favor of some of the proposals the NCAA was making. Among the proposals made by the school presidents are things power conference commissioners have wanted for several years, like student-athlete stipends.

"We're not happy with the nature of the debate out there. And we felt like our voice is not well understood," Crow told the AP. "We've been talking about the need for reform for a long time, and so in a sense our thinking has coalesced.

"There's just so much thinking going on relative to the NCAA. So we thought it was time to say, 'Well, this is what we think the NCAA should be, and this is how we think it should work.'"

From the AP's report, here is a full summary of the Pac-12 presidents' proposals made in the letter.

  • Permit institutions to make scholarship awards up to the full cost of attendance.
  • Provide reasonable ongoing medical or insurance assistance for student-athletes who suffer an incapacitating injury in competition or practice. Continue efforts to reduce the incidence of disabling injury.
  • Guarantee scholarships for enough time to complete a bachelor's degree, provided that the student remains in good academic standing.
  • Decrease the demands placed on the athlete in-season, correspondingly increase the time available for studies and campus life, by preventing the abuse of organized "voluntary" practices to circumvent the limit of 20 hours per week and more realistically assess the time away from campus and other commitments during the season.
  • Similarly decrease time demands out of season by reducing out-of-season competition and practices, and by considering shorter seasons in specific sports.
  • Further strengthen the Academic Progress Rate requirements for postseason play.
  • Address the "one and done" phenomenon in men's basketball. If the NBA and its Players Association are unable to agree to raising the age limit for players, consider restoring the freshman ineligibility rule in men's basketball.
  • Provide student-athletes a meaningful role in governance at the conference and NCAA levels.
  • Adjust existing restrictions so that student-athletes preparing for the next stage of their careers are not unnecessarily deprived of the advice and counsel of agents and other competent professionals, but without professionalizing intercollegiate athletics.
  • Liberalize the current rules limiting the ability of student-athletes to transfer between institutions.
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