Review of international players to expand
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Advertiser Staff
The NCAA says it expects to review the eligibility of foreign players in other sports after its current look at men's basketball, a spokesman said yesterday.
The NCAA this month sent letters to 52 Division I schools concerning the eligibility of 62 international players or about 18 percent of men's basketball players from foreign countries who participated in the 2000-01 season.
"There is no specific (timetable)" for the other sports, said Jane Jankowski, NCAA spokeswoman. "At some point we will look at other sports."
Jankowski said wo-men's basketball and (men's and women's) volleyball, track and field and ice hockey have been identified as among the sports with a sizeable makeup of international players.
Bill Saum, NCAA director of agent, amateurism and gambling activities, told the NCAA News, "As recruiting has increased internationally, so have inequities between domestic and international (athletes). We need to make sure we are addressing domestic and international (athletes) consistently. This is an issue that has been gaining momentum for several years. It's time to address it head-on."
International players, of whom the NCAA says there were 340 in men's Division I basketball this past season, made up approximately eight percent of the total roster spots, according to the NCAA.
Jankowski said she did not have any reliable current numbers for overall participation by foreign athletes in all sports.
The NCAA says it wants to "clean up current issues and prevent further inconsistencies so that a level playing field is maintained when it comes to the recruitment of international (athletes)."
