NCAA Releases Initial List of "Diploma Mill" Schools

To commence its crackdown on so-called "diploma mills" that provide prospective college athletes with questionable class credits, the NCAA yesterday disclosed the names of 15 schools. According to the NCAA, it no longer will count credits from those 15 schools and others it's examining and expects to identify later this month. Steve Wieberg of USA Today noted: "The association's action raises questions about the college eligibility of players, most in basketball and football, coming out of those schools and needing a minimum number of credits from core high school courses to satisfy NCAA academic standards."

Wieberg's point is well-taken and the NCAA will have plenty of issues to think about. First, it will be interesting to see how the NCAA handles the eligibility of current NCAA student-athletes who attended a diploma mill school prior to college. Will these student-athletes lose their scholarships, or will they be "grandfathered in" so to speak? I suppose the NCAA could require these students to take additional course credit to make up for the core high school course credit that they never satisfied. And if they are required to take additional course credit, would they maintain their NCAA eligibility while enrolled in such courses or would they temporarily lose eligibility during that period of time? The same issues must also be addressed with respect to students currently attending these diploma mill schools who have already accepted college scholarships.

The future impact of the NCAA's action really depends upon how many athletes, high school and college, will ultimately be affected when this is all said and done. According to Weiberg, NCAA officials were uncertain how many college-bound athletes may be affected by the initial listing, though NCAA vice-president Kevin Lennon said it was "probably not a lot." However, Lennon said that the next list is expected to include schools with more prominent sports programs. Both affected schools and athletes can appeal the association's ruling, and Lennon said separate appeals committees are expected to be filled in the next two weeks.

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