The NCAA looks set to make a big change regarding the eligibility requirements for incoming students, under new guidance that was distributed to colleges earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The most significant of these changes will affect student-athletes who \u201centered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that participates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simply put, if you have played in a professional basketball league, it will be highly unlikely that you will have your college eligibility reinstated. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the end goal of this new change is the correct one, the timing of this abrupt change isn\u2019t fair,\u201d said NBL Champion and former college standout Pete Hooley.<\/p>\n
The initial document has listed the MLB, NBA, NFL, Premier League and WNBA as the prime examples of players who have been part of those leagues that will be ineligible from returning to college, while other top basketball leagues are expected to fall into that same category. <\/p>\n
Founder of Draft Express, Jonathan Givony, took to social media shortly after the news broke about the looming changes. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe NCAA’s new (very poorly timed) rule sends a clear message: international players are no longer welcome in the college game. ACB, France, Italy, Australian NBL and anyone who’s ever played for a EuroLeague team, even for next to nothing, are suddenly permanently ineligible?\u201d<\/p>\n
It is currently uncertain how quickly or how forcefully these changes will be brought in, which could have a cloud weighing over the future of some of the NBL\u2019s brightest young stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys like Owen Foxwell and Tristan Devers, should not be suddenly punished for taking advantage of the ridiculous rules the NCAA originally had in place,\u201d Hooley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese young kids have made huge career decisions based on the fact that the NCAA had been allowing them to do so. So, any immediate change that would leave them high and dry is completely unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foxwell and Devers were two of the first NBL players from last season to commit to a college program, with the former Phoenix guard heading to Wisconsin and Devers to Washington. <\/p>\n
As those two had already ticked all the required boxes to become eligible, there’s hope they will still be allowed to continue forward, as colleges have been aware of this since May 8, and yet continued to recruit the young Australians. <\/p>\n
However, other potential young stars like Mojave King, Ben Henshall and even former NBL Next Stars could suddenly be in limbo.<\/p>\n
The NCAA’s new (very poorly timed) rule sends a clear message: international players are no longer welcome in the college game.<\/p>\n
ACB, France, Italy, Australian NBL and anyone who’s ever played for a EuroLeague team, even for next to nothing, are suddenly permanently ineligible? https:\/\/t.co\/n8qBO9zQ3j<\/a><\/p>\n