The Big Ten is at least taking steps toward a discussion about ruling freshmen ineligible for both football and basketball, according to a report from The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's independent student newspaper.
The Diamondback obtained a document about the discussion, which will take place at Maryland. The Big Ten is titling this idea, “A Year of Readiness,” which equates to a mandatory redshirt season to examine “the health of the educational experience.”
MORE: SN Top 50 players | HAYES: What's wrong with NCAA? | Best teams that didn't win title
According to the report, "the document, which shows football and men’s basketball as the only sports with graduation rates less than 75 percent across the NCAA, states that a push for freshman ineligibility would benefit athletes academically."
Maryland president Wallace Loh spoke to The Diamondback on Thursday.
“What I like about the concept of the proposal is it puts right up front the basic issue: Are we basically a quasi-professional activity or primarily an educational activity?” Loh said. “And if you support it, you are basically saying very clearly the No. 1 priority is the education of the students.”
