NCAA Releases Constitution Draft; Would Give Schools More Power over Revenue, Rules

The NCAA released a draft for a new constitution Monday that would limit the power of the governing body and give more authority to the schools, per Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.

The new NCAA constitution is currently only 18.5 pages, down from the 43 pages of the current constitution.

Among the more significant changes, the system would allow each of the three divisions to govern themselves. As Russo notes, Division I would have "the autonomy to reshape everything from how revenue is shared to how rules are made and enforced."

There are more than 1,200 member schools in NCAA, but Division I stands out with college football and basketball each generating significant income. 

The division between schools could even lead to a breakaway fourth division among the top programs. 

"There’s a huge gap in Division I with schools roughly with $175 million budgets and schools with $4 million budgets," West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said. "A lot of times we’ve tried to legislate from an equality standpoint. Is there possibly a new division? Is there a Division Four? Do some schools break away and make a Division Four, and what is the membership requirements?"

Lyons is the chairman of the Division I Council, a member of the constitution committee and a member of the Division I Transformation Committee.

The new constitution limits the power of the current NCAA Board of Governors, dropping the number of members from 21 to nine. Student-athletes could also feature as voting members of the board and divisional leadership bodies.

Among other changes include the embracing of new name, image and likeness rules while standing firm against pay-for-play. 

"Student-athletes may not be compensated by a member institution for participating in a sport, but may receive educational benefits and benefit from commercialization through use of their name, image and likeness in accordance with guidelines established by their NCAA division," the constitution states among its principles. 

The full NCAA membership will vote on the constitution in January.