Draft Rules on NCAA’s Agenda

The NCAA will consider changing its rules to allow college football and basketball underclassmen to be drafted by professional teams, then change their minds and return to school.

The changes are part of a series of proposals that will be considered by the NCAA’s Division I Management Council when it meets in Denver starting Monday.

The proposal might affect decisions by NFL and NBA teams that draft underclassmen knowing that returning to school is an option for them. Under current NCAA rules, once a player is drafted, he can’t play his sport in college again.

A key issue is whether an NBA team would retain rights to a player if he returns to school, said Ryan Blake, the NBA’s assistant director of scouting.

“Teams will be saying, ‘Why would I pick an underclassman in the second round or the low first round?’ because you don’t know if he’s going to come out,” Blake said.

Under current rules, underclassmen have the option of making themselves available for the NBA draft and withdrawing a week before the event. Underclassmen can also return to school after the draft if they’re not selected.

The change would allow a player to be selected by a team, then change his mind within 30 days of the draft and return to school with his eligibility intact.

The NCAA’s rules with the NFL are more strict. An underclassman loses his college eligibility if he makes himself available for the draft. The football proposal would give underclassmen the same options as basketball players.

Pro Football

The Philadelphia Eagles withdrew the franchise tag on Jeremiah Trotter, allowing the all-pro linebacker to become an unrestricted free agent.

Under the franchise tag, Trotter would have been forced to accept a one-year contract believed to be worth about $5.5 million--based on an average of the league’s five highest paid linebackers.

Trotter had said he wasn’t pleased to have the franchise tag and that he would rather be traded.

The Chicago Bears released left tackle Blake Brockermeyer in a cost-cutting move, but plan to continue negotiations with the seven-year veteran.... Linebacker Earl Holmes, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers in tackles last season, signed a five-year contract worth a reported $17.5 million with the Cleveland Browns.... Offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott re-signed with the New York Jets after sitting out last season.... Linebacker James Farrior, who led the Jets in tackles last season, agreed to terms with the Steelers on a three-year contract.

Miscellany

Dee Brown was hired as coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle after recently finishing his NBA career with the Orlando Magic.

Brown left his job as a special assistant for the Magic. He played seven games for Orlando this season, filling in when the team needed backcourt depth.

Meghann Shaughnessy overcame a match point in the second set to defeat Russia’s Anastasia Myskina, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Sarasota Open tennis tournament in Florida.

Shaughnessy will face Russia’s Tatiana Panova in the semifinals. Panova, seeded 10th, beat Slovakia’s Janette Husarova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

The No. 2 UCLA men’s tennis team, missing three of its top players, lost to No. 22 California, 4-3, at Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Oklahoma defeated defending champion and top-ranked Ohio State by 0.650 of a point in the NCAA men’s gymnastics championships at Norman, Okla.

The Long Beach Ice Dogs lost to the San Diego Gulls in a shootout, 4-3, at San Diego.

Ireland’s World Cup soccer hopes were dealt a blow when Manchester United captain Roy Keane was ruled out of action for four to six weeks with a torn hamstring.

Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold received the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.

Employees at CNN/SI, which has been on the air for five years, were told that the last day of operation will be May 15. AOL Time Warner earlier announced that CNN/SI would cease operation at some point. AOL Time Warner and the NBA plan to launch a new channel, tentatively to be called the All Sports Network, this fall.

Passings

Theodore “Tex” Robinson, a star running back at Temple in the 1950s and later a Canadian Football League player, died Wednesday. He was 69.