Earlier this summer, Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes ran into one of the school's men's soccer players at a donor event for the university. The student-athlete, there as part of a student ambassador group, was quick to tell Barnes about why he was spending his summer break doing extra-curricular activities.
"As we talked, he said, 'Mr. Barnes, the whole time I wanted to do this. It's great for me to get involved in this. It'll be great for my resume. It'll be great for networking and, just overall, my development,' " Barnes said. "He said, 'But the only way that I could do it is to get my hours that I have to commit to it in the summer.' Because once fall starts, between the demands of his particular sport ... and the academic rigor, there was no way he could get the hours of commitment in."
If a joint initiative from the Power Five conferences passes at the January 2017 NCAA convention, a conundrum like this might be less of an issue for future student-athletes starting in the 2017-18 school year.
The commissioners of the conferences announced "an agreement in concept on changes they will propose that are intended to give students who play sports more time off," according to a news release. The hope is these changes will give student-athletes better balance in their lives _ from more time for academics, work experience and travel to just simply additional rest.
"Flex 21" aims to provide student athletes with 21 more days free from athletic responsibilities during the academic year, but it also grants flexibility to the athletes, coaches and athletic directors to tailor these needs to each sport.
"We believe we have found the right balance between helping students participate in sports while also providing them with more down time," the Power Five commissioners said in a joint statement. "Different sports have different demands, and we think the concepts we've agreed to will help tens of thousands of students achieve more balance as they pursue their academic and athletic commitments."
The proposed changes come in four categories. For in-season, the current rule demands one day off from athletic-related activities per week, but the change would make a travel day for the sport not count as an off day. For the academic year, the current rule allows two days off per week in the offseason, while the change would grant 14 more days off to be used in our outside of the season. For the postseason, recovery period varies by sport, but the change proposes a seven-day break at the conclusion of the season _ though there is an exception for athletes training for elite national or international competitions and spring sports that lead into summer vacation. For overnight, the current rule says there can't be athletic activities between midnight and 5 a.m.; the new rule asks for an eight-hour block of free time any time between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Barnes said these proposed changes were the results of surveys at the university level, conference level and NCAA level as well as focus groups and feedback from student-athletes and coaches.
Barnes said the first time changes like these made it to the 2016 convention floor, they were hurried and too "one size fits all." And while there might be tweaks to the proposed changes ahead of voting at the 2017 convention, he thinks this is a good start to giving student-athletes a more "well-rounded experience and other opportunities outside the sport."
"In general, I like the direction we're heading. The proof is in the outcomes," Barnes said. "If, truly, our student-athletes are asking for more time to engage in other activities, and in some ways rest ... let's measure that and create an assessment tool that really gives us some concrete information on how effective these proposals are."
While implementing these proposed changes is more than a year out, Barnes said as long as communication between coach, student-athlete and athletic director is open, the transition shouldn't be too painful.
"We recognize there will need to be a level of flexibility and reasonableness in carrying out these changes, especially with regard to travel, but students deserve time off and we want athletic departments to work in a sensible and appropriate way to provide it," the commissioners said per a joint statement. "We want administrators to have some degree of flexibility in implementing these rules, but they must be mindful that rest is important to a student's health, in addition to their athletic and academic performance."
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said in a statement: "I am pleased that there is consensus across the Autonomy Five conferences that we need to take steps to address the time management concerns our student-athletes have as they balance the rigors of academics and athletics at the very highest level. We have collectively listened to our student-athletes and are taking necessary steps to address their concerns. The next step is a critical one, as we advance this concept for deliberation and action at the January 2017 NCAA Convention."
