NCAA Exempts Frosh Teams From Scholarship Limitation

The Standing Committee on Sports at Harvard last week revealed an important National College Athletic Association decision on scholarships and student athletes.

Formerly any athlete who received financial aid and played a sport was counted as a member of the varsity team even if he played for a freshman team. The NCAA sets limits on the amount of scholarship allowed per varsity team.

At a February meeting in San Francisco NCAA officials voted to make a distinction between freshman and varsity athletes, in scholarship considerations.

New Rulings

The new ruling states in part, "The recruited student athlete who receives aid unrelated to his athletic ability need not be counted until he participates in varsity competition..."

Under this ruling, the Ivies can continue freshman programs. Most other colleges abandoned these programs when freshmen became eligible for varsity competition under a policy adopted by the NCAA three years ago.

Harvard's varsity track team is the only Ivy team that still goes over the scholarship cut-off limits, the Standing Committee reported. Athletic Department heads will have to decide whether the team will comply to the NCAA mandate.

A spokesman from the Athletic Department who preferred to remain anonymous said last week, "We are concerned with the matter of principle involved. Will we allow another body to restrict our athletic policy? This time it seems we have to take a softer approach."