Samaje Perine’s freshman season included setting the FBS record for rushing yards in a game. (AP photo)
Todd Gurley would have been on the sidelines in 2012.
College basketball’s one-and-done would be done.
Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine wouldn’t have set the FBS single-game rushing record in November.
Discussions about making freshmen ineligible in football and college basketball are on the rise among conference commissioners, with the Pac-12 and Big Ten taking the lead on the heated topic.
The Big Ten told ESPN.com that it is "gauging interest" about a "national discussion regarding a year of readiness for student-athletes."
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told CBSSports.com last week that he has "had conversations with several commissioners about (freshman ineligibility). … And I think you will see much more serious conversations about it in the coming months and year."
"If they do well because they spend more time, get more academic advising … their freshman year, they're going to graduate," Maryland president Wallace Loh told the Maryland Diamondback, the student newspaper. "And I think it's worth spending an extra year of financial support to ensure that they graduate."
The paper reported that Maryland’s “University Athletic Council met (Thursday) afternoon to discuss a proposal the Big Ten is titling ‘A Year of Readiness,’ which equates to a mandatory redshirt season to examine ‘the health of the educational experience.’ ”
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.com: “That would be one of the healthiest things we could do for college sports right now. Recruiting’s kind of a runaway train, and what a lot of people don’t consider is there’s a lot of serious pressure that’s put on some players’ shoulders that I’m not sure is healthy for them big picture-wise. … It would allow the guy to transition a little bit with a lot less fanfare and get their feet on the ground and get a good foundation established.”
Freshmen were ineligible in football and basketball until 1972.
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