CollegeSportsInfo.com News: NCAA and NAIA Consider Merger

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

NCAA and NAIA Consider Merger

In sports lingo, they're David and Goliath — one a struggling organization that few fans have heard of, the other a moneymaking machine whose teams vie for championships on national television.

Now the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, longtime rivals that are the two main governing bodies in college sports, are taking unprecedented steps toward working together.

A combination of factors is pushing the groups closer, including the NCAA's recent nixing of plans for a fourth division to accommodate new members, the increasing cost of travel, and a desire to improve the recruiting and playing experience for all college athletes.

In recent weeks, leaders from both groups have met to discuss a variety of ideas, including allowing teams from the two associations to schedule more games against each other, joining together to reduce health-insurance and other administrative expenses, and establishing new recruiting standards to ensure that high-school players can't renege on their commitments to one association over the other.

While any changes are probably months away, the moves could save athletics departments tens of millions of dollars every year and thaw relations between many programs.

The most obvious change could come on the playing fields. Although many NAIA and NCAA programs are located in the same cities, they rarely compete. That's because the NAIA, whose members are mostly small private colleges and universities, is widely considered to offer a level of competition inferior to that of the NCAA. In fact, NCAA teams that play many games against NAIA programs can harm their chances of qualifying for postseason play.

Jim Carr, the NAIA's president, wants the NCAA to make it easier for programs from the two associations to compete more often to save on travel costs. While it is still unclear whether the NCAA will change its championship guidelines, Mr. Carr is encouraged by what he has heard lately.

"It seems silly that schools are right across the street from each other and can't play because of ratings criteria," he said. "We're excited to be having a dialogue with the NCAA to help make that change."

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posted by Matt Peloquin # 2:10 PM

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