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The NCAA's Division I Football Licensing Task Force made numerous recommendations on Thursday involving oversight and certification of bowl games, including stronger academic standards that may make it tough for some schools to become bowl eligible.
Co-chaired by Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman, the task force has proposed a ban from bowls for Division I teams that don't reach 930 - out of 1,000 - on the Academic Progress Rate, which measures academic performance through eligibility and retention.
Perlman said the new standard could make it tough for the NCAA to fill slots for all 35 of its bowl games. The NCAA already has adopted the benchmark for basketball and other sports, though no timetable for implementation has been established.
The task force also is recommending a new certification process that would put more responsibility on the CEOs and boards of the sponsoring bowl organization, with the NCAA staff conducting periodic audits to determine if the criteria are being met. The proposal would mean an end to the NCAA Postseason Bowl Licensing Subcommittee, which has licensed bowls since 2004.
The task force has also called for all bowls to be played during a three-week window to fall in line with the academic calendar so student-athletes don't miss as much time in class, along with policies to regulate advertising and to look at whether to continue the three-year ban on new bowls.
The task force, formed in April by NCAA President Mark Emmert in response to the Fiesta Bowl's myriad of problems, will report its recommendations to the Division I Board of Directors on Oct. 27 in Indianapolis.
