NCAA bans 7on7 competition from campuses nationwide

by Christopher Lyke
Texas HS Football Chief Editor

The recent moves of Texas A&M  moving to the SEC had caused the the Texas State 7on7 Committee to find a relocation for the annual State Tournament held each year on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station. A ban on 7on7 competition was adopted this past summer by the Southeastern Conference starting on September 1st of the 2011-12 calendar. During a meeting of the NCAA Board of Directors, a motion to ban 7on7 competition from all NCAA campuses was passed and takes effect immediately.

Not only does the ban effect the possibility of moving the state tournament to a new location, it also takes affect for state qualifying tournaments and third-party tournaments like those running rampant across the state of Florida and other states.

The proposed replacement sites for the State 7on7 Tournament have been targeted with Frisco’s Pizza Hut Park, Round Rock and San Antonio being the next suitors for the tournament with a possibility of Houston in the future with the new Dynamo Stadium and facility opening later this spring. A decision on where to move the state tournament will be made as early as January 26 when the state 7on7 board holds their next meeting.

In other unrelated news out of the NCAA Board of Directors meeting, the NCAA has shot down a proposal that would reduce the number of football scholarships annually from 85 to 80. If the reduction had been approved, it would have begun during the 2014-15 calendar year. The scholarship count reduction was considered as a cost-saving move for NCAA schools.

Relating to scholarships, the NCAA has also been considering granting multi-year athletic scholarships to student-athletes. The Board of Directors voted to unanimously support the move and could take effect as soon as February. Currently, the NCAA only allows athletic scholarships to be awarded on a year to year basis.

The cost of living proposal of $2,000 per student-athlete was also unanimously approved, but faces opposition by a significant amount of the NCAA Membership. A 3/5ths majority of the NCAA member schools is required to override a ruling or bylaw.