New NCAA rule will close NBA draft window sooner

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- College basketball players will have to decide more quickly whether they plan to stay in the NBA draft.

A new rule approved Thursday by the NCAA's Board of Directors requires early entrants to withdraw from the draft by May 8. Current rules allow players to make that decision by June 15.

The change will take effect this fall. It's a compromise to an ACC proposal that would have required players to pull out by mid-April.

The NCAA said it favored the May 8 date after receiving advice from NBA officials and the NBA Players Association. The NBA also has agreed to move individual tryouts up to April 30.

How the notification will be done has not been determined.

The NBA calendar, under the current collective bargaining agreement, requires the list of college players who withdraw to be released in mid-June. That will stay in place next year, but Division I vice president David Berst said players who return to school still must notify the NCAA by the new deadline.

The change may not be the final piece to this legislation. Berst said the NCAA hopes to continue having discussions with the NBA, NBAPA and National Association of Basketball Coaches to find a withdrawal date that is satisfactory for all parties.

Coaches wanted the measure approved so they could make more tangible plans for the following season, and the board approved the rule because it puts more emphasis on keeping returning players academically eligible.

The Legislative Council approved the measure last week.

In another action, the board rejected a proposal that would have cut four games from baseball's 56-game limit but approved a measure to spread those games out over one additional week. The season will start one week earlier next season.

The hope is that it will reduce the amount of missed classes in baseball, a sport that has traditionally posted low scores in the Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate.