Report: NCAA DI Council reviewing proposals to elevate pay for volunteer coaches, graduate assistants

The NCAA Division I Council is reviewing proposals to elevate pay for volunteer coaches and graduate assistants, according to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated.

After momentum has picked up regarding the issue over recent months and there’s been rumors that the change is coming, Dellenger confirmed that the NCAA Division I Council is moving one step further towards it becoming a reality.

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“The DI Council is expected to review a proposal today to re-classify volunteer coaching positions as full-time positions, sources tell @SINow,” tweeted Dellenger. “One of the more notable impacts would be in baseball & softball, where the volunteer coach would become a fourth full-time, paid coach.

“The DI Council is also expected to review a proposal to lift the pay restrictions on football graduate assistants, sources tell @SINow. These proposals, from the NCAA Rules Modernization Committee, are aimed at eliminating restricted-earning positions to avoid antitrust issues.”

Moreover, D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reported he was “confident” in the move coming to fruition, which  could mean major changes and a lot of transactions in the winter months ahead of next season if the long-awaited change passes with officials

The addition of assistants on staff also has other ramifications, as Rogers stated, on the recruiting trail as the NCAA limits certain points of contact and has strict rules on the involvement of certain staff members in the process.

As for graduate assistants, it’s evident that it could be a game-changing move for the sport of college football, as many of the top coaches in the nation got their start as a graduate assistant.

Nevertheless, the NCAA Division 1 Council still has to ratify the changes, but the fact that they’ve made it this far means that they could be on the horizon regardless.

On3’s James Fletcher III contributed to this article.