NCAA: Prop 16 Doesn't Discriminate Against Black Athletes

Black Issues in Higher Education, Oct 14, 1999

PHILADELPHIA -- NCAA lawyers argued in court here earlier this month that the college athletic association's freshman eligibility requirements for Division I athletes do not discriminate against African Americans.

A federal appeals court panel is expected to decide by next spring whether the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Proposition 16 violates federal statutes. It sets minimum eligibility for freshmen in the association's 302 Division I schools.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Buckwalter struck down Proposition 16 in March, ruling that "it had unjustified disparate impact on African-Americans." The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later stayed the decision pending a full hearing.

"Standardized tests are a prime reason for African-Americans not qualifying under Proposition 16. There is a disparate impact that the NCAA cannot escape," Andre Dennis, lead lawyer for the four plaintiffs, told the three-judge panel.

But NCAA lawyer David Bruton argued that the objectives of Proposition 16 -- which include increasing graduation rates 3/4 are legitimate, and that test score cutoffs were related to that objective.

Under Proposition 16, the NCAA requires freshmen athletes to have a high school diploma and a minimum grade-point average in 13 core academic courses. The GPA is contingent on an indexed, sliding scale with a student's score on either the SAT or ACT college entrance exams.

Athletes scoring less than 820 on the SAT, or 16 on the ACT, cannot participate, regardless of their other academic credentials. During a meeting of its Division I board of directors in August, the NCAA said it would make no changes to freshman eligibility requirements while the case is pending.

Much of the hearing revolved around whether the NCAA directly received funding from the federal government. If so, Dennis argued, then Proposition 16 must be amended to conform with Title VI, the section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that forbids discrimination.