NCAA revamps rules enforcement structure

The NCAA Tuesday debuted a new college athletics disciplinary structure it says is meant to put more focus on cases of major violations. Under the new system, the college sports governing body replaces its current two-tier violation severity rating system ("major" and "secondary" violations) with a four-tiered system ranging from "Level I: Severe breach of conduct" to "Level IV: Incidental issues." The moves come after a series of highly publicized recruiting and academic scandals has cast doubt public doubt on the NCAA's ability to police itself. Their purpose is to "focus most on conduct breaches that seriously undermine or threaten the integrity of the NCAA Constitution," the group said. "We have sought all along to remove the 'risk-reward' analysis that has tempted people -- often because of the financial pressures to win at all costs -- to break the rules in the hopes that either they won't be caught or that the consequences won't be very harsh if they do get caught," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. The new rules also aim to hold head coaches more responsible for the actions of their assistants.