The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) issued a proposal on Thursday calling for the permanent elimination of the SAT and ACT as requirements for NCAA eligibility. The proposal originated from the group's Committee on Racial Reconciliation, formed last month to address social justice concerns.
"The NABC Committee on Racial Reconciliation believes that the SAT and ACT are longstanding forces of institutional racism, and no longer have a place in intercollegiate athletics or higher education at large," the committee co-chairs said in a joint statement. "This is an important step towards combating educational inequality in our country."
Currently, the NCAA balances an incoming student's SAT/ACT scores against their high school GPA in core academic courses. If they have a poor SAT/ACT score, they need a higher GPA, and vice versa.
The new plan would declare students eligible based on a cumulative GPA of 2.3 in (10) NCAA-approved courses. (7) of the (10) would be in English, math, and science classes taken before the start of their senior year of high school.
In it's statement, the NABC pointed to the increased difficulty in SAT/ACT administration during the pandemic.
"COVID-19 has made finding a safe, accessible SAT or ACT testing location very difficult for most rising seniors," the proposal says. "Those with the most additional burdens and disadvantages of all kinds, because of COVID-19, not just in finding a safe testing location, are low-income and underrepresented minority students."
The NABC has also recommended that all high school and college students be required to complete a course in "black history."
