Restrictions became a bit looser for NCAA basketball players hoping to become drafted to the NBA. On January 13, 2016, the NCAA D-I Council adopted a proposal “that, among other provisions, changes the date by which a student must remove his name from the NBA draft.”
Cody McDavis of the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee stated that the new rule “is a good idea because it provides men’s basketball student-athletes the opportunity to test their dream of going beyond the stage of amateurism into the professional level without completely sacrificing their collegiate career, should they find they are not as prepared as they had hoped for the next level.”
The rule will be effective immediately and be applicable to the 2016 NBA Draft. Previously, in order to remain eligible for the next NCAA season, students had to remove their names from the draft the day before the NCAA spring signing period in late-April. Students therefore had a difficult decision to make because the draft combine is generally in mid-May and the draft in June. Now, NBA hopefuls must remove their names from the draft within 10 days after the draft combine, which will be held in mid-May 2016. Accordingly, under the new rule students will have a better opportunity to analyze their abilities in relation to others; the Council hopes this will lead to better decisions on whether to enter the draft.