Changing Environment in College Sports

Campus Reaction to Recent Controversies

When the National Football League (NFL) stages its annual draft of college players on April 26, much of the attention will focus on those players who are not selected. NFL officials have stated that the league intends to maintain its 48-year-old prohibition against drafting players who have not completed their college eligibility.1 Eligibility rules became the center of controversy last February when the NFL's new competitor, the United States Football League (USFL),2 broke tradition by signing University of Georgia star running back Herschel Walker after his junior year. Walker, 1982 winner of the Heisman Trophy, an award given to the player voted the best in college football, signed a three-year contract worth an estimated $3.9 million with ...