SAN FRANCISCO - The University of California regents have abruptly set aside a policy approved by UC President Janet Napolitano to tie coaches’ pay to the classroom success of student athletes after a robust debate over whether the academic bar was set too low.

The policy made UC the nation’s second school, after the University of Maryland, to prohibit coaches and athletic directors from cashing in on hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus pay earned from a team’s athletic success if players’ academic performance fell below a certain threshold.

The regents said they wanted to return to the issue, but no date was set.

Some regents — notably Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Assembly Speaker John Pérez and Gov. Jerry Brown — argued strongly that the academic threshold was so low it would have no practical effect: Teams with scores that low are already barred from playing in tournaments that lead to bonuses in the first place. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

Story Date: January 31, 2015