NCAA committee picks Young
Pitt forward will represent students in men’s basketball oversight group
“This is something you don’t prepare for or work for. You get this off of doing things the right way ... ” Michael Young
The once-stable model of collegiate athletics has undergone a series of changes the past several years, spurred by public scrutiny.
In this period of transition across all sports, a Pitt athlete will help shape the future of college basketball.
The NCAA selected Panthers junior forward Mike Young to serve as a student representative on the Division I men’s basketball oversight committee. Young’s term on the committee will last two seasons, ending in June 2017.
“This is a big honor,” Young said. “This is something you don’t prepare for or work for. You get this off of doing things the right way and I feel like over my career, from high school to college, I feel like I’ve done that.”
Young is one of two current NCAA basketball players on the 16-person committee, composed primarily of university administrators. Cody McDavis of Northern Colorado is the other student representative.
The oversight committee meets four times annually to discuss issues relating to the sport, proposing changes to the NCAA’s various governing bodies that might help the sport thrive.
In recent years, the committee has, among other things, sponsored a proposal allowing underclassmen to return to school even if they declare for the NBA draft and recommended a
measure in which the NCAA pays for travel expenses for family members traveling to the Final Four to watch their relatives play.
“Mike Young’s selection to the men’s basketball oversight committee is a tremendous compliment to what he has accomplished as a student, athlete and person while at Pitt,” athletic director Scott Barnes said in a statement. “It is a great opportunity for him to have influence and gain insight on the direction of college basketball. We’re very proud of Mike and know he will be a great asset for the committee.”
Young’s inclusion on the committee will require him to travel to Indianapolis four times a year for two-day meetings, the first of which comes in late September. Only one of the scheduled meetings — one in early February — comes during Pitt’s season. Last season, Young — a Duquesne native and an ACC all-academic team honoree — was second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game while averaging a teamhigh 7.3 rebounds per game.
Young and his teammates have spoken at length about on-court changes they would like to see, but from an offcourt standpoint, he doesn’t believe there is a need for sweeping changes, especially after the NCAA’s five power conferences passed a measure that will allow athletes to receive full cost-of-attendance scholarships.
He said the players “get enough of what we need” and now have enough resources to “get stuff that we may want.”
“Truthfully speaking, I don’t really have a problem with the off-thecourt situation,” Young said.