Hoopstalk competed against game 6 of the World Series last night, and as good as i think our show was, I know almost everyone was glued to the game.

But if you missed it, you missed our conversation with Gib about the new NCAA rules pertaining to student athletes. Overall, Gib, who told us he had not yet had time to closely study them, liked some provisions and did not like others.

He liked the new recruiting rules opening up contact in April and allowing social media contact ( texts, etc). He did not like the new academic rules which will require prospective freshman to have a 2.3 GPA in core courses, and will require JC transfers to have a 2.5 GP.. Essentially Gib said " last he checked",  nonathletes only need a 2.0 to graduate. By the way, a freshman whose core average is between 2.0 and 2.3 can get financial aid and practice, but he/she cannot compete, but will have four years of eligibility.

Gib was not sure about the new rule allowing, on a conference by conference basis, schools to give up to 2000 dsollars in additional benefits to athletes. His concern is that it might provide a significant recruiting advantage to teams in bigger conferences, a concern that appears real to me when you consider UH is moving to the Big West next year.

Finally Gib is very concerned about the impact on college basketball caused by the new APR rule which increases the minimum APR to compete in post season tournaments. Academic performance and transfers impact the APR, and NABC ( National Association of Basketball Coaches) share Gib's concerns . A fun fact.  Had the rule been in effect last year, UCONN, the National Champ, would have been ineligible to compete. Think about what the rule might mean to other traditional basketball powerhouses like Kentucky, Syracuse, and others.

What do you think about the new rules, especially the ones that deal with academics. There is no doubt that football and basketball will be greatly affected, and some traditional powerhouses are going to have to clean up their academic inadequacies or face the loss of bowl games and post season tournaments. Some say the new rules go too far and others say not far enough. Personally, i like them. I think big-time college sports has been moving in the wrong direction, with the emphasis on winning overwhelming the fact that these are  STUDENT athletes. I also like the 2000 dollar benefit rule. Student athletes bring in big money to their respective institutions, and deserve at least a little of the spoils. I know some will argue that the student who is on, for example, a music scholarship also bring benefits to his/her school, and there is merit in providing some stipend for them too, but let's face it, there is little financial comparison between what big-time sports bring in and other endeavors ( i know, many Universities actually lose money on athletics). Anyway, i am sure there are many opinions about the new rules. Go ahead and weigh in