Concerns about the freshman ineligibility rule are on the rise as athletes have different notions that are against this proposal.

On the Sports Illustrated website, Andy Staples commented about this situation. He thinks that the proposal is very interesting because it will now target the academic side of the players.

“This proposal fascinates me because it actually matches conference and school officials’ rhetoric that they value education first and don’t consider football and men’s basketball to be pure revenue streams,” he said in a Twitter Q&A. “College sports’ leaders have always said academics matter most, but their actions during the realignment frenzy from 2010-12 put the lie to those statements.”

The rule, if passed, will require freshmen players to sit out during games for their first year on the team. That way, they can take that time to progress themselves and mature more before they return to the team as sophomores.

Dino Nomicos, head coach of Skyline College’s baseball team, sees the benefits in the rule.

“I think the freshmen, most of them coming out of high school now, are not ready to play at this level,” Nomicos said. “We do have a couple freshmen that are playing, and if they can, use the first year where they can lift weights, physically get stronger, and understand the college game because it is not like how it used to be. It’s different now.”

Though Coach Nomicos might think it is a good idea, some of his players disagree.

Freshman player Kyle Vallans feels that taking a whole year off of any sport has negative effects on players.

“I think all of the freshmen here are pretty grown up, and we’re able to handle athletics and school equally,” Vallans said.

He explained that he is managing his school work while also being an athlete and it is basically something they signed up for.

“Dino is our coach and counselor so he sets up our classes,” Vallans said. “Taking a whole year off before playing is not beneficial.”

Vallans’ teammate Matt Seubert, who is also a freshman athlete, could not agree more. He thinks it should be the coach’s decision and not a rule.

“If they are ready, you should definitely play them,” Seubert said. “Everyone wants to win. It’s a team sport.”

Along with Vallans and Seubert’s opinions about the ineligibility rule, player Nic Bongi, who is not a freshman thinks it should just depend on the player, not the grade level.

“We have a couple who are ready to play right now,” Bongi said. “A freshman is helping the team. We just want to win.”

Playing to win is a big deal for Skyline’s baseball team and a year off from playing can be a win-lose situation depending on how the players think of it.

“There are some guys who need to develop and get better after high school, and a year will help them,” Bongi said.

Seubert did also see a benefit to the freshman ineligibility rule.

“There’s nothing wrong keeping them down a year to get stronger, more mature, and have a better understanding,” he said. “If there is a reason to sit you out, you should know that reason and work on it.”

Currently, none of the freshmen players need to worry about sitting out for a whole year just yet.

“You have to be recruited to play here,” Nomicos said. “We do not recruit guys to basically sit on the bench. We have a need that we have to fill.”

The freshman ineligibility rule does not look like it will be happening soon, given the debates it’s stirring up.

“Even though I would like to see all freshmen take that year to develop, and also to develop in the classroom, it’ll never happen,” Nomicos said. “It won’t go back to how it was.”