By Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Fifty years ago, a 22-year old folk singer who had changed his name to Bob Dylan released an album. The title song, The Times They Are A-Changin', with its ballad-like qualities, became an anthem of social change.

East Carolina was a year away from joining the Southern Conference in 1964, a milestone for the Pirates, much as the pending transition to the American Athletic Conference is today.

The times in college sports continue to change.

The NCAA Division I board of directors approved a plan Thursday that would give five elite conferences -- the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC -- the power to set their own rules on stipends for athletes, medical coverage for athletes and travel to competition for players' families.

Still in the discussion phase for the power conferences are issues such as amending regulations regarding time limits per week, recruiting and coaching staff limits.

Due today is a vote on unionization by the Northwestern football team. Those ballots will be impounded immediately because of an appeal by Northwestern that challenges the decision by a National Labor Relations Board director who determined that the Wildcat players were university employees and entitled to unionize.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive, who holds law degrees from Virginia and Georgetown, was careful to preclude the perception that athletes were employees last week as he presented goals to further provide for players.

Among the proposals Slive addressed were allowing student-athletes who have completed their eligibility to complete their undergraduate degrees without cost. The former Conference USA CEO also advocated improving relationships between college factions with agents and advisers so athletes who are considering going pro can get more accurate evaluations on their draft potential.

Slive also said the power conferences are seeking more and better assistance for academically at-risk students. The potential problem there would seem to be whether this is a genuine attempt to educate academically-challenged athletes or simply keep them eligible in order to take advantage of their playing ability and maximize a program's earning potential. For a case study on that issue, see revelations at North Carolina about its Afro-Am courses.

Also due for resolution is the NBA's determination on its age limit, which could potentially eliminate the "one (year) and done" requirement with which outstanding high school players, who go on to compete as college freshman, must comply. The NBA players union apparently must vote on the league office's recommendation that a player must effectively wait two years after completing his high school eligibility to play in the league.

All of the major pro leagues have different regulations regarding initial eligibility. In baseball, players can be drafted out of high school or after their junior year in college. Baseball has its own player development system, the minor leagues. Basketball and football rely primarily on the college system to refine and identify their draftable talent.

The colleges don't want to lose the profitability of the current structure in their biggest revenue-producing sports from an athletic standpoint.

There are interests in the academic community which have seen the erosion of the educational process in regard to athletics, basically since they started keeping score.

The staggering infusion of television revenue in recent decades seems to have further obscured the academic mission in some cases.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco stated some time ago that his league would do what was necessary to stay competitive with the elite conferences. At present, East Carolina is seeking to bridge the gap of fully funding the value of traditionally-structured scholarships. The anticipated addition of more revenue from the AAC could enable more resources to be applied for the benefit of student-athletes.

Change is the only constant in the whole process that seems to relegate traditional amateur values to an antiquated status on the order of leather helmets.

In one sense, very little may be changing. The traditionally-elite college programs are simply redefining their entitlement in regard to the NCAA.

ECU always has sought to compete at that highest level. Now that the Pirates have gained admission to a segment of the former Big East that seemed at one time to be the promised land, the rules are changing again. The big time that has been the Pirates' holy grail is distancing itself.

" ... the first one now will later be last for the times they are a-changin' " is how the Dylan composition ends.

It's similar to Matthew 20:16 — "So the last shall be first and the first last." (American King James version)

As far as East Carolina athletics are concerned, the Pirates are neither first nor last. It is the pursuit of being first that has made ECU what it is.

Hopefully, that won't change.