Is NCAA tough enough?

Seattle Times: The question is simple: Are President Myles Brand and the NCAA tough enough to beat the cynicism that greeted efforts to retain and graduate college athletes? Brand and his board of directors are to be commended, but they need genuine support, not pats on the back. They still have to convince insiders they are serious.
Brand announced a package of academic and graduation reforms last week that he described as the beginning of a sea change in college sports. The words were barely out of his mouth when speculation began about unintended consequences and how much cheating, evasion and gaming of the system new rules might inspire.
Brand and the NCAA board of directors previously toughened requirements to force schools to recruit students who are prepared for college-level work and have a chance to succeed. Now students will have to show steady progress toward graduation, and teams will have academic progress rates to meet.
A Washington Post story had a priceless soliloquy by Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Paul Hewitt. He worried the rules discourage students from sampling computer science and then changing majors. Lost credits would complicate the new formulas.
"Instead of improving the opportunity for a kid to get an education, we are going to absolutely dumb down college athletics."
Uh huh. The Yellow Jackets, who played in this year's men's finals, have had a graduation rate of 27 percent over the past six years.