The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently promulgated rules that make athletes' initial eligibility conditional upon the achievement of certain scores on college entrance examinations and completion of a specified high school curriculum with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. The changes were instituted to "assert the supremacy of academic values" in collegiate sports and to "preserve the integrity of the NCAA and of our [college] institutions." Some presidents of historically black colleges opposed the rules, claiming that they were "patently racist" and a "disservice to Blacks and other Americans who aspire to attain a higher education by participating in intercollegiate athletics." This article explores the serious factual, legal, and policy questions presented by the NCAA's action. It discusses the process in which the new initial eligibility changes were formulated; the specific rule changes that were made; the reaction to those changes; the potential impact they may have; the legal issues presented by the changes; and the future of integrity in college athletics. It is concluded that the adoption of the new requirements was a fine gesture in spirit, but poorly executed and inadequately reasoned, and further considerations are needed. (JD)