Basketball coaches were the first to get on board, and they would soon be joined by the Division 1 basketball committee, which is a combination of coaches, administrators, and athletic directors. That was a turning point, said one NCAA official. The service academies also supported the counterproposal, as did the soccer coaches\u2019 association.<\/p>\n
That same week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly held a news conference ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 2, when they were asked about the NCAA\u2019s initial proposal. Both spoke out against it.<\/p>\n
![\"Priot](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SIUBX7FEEZBBRBOOH6LMSGM5XM.jpg\")
Priot to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Bill Daly (left) and Gary Bettman found time to speak about plans involving athletes’ college eligibility, and their potential impact on the sport.Bruce Bennett\/Getty<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in favor of the change, and we\u2019ve made the NCAA aware of it,\u201d said Daly. \u201cWe and a number of other hockey organizations throughout North America \u2014 the three junior leagues in Canada, the USHL, USA Hockey, the college coaches\u2019 association \u2014 all have raised concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daly had called NCAA president Charlie Baker<\/a> the previous week, voicing those concerns. Baker told Daly he had some ideas and said he would instruct his staff to consider all options.<\/p>\n Metcalf knew a few people on the Division 1 Cabinet, and he began reaching out to inform them that other sports were endorsing the proposal. He was able to connect with other members of the cabinet, as well, one of whom he asked to present their argument to the rest of the group. It was at that point Metcalf started to feel optimistic.<\/p>\n From there, it was a matter of waiting to hear how things went on the call, which was scheduled for June 5 at 1:30 p.m. The hope was that the discussion would go well enough to keep the counterproposal alive, so that they could have more time to get more people on board, if needed, ahead of the cabinet\u2019s in-person meetings June 23-24.<\/p>\n Around 3:30 p.m., word started to spread that a vote had been taken, and the modification had been approved by a significant margin. Metcalf started getting texts, and he immediately reached out to ECAC commissioner Doug Christiansen, who had also lobbied hard for hockey\u2019s counterproposal. Christiansen had heard the good news by then, as well.<\/p>\n Metcalf fielded texts and calls for the next two hours as the hockey community looked to confirm the news.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite frankly, people couldn\u2019t believe what we\u2019d done,\u201d said Metcalf. \u201cA week prior, people were saying we were dead and buried. We were cooked.\u201d<\/p>\n A formal vote could come next week, and the modified proposal is expected to pass.<\/p>\n Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney<\/a>.<\/p>\n