IT appears that professional coaches are once again being allowed to handle collegiate teams, at least in the NCAA.
The opening matchday of the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball tournament on Friday at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila offered a telling sign of this apparent shift.
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Four-time defending champion College of St. Benilde faced Mapua University, with both squads introduced pre-game as being led by coaches who are actively handling PVL teams.
ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee was presented as the Lady Blazers’ head coach while Aying Esteban, recently named the new tactician of Galeries Tower, was likewise introduced as the head coach of the Lady Cardinals.
The development raised eyebrows given what transpired less than a year ago.
Back in NCAA Season 100, Yee was barred from officially carrying the head coach designation while simultaneously handling a pro team.
That ruling stemmed from a protest lodged by Arellano’s Management Committee representative Peter Cayco following Benilde’s opening-day win over the Lady Chiefs, questioning the permissibility of pro coaches serving in full coaching roles within the collegiate league.
The NCAA subsequently issued a formal notice to Benilde, reviving a long-standing provision that restricted pro coaches and athletes from concurrently holding equivalent roles in the college ranks.
The decision triggered a domino effect early in Season 100, forcing Yee and then-Capital1 head coach Roger Gorayeb to be reclassified as either assistant coaches or consultants to comply with league rules.
To comply with the rule over time, Onyok Getigan was listed as the head coach of College of St. Benilde from the second game of Season 100 onwards during its title run, even as Yee continued to steer the team behind the scenes.
A similar workaround was implemented at San Sebastian, where Clint Malazo was named head coach on paper after Gorayeb was also 'reassigned,' allowing the Golden Stags to remain compliant with the league's reinstated regulations.
With both Yee and Esteban now openly introduced as head coaches in Season 101 while still holding PVL posts, the NCAA’s stance appears to have softened, or at least evolved, on the issue.
Whether this signals a formal policy change, a reinterpretation of existing rules or a case-by-case allowance remains unclear.
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