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Good move by the Pac-12.

And a harbinger of better things to come.

The conference passed changes this week that will positively affect athletes at all its schools and in all its sports in the years ahead, and those changes may set a prototype for major sports schools and conferences around the country.

No longer will Pac-12 athletes be subjected to scholarships that must be renewed every year. They will have health and educational benefits previously unavailable to them. Transfer rules will be liberalized. And the league presidents "reaffirmed" their commitment for athletes' stipends to cover the full costs of attendance.

It's almost like the Pac-12 is treating its student-athletes as though they were … employees. Sure, those athletes make millions of dollars for their schools, but, in the glorious, archaic name of amateurism, let's not get crazy here. The practice of schools not outright paying athletes has its roots decades ago not in some grand notion of noble thinking. It comes from schools wanting to position themselves to gain their own advantages without being responsible or liable for inconveniences such as compensation in the case of injuries. It's been as much a legal defense as it's been some crowning bit of ideology.

Progress is progress, though. Take it piece by piece, as it comes.

The changes are no big surprise, given that many of them were outlined in a letter sent to administrators in the five power conferences earlier this year, the conferences that were recently granted autonomy by the NCAA to chart their own course moving forward. The Big Ten proposed a few similar changes earlier this month.

That autonomy, certainly in the case of the Pac-12 and Big Ten, and probably in the other leagues as well, will favor athletes in many areas of concern, areas in which institutions previously held too much power over them.

Athletes at Utah, for instance, as a Pac-12 member, will have advantages once outside their reach.

All their scholarships will be guaranteed for four years. They cannot be canceled or reduced as long as the athletes remain in good standing. That means it will be more problematic for a coach to run off players. Coaches still control an athlete's playing time, which is a significant hammer, but if that athlete is settled in at the university and wants to remain, his education will be paid for, according to the terms of the original scholarship. Pulling that scholarship for unfounded reasons is not an option.

"What it is clearly saying is there's been concern out there within the media and otherwise that a scholarship could be taken away by a coach if he or she doesn't like the way the student-athlete is performing," Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told CBSSports.com. "… But this is making clear aid cannot be pulled for athletic performance or by the whim of a coach."

If an athlete transfers to a school within the conference, a scholarship can be made available to that athlete immediately. The change does not, however, wipe out the requirement to sit out a year after transferring. Scott said the eligibility rule is "something we believe should be discussed."

If an athlete in good standing leaves a university, having completed half the requirements for a degree, he or she can return to the school later and receive financial aid to complete that degree.

And if an athlete is injured during his or her college career, medical expenses will be covered not only at the time of the injury, but also for up to four years after the student leaves school.

Good stuff, all around.

The Pac-12 also will study time demands put on athletes. Some college athletes have said they feel as though they are "owned" by the programs for which they practice and compete. There are, for example, so-called voluntary workouts that are actually involuntary, given that if athletes don't show, they will not play. Scott said issues involving excessive time demands are complicated and will take time to fully consider.

Still, headway is being made here. Athletes, especially football and basketball players, may not share completely in the riches their sports generate. Coaches will go on making millions and millions of dollars off the athletes' efforts, as will the major schools for which they compete, but at least the hypocrisy is slowly being modified. And all athletes are being included. Progress is happening.

Bit by bit by bit.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 and 960 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.