NCAA presidents want to take a leaner, meaner approach to rule breakers.

On the second and final day of the governing body's presidential retreat, 56 presidents and a handful of other university leaders spent nearly four hours discussing ways to simplify the massive 439-page Division I rulebook and punish those schools with the most serious violations.

"I think there is a very strong sense among presidents and chancellors that we need to be very clear and very severe where infractions do exist and that we want to send a message about certain behaviors," said Oregon State president Ed Ray, chairman of the NCAA's executive committee. "There needs to be very serious penalties for very serious violations."

Ray said the group did not discuss any potential sanctions, deferring instead to a working group that is expected to make recommendations to the full membership.

NCAA President Mark Emmert has repeatedly said he favors stronger punishments, especially for the most egregious infractions.

And it may not take legislation to deliver change.

Postseason bans and television bans remain options for the NCAA's infractions committee, though they have been used sparingly over the past decade. Last year, Southern California became the first Football Bowl Subdivision school to be hit with a postseason ban since Alabama's two-year ban ended in 2003. No FBS team has faced a TV ban since 1996.

The NCAA began debating a new get-tough approach in October 2008, and the recent spate of high-profile cases involving some of college sports' heaviest hitters has forced university leaders to take a more urgent approach.

The list includes:

_Southern Cal's football team, which was stripped of its 2004 national title for rules infractions that also forced Reggie Bush to give back his Heisman Trophy.

_Connecticut's men's basketball team, which was found to have committed recruiting infractions two months before winning its third national championship.

_Football teams at Auburn and Oregon, last season's two BCS finalists. The NCAA determined Cam Newton was not aware of his father's pay-for-play recruitment scheme. Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy and lead Auburn to the national title. Oregon is under NCAA investigation for allegedly paying $25,000 to a recruiting service that is accused of steering a recruit to the program.

_Tennessee, which is awaiting a ruling on alleged recruiting violations in its football and men's basketball programs.

_Ohio State, where football coach Jim Tressel resigned amid an investigation into players receiving cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment. Tressel allegedly did not notify the school's compliance department when he was made aware of possible violations.

_North Carolina, where football Butch Davis was recently fired after allegations surfaced about improper benefits going to players and academic misconduct.

It's certainly had an effect on this week's meetings in Indianapolis.

"You'd be foolish to say that nobody has been paying attention to this over the last year or two or three," Ray said. "It's not any one case in particular, but the cumulative effect. I think there's a realization that the last time we went through the rules and regulations was probably 1999 or 2000 and things have changed a lot since then."

If all goes well, things could be changing a lot more.

There is a general consensus, Ray said, that the rules need simplification.

"For example, instead of 1,000 or 10,000 rules, we need to determine what are the 100 most important things," he said after the morning session.

Ray has plenty of support.

The NCAA's leadership council said last week it is working on a formal proposal to deregulate electronic communications and allow unlimited contact between coaches and recruits after Aug. 1 of the player's junior year.

It's a message that has resonated among the presidents.

"There is a lot of interest, energy and enthusiasm about reform," Indiana University president Michael McRobbie said.

That sentiment was also expressed by Kansas State president Kirk Schultz, who was tweeting from inside the meeting room. He questioned how many rules were necessary to police college sports and said there was considerable discussion about requiring head coaches to take responsibility for all aspects of their programs, including what assistant coaches do.

Ray said the group also discussed policing professional agents, though the presidents intend to let Julie Roe Lach, the NCAA's vice president for enforcement, and her staff work on those issues before sending a proposal to the full membership.

Emmert is not expected to speak until the afternoon session concludes.

On Tuesday, the presidents discussed the possibility of providing scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance at a school, instead of just room, board, tuition and fees, and multiyear scholarships instead of the one-year scholarships now used in college sports.