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I Management Council advances cabinet idea

The Management Council's recommendations will be passed along to the Division I Board of Directors Transition Team, which will consider them at its June 25 meeting in conjunction with the meeting of the NCAA Presidents Commission. The Division I subcommittee of the Commission will review the Board's recommendations.

The Management Council, which met June 12-13 in Marco Island, Florida, modified the task force's original recommendation but kept in place the principal idea: a group of four cabinets to administer committee func-
tions for the division. The four cabinets would be Academics/Eligibility/Compliance,Championships/Competition, Strategic Planning and Business/Finance.

Under the Council's recommendation, the academics and championships cabinets each would be composed of 34 individuals while the other two would contain 26. The size of each cabinet was agreed upon after the Management Council analyzed the anticipated work load for each group.

Most Division I committee functions would be directed through one of the four cabinets. Under the plan, cabinet members would be nominated by the Division I membership, evaluated and recommended by a six-person subcommittee of the Management Council (two representatives from each subdivision), and approved by the full Management Council. Cabinet members would serve four-year terms.

The Management Council also made significant recommendations to the Board regarding the diversity of membership on the Council and within the Division I substructure.

It is recommending that the 34-member Management Council contain at least 14 men, 14 women (40 percent) and seven ethnic minorities (20 percent). To achieve this diversity of representation, it is recommending that each conference submit a slate of four acceptable selections that will include at least one woman and one ethnic minority. A six-person subcommittee (two from each subdivision) would evaluate the slate and make recommendations to assure an adequately diverse Council membership to the full Management Council and the Board of Directors, which is obligated by legislation to evaluate the diversity of the Management Council.

The Management Council also considered alternatives for mandating diversity "by position" -- that is, setting aside a designated number of positions for athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives and senior woman administrators. However, it concluded that introducing additional numerical requirements on top of those it is recommending for women and ethnic minorities would excessively restrict the selections. Instead, the subcommittee responsible for making recommendations to the Council and the Board will consider professional positions in forming its slate.

The Management Council also recommended a diversity standard for the cabinet structure, determining that a minimum of 20 percent of the aggregate membership of all cabinets should be ethnic minorities. Under the existing proposal, that means that at least 24 cabinet members would be ethnic minorities; they would not necessarily be distributed equally among the four cabinets.

The Council discussed the gender representation in the cabinet structure but made no recommendations beyond agreeing that at least 28 positions in the four cabinets would be filled by senior woman administrators. In addition, women could be selected among those in the other positions that were earmarked for faculty athletics representatives or athletics directors or who were identified as "at large."

The Council also made an important decision regarding student-athlete representation.

It will recommend to the Board of Directors that two student-athlete representatives serve in a nonvoting capacity on the Management Council. The athletes would be responsible for sharing student-athlete views with other members of the Council. As much as possible, agendas would be arranged to accommodate the athletes' schedules and to facilitate their involvement in relevant issues.

The Management Council also agreed that a student-athlete committee should report directly to the Management Council. Each Division I conference represented in the new structure will be asked to nominate three student-athletes for possible service on the Division I student-athlete committee. The Management Council would choose representatives based on several diversity considerations, including gender, race and the types of sports played.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Division I Management Council Transition Team
June 12-13/Marco Island, Florida

* Agreed on recommendations concerning which existing committees or committee functions should be assigned to each cabinet and identified committees that will report directly to the Management Council, including Division I Committees on Infractions and Athletics Certifications and the Infractions Appeals Committee.

* Agreed that the appropriate cabinets would be responsible for selecting Division I members to Association-wide committees. For example, if the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee is approved as an Association-wide committee, the Strategic Planning Cabinet would appoint Division I representatives to that body since that is the area to which minority issues have been assigned.

* Discussed the access of coaches to the new governance structure. The Management Council agreed that coaches associations that are NCAA affiliated members will be provided with agendas and timely information on actions and discussions. The Management Council also will develop a statement emphasizing that coaches have access to the Division I governance structure through the cabinets.

* Discussed representation by alternates at Management Council meetings. Agreed to recommend that each conference designate one alternate who would be permitted to attend Council meetings if a conference representative was unable to attend because of extenuating personal circumstances.

* Agreed to form a Division I Administrative Committee, which would be responsible for decisions that need to be made between meetings. The committee would be composed of the Management Council chair, plus a representative from the other two subdivisions. The Council would ratify all Administrative Committee actions.

* Agreed to establish a Football Issues Committee, which would report to the Championships/Competition Cabinet. The committee would be made up of the current members of the Division I-AA Football Committee and the current Division I-A members of the Football Rules Committee.

* Heard a report on Division I-AA football representation in the new structure. A subcommittee examining the matter made no recommendations; it will report back after discussing the topic at the upcoming Collegiate Commissioners Association meeting.

* Identified topics on which the Management Council can take action based on authority delegated to it by the Board of Directors. Those areas include recruiting, awards and benefits, expenses, playing and practice seasons, championships (except Division I-A football), committees, and administrative matters. The Board of Directors can review any action taken by the Management Council.

* Agreed to develop a schedule for staggering the terms of Management Council members so that the body has a turnover of about 25 percent each year.

* Agreed to recommend that the chair of the Management Council be selected from among its members on a rotating basis, alternating equally among each of the subdivisions.