The NCAA News - News & Features

Proposals for '97 Convention focus on restructuring

Most of 28 proposals that address restructuring seek fine-tuning of details of the governance structure and legislative process -- particularly in Division I. A majority of the proposals dealing with restructuring were submitted by Divisions I-AA and I-AAA conferences or institutions.

The number of proposals submitted by the July 15 legislation deadline is up from the 72 proposals that were properly submitted last year by the membership.

The national office actually received 116 proposals before this year's deadline, but 26 were not acceptable because of a lack of sufficient sponsorship.

Other areas of legislative activity by the membership include playing and practice seasons, which prompted 18 proposals; recruiting, with 16 proposals; and eligibility, with eight proposals.

For the first time in several years, there are no proposals to modify the definition of a qualifier under the Association's initial-eligibility legislation. There are, however, proposals dealing with partial qualifiers.

Restructuring

While most membership proposals dealing with restructuring are fine-tuning in nature, one seeks to delay implementation of the plan that was approved by the NCAA membership at the 1996 Convention.

The Midwestern Collegiate Conference proposes postponing implementation of restructuring until February 1, 1998, thus giving the membership one additional opportunity to make changes in the Association's new structure at the 1998 Convention.

The new structure currently is scheduled to go into effect in August 1997.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and several other Divisions I-AA and I-AAA conferences -- the Mid-Continent, Midwestern Collegiate, Southern and Southland Conferences; the Ivy Group; and institutions in the Missouri Valley Conference -- are sponsors of most of the other membership proposals dealing with restructuring.

Several of those proposals address details of the Division I governance structure, including operations of the Board of Directors and Management Council and of an anticipated cabinet/committee structure.

Other proposals deal with such details of the legislative process as sponsorship of legislation. One measure would permit each Division I institution to vote on proposals considered at any legislative convention called by the Division I membership.

The number of 1997 Convention proposals dealing with restructuring will increase significantly later this summer when the NCAA Presidents Commission and NCAA Council submit proposals to establish a committee structure and fine-tune the division-specific governance structures.

The Commission and Council have until September 1 to submit proposals for the Convention.

Other proposals

Other membership proposals for the 1997 Convention include:

* Two Division I proposals involving partial qualifiers.

One proposal would modify the definition of a partial qualifier to include student-athletes who previously would have been qualifiers but now are nonqualifiers as the result of legislation adopted by the membership in 1995. Such a modification of the legislation was defeated by only two votes at the 1996 Convention.

The other proposal would grant a fourth season of eligibility to partial qualifiers who earn a baccalaureate degree within four years of enrollment. An identical proposal was defeated last year by 74 votes.

* Separate proposals for men's and women's basketball that would permit teams to begin competition one week earlier. The proposals would not affect the first permissible practice date.

* Several proposals involving recruiting telephone calls, including one that would permit Divisions I and II basketball recruiters to make unlimited telephone calls to prospective student-athletes during contact periods, as is currently permitted in football.

* A Division I proposal to rescind last year's action that defined electronic transmissions to recruits as correspondence, rather than telephone calls. Division II, however, will consider a proposal to adopt the current Division I rule.

What's next?

In the NCAA legislative calendar, no new proposals can be submitted by the membership after July 15. But sponsors of the 90 proposals properly submitted by the deadline have until September 15 to refine and alter those amendments in any manner that is germane to the original submission.

The membership's proposals will be reviewed by the NCAA Legislative Review Committee July 22-24 in Kansas City, Missouri. That review could result in similar proposals being combined, thus reducing the number of proposals.

Also, under Constitution 5.3.6, the proposals will be forwarded to appropriate NCAA committees for evaluation. Committee comments, if any, are due no later than October 7.

Membership proposals will be published in the Initial Publication of Proposed Legislation, which will be mailed August 15. The intent statements accompanying those proposals will be published in The NCAA News in August.