National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News & Features

September 2, 1996

Council action adds safeguard to amendment process

The NCAA Council, using its authority under Constitution 5.3.1.1.1 to adopt noncontroversial legislation, has agreed to amend Constitution 5.3.2.2 to permit amendments-to-amendments submitted by the November 1 deadline to modify Division I restructuring proposals in any manner that is germane to the original proposal.

In the past, amendments submitted at that stage of the process have not been allowed to increase the modification of the original proposal.

The Council, acting upon a recommendation made by the NCAA Division I Steering Committee, made the change to assure that the membership has every opportunity to amend proposals that relate to Division I restructuring before the January Convention.

As part of the August 12-14 meeting of the NCAA Council, the Division I Steering Committee reviewed a number of other recommendations from the Transition Management Council.

The steering committee:

* Voted to recommend that the Council cosponsor (with the NCAA Presidents Commission) legislation to establish a four-cabinet substructure for Division I.

* Agreed to recommend that the Council sponsor, but not necessarily support, the recommendation of the Transition Management Council to specify minimum gender and ethnic requirements for the Management Council. At a meeting in June, the Transition Board of Directors considered the Management Council's proposal and opted instead to form a subcommittee to explore the matter further. The Council will review its sponsorship of the proposal after the subcommittee's report is made available.

* Agreed to recommend that the Council sponsor legislation relating to the selection of chairs for the Division I Board of Directors and Management Council that is a compromise among proposals previously made by the Transition Management Council, the Transition Board of Directors and the membership in Proposal No. 1-8. The Council proposal features two-year, nonrenewable terms for chairs of the Board of Directors and Management Council; a requirement that a representative from Division I-AA or I-AAA chair the Board or the Management Council at least once every three years; and the requirement that a representative of each subdivision chair either the Board, the Management Council or one of the four cabinets at any given moment.

* Approved a process for staggering the terms of the members of the Board of Directors and Management Council, but noted that the decision could be affected by four membership-sponsored proposals (1-7, 1-9, 1-13 and 1-14).

* Did not support a Transition Management Council proposal that would require each conference to develop a slate of candidates from which a Management Council subcommittee would select a diverse membership.

* Agreed to recommend that the Council cosponsor, with the Presidents Commission, a proposal that would permit each conference to select an alternate representative to serve in place of a regular member who is unable to attend successive meetings and to require the approval of the chair of the Board of Directors to permit the alternate to attend meetings.