Other Division I topics

Division I members also will consider proposals addressing financial aid, initial and continuing eligibility, and athletics certification during Presidential Agenda Day.

Financial aid: The agenda includes membership proposals to permit schools to award athletics aid during the summer term prior to a student's initial, full-time collegiate enrollment and to increase the scholarship limit in Division I men's basketball from 13 to 14.

The summer school proposal is designed to provide institutions with the flexibility to help freshmen adapt to classroom demands before beginning competition. The sponsors say schools will not incur additional costs, because the proposal will permit aid during no more than five summer terms.

Big Ten Conference institutions are asking Division I members to consider again increasing the number of grants-in-aid in men's basketball, and they have won support from the NCAA Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism for the proposal.

The committee suggests that after recent increases in athletics participation opportunties for women, an additional scholarship for men will not markedly alter gender balance, and that increased opportunity may be appropriate in a sport that has a large number of minority participants.

The committee, however, also notes that a number of schools may be unable to offer the 14th scholarship even if permitted to do so, because the committee believes new eligibility standards will cut the number of eligible student-athletes.

Initial eligibility: Division I delegates will consider membership proposals to include prospects who post core-curriculum grade-point averages from 2.250 to 2.500 (and a corresponding minimum standardized-test score) as partial qualifiers and to award a fourth season of eligibility to partial qualifiers who receive a baccalaureate degree prior to the fifth academic year of enrollment.

Sponsors of the first proposal believe new initial-eligibility standards will prevent some prospects who reasonably can be expected to succeed academically in college from qualifying for eligibility. The NCAA Academic Requirements Committee, however, opposes the proposal on grounds that the time has come to leave initial-eligibility requirements alone for awhile.

The proposal to grant a fourth season of eligibility offers what the sponsors call a compromise between achieving higher graduation rates and addressing concerns about the reliability of initial-eligibility criteria, and offers student-athletes the opportunity to overcome the "stigma" of being a partial qualifier. But the Academic Requirements Committee believes granting a fourth season could reduce the incentive to meet NCAA initial-eligibility standards.

Initial-eligibility standards also play a role in a proposal aimed at two-year college transfers in football and basketball. Several Division I institutions have proposed that transfers who did not qualify for initial eligibility at an NCAA institution be required to fulfill an academic year in residence at the school to which the student is transferring before becoming eligible for competition.

The NCAA Two-Year College Relations Committee opposes the proposal, believing that current legislation adequately addresses concerns about the academic preparation of such transfers.

Continuing eligibility: Several member institutions are proposing changing the "75/25" satisfactory-progress rule to permit a freshman to earn up to 37.5 percent of required credit hours during the summer (instead of the current maximum of 25 percent). The Academic Requirements Committee opposes the proposal.

Athletics certification: Division I members also will consider a proposal to change the frequency of certification and to incorporate sportsmanship and ethical conduct as specific components of the certification program.

The Council has agreed to cosponsor a membership proposal that would require Division I institutions to be certified once every 10 years, instead of once every five years as mandated by current legislation. Under the proposal, schools would be required to compile a five-year interim status report, and a proposed amendment-to-amendment would specify that the report must be acted upon by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification and that its content is not limited to discussion of how the institution is complying with "elements of its initial certification that required correction or modification."

The Council also is sponsoring the proposal requiring institutions seeking certification to demonstrate a commitment to sportsmanship and ethical conduct.

Division II

The Division II business session on Presidential Agenda Day will include consideration of a proposal dealing with student-athletes' eligibility for competition after the 21st birthday.

The proposal would require that an athlete who participates in an organized competition after turning 21 but before enrolling in college for the first time be charged with a season of competition for any such competition during each 12-month period following that birthday. It was prompted by concerns that older, more experienced athletes may have a unfair competitive advantage in Division II competition.

Division II delegates also will consider a proposal to permit coaches to be involved in skill-related instruction outside the playing season in sports other than football.

The Council Subcommittee on Playing and Practice Seasons has expressed support for that involvment, which already is permitted in Division I. However, the Division II subcommittee of the Presidents Commission has expressed opposition, just as it did for a similar proposal at the 1995 Convention.

Division III

Delegates from Division III schools will consider proposals dealing with transfer rules and with preseason-practice and maximum-contest limitations in basketball and football.

The Council and Presidents Commission are sponsors of a proposal aimed at student-athletes who transfer to a Division III institution -- particularly Division I partial qualifiers or nonqualifiers seeking a fourth season of competition. The proposal would require that the student be academically and athletically eligible for competition at his or her previous institution at the time of transfer.

Another proposal dealing with transfers would permit a student-athlete with eligibility remaining to enroll at a Division III institution as a graduate student and participate in intercollegiate athletics. The membership proposal seeks to provide Division III athletes with a transfer opportunity currently available in Divisions I and II, but it has attracted opposition from the Presidents Commission.

Division III proposals dealing with playing and practice seasons include one to permit basketball teams to begin practice October 15. Other proposals seek to increase competition opportunities for subvarsity basketball and football team members by increasing the number of halves during an academic year in subvarsity and varsity contests in which such athletes may participate. The Presidents Commission opposes these proposals.

The Commission also opposes a proposal to permit football student-athletes to wear shoulder pads during the noncontact portion of the preseason practice period, as is currently permitted in Divisions I and II.

Summary

Following is a summary of proposals in the Presidents Commission grouping relating to topics other than restructuring, including the sponsor of each proposal, any positions taken on the proposal by NCAA committees, and the business session in which the proposal will be considered.

No. 57: Incorporate sportsmanship and ethical conduct as specific components in the athletics certification program. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Committee on Athletics Certification. Division I business session.

No. 58: Change the next athletics certification cycle from at least once every five years to at least once every 10 years, and provide for a five-year interim status report. Sponsored by the Council and the Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-Continent and Missouri Valley Conferences. Committee on Athletics Certification position: Recommended withdrawal of proposal or clarification of wording. Division I business session.

No. 58-1: Amend No. 58 to require the five-year interim status report to be acted on by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification; further, to remove the restrictions on the content of the report; finally, to indicate that an institution's certification in the 10-year cycle be scheduled in accordance with the principles outlined in Bylaw 33.3. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Administrative Committee and Committee on Athletics Certification. Division I business session.

No. 59: Permit student-athletes greater access to participate in media activities (for example, film and stage, and writing projects) as specified. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism and Communications Committee. Divisions I, II and III business sessions (immediate effective date).

No. 60: Require counters in the sports of Division I football and basketball to register with the department of athletics any vehicles owned or regularly used by the student-athlete and to include such a requirement as part of the Student-Athlete Statement. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism. Division I business session.

No. 61: Require student-athletes and their parents and relatives to provide relevant documents to authorized institutional representatives related to an agent inquiry and include such a requirement as part of the Student-Athlete Statement. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism. The sponsor has indicated its intent to withdraw the proposal. General business session; all divisions voting.

No. 62: Permit Division I student-athletes to earn legitimate on- and off-campus employment income during semester or term time, provided such income in combination with other financial aid included in the student-athlete's individual limit does not exceed the student's cost of attendance at the institution. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism and Committee of Financial Aid and Amateurism. Division I business session.

No. 62-1: Amend No. 62 to require that a student-athlete, prior to commencement of employment, sign an affidavit as specified to be kept on file in the athletics department. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Committee of Financial Aid and Amateurism. Division I business session.

No. 63: In Division I, exempt employment earnings from counting in a student-athlete's individual full grant-in-aid limitations and the institution's sport limitations under specified conditions. Sponsored by nine Division I institutions. Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism position: Recommended withdrawal of proposal Division I business session.

No 63-1: Amend No. 63 to specify additional conditions (completion of freshman year, meeting satisfactory-progress requirements) that must be satisfied to exempt employment earnings from counting in a student-athlete's individual full grant-in-aid limitations and the institution's sport limitations. Sponsored by the Big East Conference. Division I business session.

No. 64: Permit Division I student-athletes to exempt legitimate off-campus employment earnings from the full grant-in-aid limit. Sponsored by 10 Division I institutions. Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism position: Recommended withdrawal of proposal. Division I business session.

No. 64-1: Amend No. 64 to require a Division I student-athlete to have completed his or her freshman year and to have met applicable NCAA, conference and institutional satisfactory-progress requirements in order to exempt off-campus employment earnings from a student-athlete's full grant-in-aid limit. Sponsored by the the Big East Conference. Division I business session.

No. 65: Permit a Division I institution to award athletics aid to a student prior to the student's initial, full-time collegiate enrollment, without increasing costs. Sponsored by 13 Division I institutions. Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism position: Support. Division I-A and Division I business sessions.

No. 66: Increase the maximum number of grants-in-aid in Division I men's basketball from 13 to 14. Sponsored by the Big Ten Conference. Committee on Financial Aid and Amateurism position: Support. Division I business session.

No. 67: Revise the definition of partial qualifier to include students who present a core-curriculum grade-point average of 2.500 and an SAT score of 810 or an ACT score of 67 and include students who present core-curriculum grade-point averages from 2.475 to 2.250 and SAT scores of 820 or above or ACT scores of 68 or above. Sponsored by eight Division I institutions. Academic Requirements Committee position: Oppose. Division I business session.

No. 68: In Division I, permit a partial qualifier to earn a fourth season of competition, provided the student-athlete receives a baccalaureate degree prior to the beginning of the fifth academic year following the student-athlete's initial, full-time enrollment. Sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference. Academic Requirements Committee position: Oppose. Division I business session.

No. 69: In the sports of football and men's and women's basketball, require a two-year college transfer student who was not a qualifier to fulfill one academic year in residence at the certifying institution prior to being eligible for competition. Sponsored by nine Division I institutions. Academic Requirements Committee position: None. Two-Year College Relations Committee position: Oppose. Division I business session.

No. 70: Reduce from 75 percent to 62.5 percent the minimum number of satisfactory-progress credit hours that a freshman student-athlete must earn during the academic year, and increase from 25 percent to 37.5 percent the minimum number of satisfactory-progress credit hours that a freshman student-athlete may earn during the summer. Sponsored by 11 Division I institutions. Academic Requirements Committee position: Oppose. Division I business session.

No. 71: Specify that in Division II, as in Division I, any participation by an individual in organized competition during any 12-month period after the individual's 21st birthday and prior to initial full-time enrollment at a collegiate institution counts as a year of competition in that sport. Sponsored by the Council; recommended by the Division II Steering Committee. Division II business session.

No. 72: Permit a student-athlete who previously participated in intercollegiate athletics to transfer to a Division III institution and be immediately eligible for competition only if the student-athlete was academically and athletically eligible for competition at his or her previous institution at the time the student-athlete transferred from that institution. Sponsored by the Council and Presidents Commission; recommended by the Division III Steering Committee, Academic Requirements Committee and Division III subcommittee of the Presidents Commission. Division III business session.

No. 73: Permit a student-athlete who is enrolled in a Division III graduate or professional school of an institution other than the institution he or she previously attended as an undergraduate to use the Division III transfer exceptions. Sponsored by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Academic Requirements Committee position: Oppose. Division III business session.

No. 74: In Division II sports other than football, permit coaches to be involved in two hours of skill-related instruction per week involving no more than three student-athletes at any one time during the permissible eight hours of countable athletically related activities that may occur outside the playing season during the academic year, provided the student-athlete requests the instruction. Sponsored by the Northeast-10 Conference and eight other Division II institutions. Council Subcommittee on Playing and Practice Seasons position: Support. Division II business session.

No. 75: Permit Division III institutions to commence on-court preseason basketball practice sessions on October 15. Sponsored by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and 16 other Division III institutions. Division III business session.

No. 76: In Division III basketball, specify a student-athlete may participate in not more than 50 halves of basketball competition. Sponsored by the Ohio Athletic Conference. Division III business session.

No. 77: In Division III football, specify that a student-athlete may participate in not more than 20 halves of football contests. Sponsored by the Ohio Athletic Conference. Division III business session.

No. 78: In Division III, permit football student-athletes to wear shoulder pads during the three-day, noncontact, conditioning practice period. Sponsored by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Division III business session.

Next week: Proposals in the amateurism/benefits/financial aid and eligibility groupings.