The NCAA News - Digest

December 9, 1996

• AWARDS -- Payne selected to receive Theodore Roosevelt Award
• RESEARCH -- Graduation rates show increase, minority enrollment rebounding
• DIVISION III -- Task force plans presentation on championship models

AWARDS

Payne selected to receive Theodore Roosevelt Award

William Porter "Billy" Payne, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, is this year's recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed on an individual by the NCAA.

Payne is the 30th person to receive the "Teddy," which will be awarded at the annual NCAA honors dinner January 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.

A 1969 graduate of the University of Georgia, Payne starred on the football field as an all-Southeastern Conference receiver and defensive end.

RESEARCH

Graduation rates show increase, minority enrollment rebounding

An analysis of NCAA graduation-rates data indicates that freshman student-athletes entering between 1983 and 1989 graduated at a higher rate than the nonathlete students at Division I institutions that offer athletically related aid.

Higher graduation rates were noted for the student-athlete group both before and after imposition of the Proposition 48 initial-eligibility guidelines, but the graduation rates of student-athletes increased dramatically immediately after the imposition of Proposition 48.

The data also show that there was a smaller proportion of African-American student-athletes at Division I institutions following the rule's implementation than there had been before 1986 (at least in the first four years following the rule). Although the proportion of minority enrollment increased with the 1989 entering class, it still has not reached the level of 1985.

The study, conducted by the NCAA research staff, is the first longitudinal analysis of the data collected annually and reported in the Division I Graduation-Rates Report.

Staff contact: Todd A. Petr.

DIVISION III

Task force plans presentation on championship models

A three-part presentation of the proposed models to revamp the Division III championships structure is planned during Presidential Agenda Day at the 1997 NCAA Convention by the Division III Task Force to Review the NCAA Membership Structure.

At a meeting November 24 and 25 in Dallas, the task force reviewed the three models. One model (the enhancement model) would retain the current Division III championships structure, with bracket enhancements in seven of the eight team sports in which sports sponsorship exceeds 200 institutions. The second model (the subdivision model) would subdivide the division in those seven sports plus football. The third model (the subgrouping model) would group similar institutions during the preliminary rounds of championships play in those eight sports.

Information on the specifics of the three models has been mailed to all Division III members for their review before the Convention.

Staff contact: Daniel T. Dutcher.