National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

July 7, 1997

Division II presidents approve committee selections

The Division II Presidents Council Transition Team has ratified the appointment of individuals to fill vacancies on new Division II-specific committees and Division II vacancies on two Association-wide committees.

The Presidents Council, meeting June 24 in La Jolla, California, in conjunction with the final meeting of the NCAA Presidents Commission, ratified appointments made earlier by the Division II Management Council Transition Team.

The presidents approved the appointment of 22 individuals to vacancies on six Division II-specific committees, as well as the appointments of 16 student-athletes to vacancies on the new 24-member Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The six committees are the Division II Academic Requirements, Championships, Eligibility, Legislation and Membership Committees and the Division II Committee on Infractions. (The new Division II Nominating Committee was ratified by the CEOs in March.)

Appointments to the Association-wide Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee and Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee also were ratified by the Presidents Council. Those appointments remain subject to final approval by the new Executive Committee.

In ratifying the Division II appointments, the Presidents Council acknowledged the attempts of the Division II Nominating Committee and the Division II Management Council to ensure gender and ethnic diversity in committees, as well as diversity of institutional or conference position and conference and geographical representation.

The Presidents Council noted that because a large number of current committee members agreed to continue service in the new governance structure, some committees had only a few vacancies to fill -- a circumstance that in some cases impacted the Nominating Committee's ability to present a more diverse slate of nominees.

The Division II Management Council and Nominating Committee have pledged to the Presidents Council that they will work together to ensure that qualified women and ethnic minorities are identified to fill future committee vacancies.

New members of the Division II committees will be listed in the July 21 issue of The NCAA News, and the complete rosters of the committees will be published in the August 4 issue of the News.

Other actions

In other actions relating to Division II and Association-wide committees, the Presidents Council:

  • Approved the proposed composition of a Division II Management Council subcommittee that is being formed to hear waiver requests and infractions appeals. The seven-member subcommittee will administer Division II waiver requests that currently are handled by the Administrative Review Panel and also will hear institutions' appeals of Division II Committee on Infractions findings and penalties.

    The seven members are G. Jean Cerra of Barry University; Charles A. "Tod" Eberle of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference; Alfreeda Goff of Virginia State University; Jerry M. Hughes of Central Missouri State University; Patricia A. Merrier of the University of Minnesota, Duluth; Barbara J. Schroeder of Regis University (Colorado); and Wil G. Shaw of Morehouse College.

  • Appointed the following Presidents Council members to the NCAA Special Committee on Minority Issues that will report to the new Executive Committee: Jessica S. Kozloff of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Joan K. Wadlow of the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Charles D. Dunn of Henderson State University; and Gladys Styles Johnston, University of Nebraska at Kearney.

  • Ratified the selection of individuals to represent the West Virginia Athletic Conference and New England Collegiate Conference on the Division II Management Council. The appointments will be announced in the July 21 issue of the News.

    Other highlights

    Division II Presidents
    Council Transition Team
    June 24/La Jolla, California

  • Affirmed that Division II representatives to the Executive Committee in the new governance structure will seek approval of use of Association-wide funds to pay for activities at championships that previously have been funded at least in part by host institutions or organizations.

    During its final meeting in May, the current Executive Committee gave preliminary approval to the expenditure of funds by each division for the purpose of providing a consistent "championship experience" for student-athletes, but referred to division championships committees the question of whether each division will provide such funding.

    The question subsequently was referred by the Division II Championships Committee to the Division II Presidents Council Transition Team.

    In response, the presidents expressed the opinion that championship experience is a student-athlete welfare issue that appropriately should be treated Association-wide, rather than on a federated basis.

    Included among championship experiences that would be funded under the proposed program are prechampionship banquets and student-athlete mementos. The proposed program would relieve host institutions of the expectation of providing such amenities and create opportunities for NCAA corporate partner participation, while ultimately seeking to ensure that student-athletes in all championships enjoy consistent treatment.

  • Approved a Division II Management Council recommendation that the terms of the chair and vice-chair of the Presidents Council and Management Council be staggered, so that they end at different times. The Management Council recommended that each chair's term be based on the calendar year and each vice-chair's term be based on the academic year. Therefore, each current chair's term will expire in January 1999 and each current vice-chair's term will end in August 1998.

  • Requested more information regarding a Division II Management Council recommendation (originating from the Division II Financial Aid Project Team) that the Presidents Council sponsor legislation at the 1998 Convention to reduce the number of equivalency scholarships for cross country and track at schools that sponsor only cross country. The Management Council recommended a reduction in such cases from the current 12.6 equivalencies to five. The Presidents Council requested data on the number of institutions that sponsor cross country and use 12.6 equivalencies, and also asked for an analysis of the proposal's potential impact on Title IX compliance. The Presidents Council will consider the issue again in August, before its September 1 deadline for submitting proposed legislation for the 1998 Convention.

  • Reviewed a document detailing Division II Presidents Council policies and procedures in a manner similar to the current NCAA Presidents Commission Handbook, and agreed to review the document again in August.