The NCAA News - News and Features

October 20, 1997

Growth moratorium may be near an end

Consideration will be given to ending a two-year-old moratorium on accepting new members into the Association when the Divisions I, II and III Management Councils meet October 20-21 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The moratorium was enacted August 9, 1995, by the NCAA Council. The action placed a freeze on membership growth until after the completion of restructuring.

The Council action resulted from concern about the potential for continuing rapid membership growth during a time when the Association was focused on the restructuring process.

Sixty institutions joined the Association as provisional members during the 12 months prior to the Council's 1995 action. Another 36 institutions joined the NCAA as provisional members between September 1993 and August 1994.

Nearly all of those 96 institutions sought membership in Divisions II and III.

The Council permitted all institutions elected to provisional status as of August 9, 1995, to continue to be eligible for active membership, but the action prevented new provisional members from joining the Association after that date.

Restructuring became effective last August 1 after the Association approved its implementation at the 1996 and 1997 Conventions.

All three divisions voted at the 1997 Convention to lengthen from three to four years the provisional-membership period for institutions that petition for Association membership after the moratorium is lifted.

In addition to reviewing separately the moratorium on new members, the three Management Councils will tackle a variety of division-specific issues during their meetings in Kansas City.

Division I

A principal item on the agenda for the Division I Management Council relates to an alternative to the current method of core-course review.

At its August meeting, the Division I Board of Directors discussed an approach that would shift primary responsibility for assessing the core courses needed for initial eligibility away from the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse and to the nation's high schools.

The Board directed the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet to review the matter. The cabinet's Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers, along with the Division II Academic Requirements Committee, met September 14 with representatives from several high-school education associations and the National Federation of State High School Associations. At that meeting, the subcommittee expressed its desire to create a partnership with the high-school community and its willingness to accept suggestions for improvement from the high-school academic counseling community. Although the subcommittee continues to maintain that the NCAA must continue to play a role in monitoring core-course determinations, it also agreed that the Association must define its standards for a core course more clearly.

The Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet also will report on its recommendation on men's basketball evaluation camps. At its September meeting, the cabinet approved a model developed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches that would be designed to increase the role of high-school, junior college and college coaches in the recruiting process. Under the plan, USA Basketball would administer eight regional camps conducted over three consecutive weekends in the spring and would restrict out-of-season evaluations by coaches to the USA Basketball camps, state high-school sanctioned all-star events, state high-school association sanctioned events designed for postseason evaluation of prospects and National Junior College Athletic Association sanctioned all-star events.

The Management Council also will continue its examination of the Division I student-athlete employment issue. Legislation permitting Division I student-athletes the opportunity to earn up to the cost of attendance through employment earnings was approved at the 1997 Convention, but at its August meeting, the Board of Directors placed a one-year moratorium on the implementation of the legislation. The Management Council has been charged with addressing concerns that have been expressed about the unanticipated adverse effects of the legislation, most notably potential problems relating to monitoring such employment. The Board is to consider Management Council recommendations at its January meeting.

Division II

Much like the Division II Steering Committee in the old governance structure, the Division II Management Council will devote a portion of its October meeting to a review of proposed legislation for the 1998 Convention.

The Management Council will review 19 proposals currently on the agenda for the Division II business session at the Convention, including eight proposals sponsored by the membership. That review will include consideration of Division II committees' reactions to membership proposals.

The Management Council can recommend to the Division II Presidents Council that it cosponsor, support or oppose membership proposals, or take no action.

Management Council members also will review the schedule for Division II meetings at the Convention, including a proposed athletics administration forum on the Sunday afternoon before the Convention's opening business session.

Other items on the Management Council's agenda: