The NCAA News - News and FeaturesNovember 3, 1997
II, III delay membership-growth decision
The Divisions II and III Management Councils have delayed making formal recommendations on whether to end a two-year-old moratorium on accepting new members into the Association.
Those groups and the Division I Management Council considered when and how to end the moratorium, which was enacted in August 1995 to place a freeze on membership growth until after the completion of restructuring.
The Division I Management Council passed the question along to the Division I Board of Presidents without comment. Although the question of when to end the moratorium is an Association-wide issue, it has the greatest effect on Divisions II and III since most new members would end up in those classifications.
The three Management Councils met October 20-21 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Division II Management Council discussed the possible impact that ending the moratorium will have on revisions in membership criteria and the Division II revenue-distribution plan that currently are being considered. It agreed to seek a legal opinion regarding implications of not lifting the moratorium before making a recommendation to the Division II Presidents Council.
The Division III Management Council, noting the action in Division II, agreed that it is best not to formally recommend termination of the moratorium at this time. It did, however, express the opinion that the moratorium should be lifted after the 1998 Convention, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.
All three divisions agree that the moratorium can be ended by action of the Division I Board of Directors and the Divisions II and III Presidents Councils under Constitution 5.4.1.1.1, which permits modification of legislation based on intent.
The legislation implementing the moratorium (Constitution 3.1.3) states that it will remain in place "until the changes in the governance structure considered at the 1996 and 1997 Conventions are implemented."
Unless the Divisions II and III Presidents Councils take action before the next meetings of the Divisions II and III Management Councils to lift the moratorium, the Management Councils again will discuss the matter at their January meetings during the Convention in Atlanta.
Other highlights
Division II Management Council
October 20-21/Kansas City, Missouri
Reviewed proposed legislation for the 1998 Convention without taking any action.
Received from the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee a strategic plan designed to help the NCAA address the education and welfare of minority student-athletes and the enhancement of opportunities for minorities in coaching, athletics administration, officiating, the NCAA committee structure and conference governance structures. The Management Council accepted the committee's strategic plan in principle and agreed that any specific programs set forth in the plan should be forwarded to the Division II governance structure for consideration when the committee is prepared to make such recommendations.
Approved guiding policies and procedures recommended by the Division II Academic Requirements Committee for use in appeals by Division II institutions of initial-eligibility waiver decisions and satisfactory-progress waiver decisions.
Acting on recommendations by the Division II Championships Committee, approved a revision in the format of the finals of the Division II Baseball Championship to permit participants in Saturday games to play on the following Monday and participants in Sunday games to play on the following Tuesday, and also approved the Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Convention Center as the site of the finals of the 1998 Division II Women's Basketball Championship. The Management Council forwarded both recommendations to the Division II Presidents Council for ratification because each has a budgetary impact.
Agreed to recommend again that the Presidents Council approve the Eligibility Committee's request that its name be changed to the Division II Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement.
Accepted a Management Council Subcommittee recommendation that five of the subcommittee's seven members evaluate and decide Division II Administrative Review Panel cases on a rotating basis. The Management Council also agreed to establish a policy that permits significant and/or controversial cases (with little or no precedent) to be referred to the full Management Council for consideration.
Acting on recommendations from the Division II Membership Committee, required three provisional institutions to repeat one year of their three-year provisional membership period due to failure to comply with various membership requirements; approved waiver requests for two provisional institutions and agreed to move them forward to the next year of their three-year provisional membership period; and reviewed financial aid information from one provisional institution and agreed to move the institution forward to its next year of the three-year provisional membership period.
Adopted policies and procedures to govern the election and re-election of Management Council representatives. The Management Council then considered a slate of nominees from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for a current vacancy, four Management Council representatives eligible for re-election in January 1998, a slate of candidates for the Great Lakes Valley Conference's January 1998 vacancy and an immediate vacancy for an at-large representative, and agreed to forward recommendations to the Presidents Council for ratification.
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