The NCAA News - News and Features

December 15, 1997

Legislation updates available on Internet

NCAA Online offers Division I tracking

Individuals at Division I member institutions who have had trouble tracking legislation can take heart: Help has arrived.

On December 9, the NCAA implemented a new feature in NCAA Online that makes it possible for any interested individual to check the status of proposed legislation.

The information can be accessed through the membership services selection on the NCAA Online home page (www.ncaa.org).

After the user accesses the membership services index, he or she should click on the choice for "Division I Legislation -- Proposed Changes."

At that time, a summary of all proposed legislation for the calendar year will appear in numerical order. That summary will include the proposal number and the last body to have acted on it, the title of the legislation, the intent statement, the proposed effective date and the current status. The form eventually also will include information on what might happen next with the legislation. When proposed legislation is in a comment period, the summary will note when that comment period will expire.

Users may choose to bookmark the membership services index; however, they should not bookmark the actual legislative summary.

A proposal's full text may be acquired by clicking on its number. The NCAA's usual way of communicating text changes for legislation has been to boldface or underline new language and to italicize or strike through language that is to be deleted. However, some Web browsers do not support those formats. Color is an option, but not all users have a color monitor.

Because of those possibilities, the proposals have been designed so that language to be added will appear in boldface, underlined and blue type while language that is to be deleted will appear in italicized, struck-through red type. By using those typographical features together, almost every user should be able to ascertain what language is to be added and deleted.

The online update will not provide a public posting of membership comments. The staff and the Division I governance structure are continuing to explore how or whether that information should be posted online.

Frequent updates on proposed legislation will be made by the Division I governance staff. Occasions for updates will include meetings of the Division I Board of Directors and Management Council, along with meetings of the division's four cabinets.

The listing will contain all legislation proposed in a calendar year. After that year is completed, the material will be made available through an archive. No search engine is available now, but one is expected in the future.