The NCAA News - News and FeaturesApril 27, 1998
I Management Council takes action on legislation
In addition to forwarding to the Division I Board of Directors the finishing touches on student-athlete employment legislation, the Division I Management Council also passed on to the Board legislation to eliminate the five-year length of service for restricted-earnings coaches.
It also expressed support for championships expansion during its April 14-15 meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The Council also reviewed legislative items that had been circulated for comment and proposed legislation submitted for initial approval. Included in the latter was a request to delete the requirement in Constitution 4.8.1 that no subdivision of Division I shall have more than 50 percent representation on any committee.
The Council amended the effective date of the legislation to August 1, 1999, then referred the legislation to each of the four Division I cabinets for study. It was the sense of the Council that the cabinets are integral in the committee-appointment process and should have the opportunity to study the matter before action is taken. The Council also will appoint its own subcommittee to work jointly with the cabinets to develop a report for the Council's July meeting.
The Council also considered a number of items from the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, including a discussion of Bylaw 30.10.2.10, which prohibits more than one team from any Division I conference from participating in any of the preseason exempted football events during an academic year.
It was brought to the Council's attention that more than one team from the same conference had participated during the 1997 preseason games, but after further review the Council determined that there should be no penalty assessed because there had been conflicting information about the application of the legislation.
The Council defeated a request to provide a one-year waiver of the bylaw for the 1998 preseason contests and, further, referred a review of how teams will be selected in the future under Bylaw 30.10.2.10 to the Championships/Competition Cabinet.
The Council also received reports from the other three cabinets, including a request from the Championships/Competition Cabinet to support bracket expansion in baseball, women's volleyball, women's soccer, women's softball and men's and women's cross country.
The Council agreed with the cabinet's position that increasing the number of opportunities for student-athletes should receive the Business/Finance Cabinet's highest priority during its review of discretionary funds within the Association's 1998-99 general operating budget.
The Council also encouraged the cabinet to continue reviewing the possible expansion of brackets in other sports based upon the consistent application of objective criteria.
In addition, the Council approved the cabinet's recommended format changes in women's gymnastics (increasing the number of regional qualifying meets from five six-team meets to six); men's and women's tennis (increasing the number of regional qualifying tournaments from eight eight-team tournaments to 16 four-team tournaments); and women's volleyball (increasing the number of teams that are seeded on a national basis from eight to 16).
In other items related to championships, the Council approved a recommendation regarding the administration of legislation that allows a Division I-A institution, once every four years, to count a win against a Division I-AA opponent toward meeting the six-win requirement for postseason bowl consideration.
Specifically, the Council approved a certification process to ensure that the Division I-AA institution has averaged at least 60 financial aid equivalencies during the previous three years.
The Council did not support a recommendation that had been remanded to the Football Issues Committee that would require a Division I-A institution to report to its conference before the season the Division I-AA game that will count toward its six-game win requirement. The Council also defeated a proposal that would have required Division I-AA schools to average 58 financial aid equivalencies during the previous three years in order to count toward a Division I-A school's six wins.
The Strategic Planning Cabinet's report included a draft of goal statements in emphasis areas to be forwarded to the Board of Directors for inclusion in Division I's strategic plan.
The Council recommended that the Board adopt general goal areas without the specific language to allow the cabinet, Council and other individuals to develop language that is more active and engaging. In particular, the Council asked that the cabinet seek counsel from the cabinets and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, the Committee on Women's Athletics, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee regarding goal statements for gender equity and diversity, student-athlete welfare and championships, playing rules and competition.
The Council also heard a report from the Budget/Finance Cabinet and discussed preliminary information about the 1998-99 budget. Further review of the budget will occur during the Council's July meeting.
In other actions, the Council heard a report from the Committee on Financial Aid regarding a May 11 hearing to solicit views on recommendations for addressing difficulties that NCAA financial aid limitations may pose for institutions seeking compliance with Title IX.
The committee will seek feedback from the hearing in order to formulate recommendations to the Academics/ Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet.
Legislation
The Council gave second approval to the following legislative proposals, which were forwarded to the Board of Directors for adoption:
No. 97-20, which specifies that the provisions of Bylaw 10.3 would apply to staff members of member conferences.
No. 97-21, which would permit two coaches in men's volleyball to contact and evaluate prospects off campus at any one time.
No. 97-22, which would allow men's and women's basketball coaches to make one telephone call to a prospect after June 20 of the prospect's junior year in high school, and three calls during July (limit one per week). [The effective date of this legislation would be immediately, subject to approval from the Board of Directors.]
No. 97-23, which specifies that violations of Bylaw 13.1.9 shall not render a prospect ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation.
No. 97-24, which relates to National Girls and Women in Sports Day activities.
No. 97-26, which relates to official transcripts that may be used for the purpose of certifying initial-eligibility core-curriculum requirements in cases in which a student has attended multiple high schools. [The effective date of this legislation is August 1, 1998, and will apply to all students whose eligibility begins after that date.]
No. 97-27, which relates to outside competition in field hockey.
No. 97-28, which relates to the receipt of educational financial awards.
No. 97-29, which relates to permissible times for diving practice sessions beyond the swimming and diving playing and practice season.
No. 97-30, which allows a National Collegiate championship or a division championship to be established for emerging sports in which the Association does not already conduct a championship if at least 40 institutions sponsor the sport.
No. 98-9, which relates to student-athlete employment. [The Council gave approval to an amended version of this proposal and forwarded it to the Board of Directors. See story on page 1.]
No. 98-10, which specifies that duties of the former Professional Sports Liaison Committee be coordinated by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet Subcommittee on Amateurism and Agents.
No. 98-11, which permits the chair of the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee to request that the Division I Management Council designate a former member of the committee to participate in the consideration and disposition of a case if it appears that one or more members of the committee will be unable to participate in the hearing of that case.
Initial approval
The following proposals received initial approval from the Council and will be circulated for comment by the membership:
No. 97-25, which relates to foreign tours. [This proposal was considered initially by the Council in January, then amended and referred to the Championships/Competition Cabinet. The cabinet subsequently approved the Council's amendment. The proposal as amended will be circulated for comment and considered again during the Council's July meeting.]
No. 97-41, which would extend the five-year period of eligibility when a student-athlete is unable to participate in intercollegiate athletics as a result of his or her participation in one of the athletically related training activities specified in Bylaw 14.2.1.5.
No. 97-43, amended by the Council to indicate that the legislation applies only to situations in which the student-athlete has exhausted eligibility and that the legislation applies when student-athletes accept payment from agents.
No. 98-35, which would shorten the comment period by requiring that proposed legislative changes acted upon by the Board of Directors or Management Council be published within 15 days and that membership reaction be received within 60 days of those groups' actions.
The following proposals were referred to the appropriate Division I cabinet:
No. 98-33, which would delete the requirement that no subdivision of Division I shall have more than 50 percent representation on any committee. (Referred to all four cabinets)
No. 98-34, which would establish the Saturday after Thanksgiving as the final date on which a conference championship football game may be played. (Championships/Competition Cabinet)
No. 98-36, which would allow athletics department staff members to announce national team events, including the Olympic Games, regardless of whether there are prospective student-athletes involved in such competitions. (Academics/ Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet)
No. 98-37, which would allow currently enrolled student-athletes (as well as prospective student-athletes) to receive funding to cover actual and necessary developmental training expenses that are approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee or appropriate national governing body. (Olympic Sports Liaison Committee)
No. 98-40, which would allow student-athletes serving on active duty of a military service to participate on amateur basketball teams, while still serving their country. [The Council amended this proposal to stipulate that the student-athlete's period of competition not exceed one year.] (Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet)
No. 98-41, which would allow institutions to pay a foreign student-athlete's withholding tax to the federal government. (Committee on Financial Aid)
No. 98-44, which specifies an additional circumstance (when it is determined that the institution has not received adequate notice from the peer-review team of a problem significant enough to affect the institution's certification status) under which an institution's certification-status decision could be postponed by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification.
Other highlights
Division I Management Council
April 14-15/Orlando, Florida
Approved legislative amendments to Proposal Nos. 98-27, 98-28, 98-29, 98-30, 98-31 and 98-32. These amendments involve Bylaws 30 and 31 and are not subject to a comment period. They will become effective immediately upon approval from the Board of Directors.
Approved a recommendation from the Business/Finance Cabinet that proposals concerning marketing and promotional initiatives should first be presented to the cabinet's Marketing Committee for review instead of the current practice of presenting such opportunities to the sports committee for the sport involved.
Approved suggested procedures for Division I appeals to the Council when permitted by the bylaws and clarified that the Administrative Committee should review each request to determine whether there should be an appeal opportunity.
Gave initial approval to drafted legislation that would allow institutions to provide meal expenses to student-athletes who serve on institutional committees and miss a regular meal as a result of a committee meeting during meal hours.
Defeated Proposal No. 97-42, which would have permitted an institution to cancel or gradate athletically related financial aid in circumstances where the student-athlete misses an excessive number of classes without an excuse.
Tabled Proposal No. 98-39, which would permit simultaneous telecasting or cablecasting of regular-season Division I-AA football games on Friday nights.
Discussed the issue of ongoing attendance of outside individuals at the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet's subcommittee meetings. The cabinet had agreed in principle not to allow such attendance, but the Council directed that a compliance representative of the Collegiate Commissioners Association be appointed as a nonvoting liaison to the Legislative Review/Interpretations Subcommittee as an additional resource as well as a vehicle to assist in conveying information back to the membership.
Expressed continuing concern about the problems associated with summer basketball recruiting, noting that Proposal No. 98-23, which has been circulated by the cabinet for comment, is an initial attempt at addressing those problems. The Council requested that the cabinet's report in July to the Council include an anticipated timetable for recommending additional changes.
Received a report on the status of continuing discussions with the Department of Justice concerning the review of accommodations for learning-disabled student-athletes regarding initial-eligibility standards.
Recommended that the Board of Directors adopt as noncontroversial legislation the establishment of a $2,500 application fee as a requirement for provisional membership.
Asked the Board of Directors to adopt noncontroversial legislation that would permit a Division I institution to participate in exhibition basketball contests against foreign and/or club teams on or after October 31. This would ensure at least a two-week period before the first allowable date of regular-season competition every year.
Discussed the 1998 Convention survey results and, though it took no formal action, agreed to continue to provide input regarding a structure that would encourage as much attendance from Division I as possible.
Received a report from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which included concerns regarding proposed legislation involving telephone calls to prospective student-athletes and imposing consequences for excessive class absences.
Agreed that a continuing waiver of Constitution 4.8.1 should be granted for the Men's and Women's Fencing Committee.
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