The NCAA News - News and FeaturesApril 27, 1998
II moves toward dropping geographic-proximity policy
The Division II Management Council supports the concept of eliminating the geographic-proximity policy in Division II championships, pending further review of travel costs and other budgetary implications.
The Management Council, meeting April 14-15 in Orlando, Florida, asked the Division II Championships Committee to obtain more detailed information about the potential budgetary impact but indicated support for eliminating the policy for the 1999-2000 championships.
Elimination of the policy could permit a No. 1-seeded team that meets other criteria to serve as a championship
host regardless of the location of its campus. The Management Council, however, noted that those criteria will be reviewed and could be modified during the coming year by Division II sports committees and the Championships Committee, and that criteria addressing cost or site-quality factors still could prevent a No. 1-seeded team from serving as a host.
The Management Council specifically discussed concerns about transportation expenses for championship events in Alaska or Hawaii, but also heard concerns that institutions in those states may unfairly be excluded from hosting championships because of location.
Any action to eliminate the policy ultimately will have to be approved by the Division II Presidents Council. The Management Council reported its support for the concept during the Presidents Council's April 21 meeting in Indianapolis.
Other championships actions
The Management Council also recommended a number of other actions to the Presidents Council involving championships, including:
Elimination of Bylaw 31.3.3.4, which requires a Division II sports committee to select the official conference representative determined through regular-season competition or a conference tournament for a championship before it selects any other team from that conference.
Adoption of a requirement that at-large selections for a championship have at least a .500 won-lost record in regular-season competition.
Approval of Grand Valley State University as host institution for the 1998 Divisions II and III Women's Golf Championships and Missouri Southern State College as host institution for the 1999 Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships.
Realignment of institutions sponsoring Division II men's soccer from four regions into eight regions, and expansion of the Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Committees from four to eight members each.
An increase in the length of the Division II Women's Cross Country Championships course from 5,000 to 6,000 meters (effective in 2000) and the addition of pole vault as an event at the Division II Women's Indoor Track and Outdoor Track and Field Championships (effective in 1999).
Funding for a one-person increase in the size of traveling parties for the Division II Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, apparel for volunteers at all Division II championships, and a fall meeting of chairs of Division II sports committees that govern individual/team championships.
Student-athletes in governance
The Management Council also received initial recommendations from the Division II Student-Athlete Involvement Project Team, which was formed last summer to study ways to involve student-athletes in Division II governance.
The project team recommended retention of current legislation limiting Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) membership to individuals currently en- rolled at Division II institutions, but also proposed that members whose enrollment status changes during the academic year be permitted to continue to serve on the committee until the following August 31, rather than leave the committee immediately.
The Management Council declined to support permitting student-athletes to remain on the SAAC after a change in enrollment status. It agreed that the SAAC should operate similarly to other Division II general committees and that changes in student-athletes' enrollment status are comparable to changes in employment status or other eligibility criteria that result in removal of administrators or coaches from committees.
Responding to other project team recommendations, the Management Council:
Approved communication between the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and four other Division II committees (Academic Requirements, Budget and Finance, Championships, and Legislation) for the purpose of determining the most effective way to involve student-athletes in those committees' activities.
Agreed to support intent-based modification of existing legislation (Bylaw 21.7.6.8.1) to indicate that a conference's representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee must be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a Division II institution in the conference.
The project team's recommendations also were presented to the Division II Presidents Council at its April 21 meeting.
The Management Council also declined a recommendation from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to schedule a one-day orientation during the fall for new SAAC members, but asked the committee to continue studying ways of preparing new members for their committee duties.
Other Highlights
Division II Management Council
April 14-15/Orlando, Florida
Agreed to recommend that the Division II Presidents Council approve assessment of a $2,500 application fee for provisional membership and establish a June 15 application deadline for institutions seeking provisional membership during the coming academic year.
Asked the Division II Budget/Finance Committee to study requiring new active members to wait three years before receiving distributions from the Division II enhancement fund (in addition to the four-year provisional-membership period).
Asked the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics to study means of enhancing the role of senior woman administrators at member institutions, including the possibility of requiring institutions to appoint an SWA.
Recommended sponsorship of proposed legislation to (1) permit student-athletes to receive a permissible outside educational award directly from the awarding agency before initial enrollment at an institution; (2) permit complimentary admissions for a student-athletes' two guests and spouse to an annual awards banquet; and (3) permit the provision of "reasonable" refreshments once per year at educational events involving the parents of student-athletes.
Supported a recommendation to specify that the Division II Presidents Council's liaison to the Division
II Committee on Infractions should serve in an advisory role and should not participate in infractions case deliberations or decisions.
Agreed to recommend that the Presidents Council sponsor amendments to playing-and-practice-seasons legislation in women's water polo and women's ice hockey and sponsor proposed legislation in field hockey that would permit institutions to participate in three additional dates of competition during the "nontraditional" season, provided they are conducted indoors.
Deferred action on recommendations to fill September 1, 1998, vacancies on the Division II Championships Committee and NCAA Committees on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and Women's Athletics pending further review by the Division II Nominating Committee.
Authorized the formation of a Division II Communications Project Team and a Management Council subcommittee for 1999 Convention planning, and agreed to support the formation of a joint Management Council/Presidents Council task force to begin developing a three-year strategic plan for Division II.
Agreed to solicit information from Division II and Association-wide committees regarding those committees' meeting schedules, for the purpose of determining whether the number of each committee's scheduled meetings is appropriate or necessary.
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