The NCAA News - News and Features

June 15, 1998

Division I aid proposals go to Council

Changes in football grants among recommendations

After much deliberation, careful consideration and a public hearing on the matter, the Division I Financial Aid Committee has made its recommendations regarding ways to modify NCAA legislation to assist institutions in complying with Title IX.

The recommendations were presented to the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet at its recent meeting in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and the recommendations will now be forwarded to the Division I Management Council for review at its July 27-29 meeting in Philadelphia.

The Financial Aid Committee has developed several different legislative proposals so that the division may consider various alternatives. The committee members felt that a variety of options were necessary since no particular piece of legislation could fully resolve the issue for all institutions.

"The problem with the chore that we were given is that you can fix it for one school and mess it up for another," said Financial Aid Committee chair Charlotte West, associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

"I'm not sure that, as diverse as our institutions are, there's a good solution without football being willing to reduce some."

The recommendations include proposed legislation to reduce the number of counters in football (from 85 to 75) or to place an annual limit of 75 on the number of equivalency financial aid awards to counters while placing an annual limit of 95 on the total number of counters, who could receive a partial or a full award.

The proposed changes to minimum financial aid requirements, which simply state that schools must give half of their grants to women or half of their funds to women (exclusive of grants in football and men's and women's basketball), provide a flexible option, West said.

"I think some of those recommendations are a good idea," West said. "Those are good because they give schools increased flexibility and they are not going to present schools with problems."

Other proposals involve increasing the number of financial aid awards allowed in various women's sports.

West was critical of that approach, noting that it would create problems for I-AAA institutions that do not offer football while also leading to more student-athletes sitting on the bench.

"I don't think they're necessarily solutions," she said. "I think that some of them are problems in themselves. If those recommendations (increasing awards in women's sports) were approved, it would cause additional problems for many I-AAA schools while solving the problems of only a few institutions.

"Most of those institutions could solve their own problems by simply adding more sports for women, but they argue that it's easier to just add scholarships. I say to them, 'Add another sport.'

"For schools that don't have football that currently have a 50-50 participation rate, their option is to not fully scholarship women's sports and suffer competitively or to face lawsuits from men.

"And if you look at the scholarship limits, they're all tilted toward more women's scholarships already. This just makes the problem worse. How fair is that?"

The Management Council may choose to propose any number of pieces of legislation based on the committee's recommendations. Any proposed legislation then be would be circulated for membership comment.

Background of the issue

Earlier in the year, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education expressed concern that institutions offering a full complement of scholarships in women's sports still may violate Title IX financial aid requirements.

At its January 1998 meeting, the Division I Management Council requested that the Financial Aid Committee review the NCAA financial aid limits in regard to Title IX requirements.

The committee met several times during April and May to examine the regulations. The committee also conducted a public hearing on the issue May 11 preceding the NCAA Title IX seminar in Chicago.

The Financial Aid Committee concluded -- and OCR representatives concurred -- that current NCAA financial aid legislation does not preclude an institution from complying with the financial aid component of Title IX. However, the committee agreed that some changes to existing NCAA rules might aid some Division I member institutions.

In its review of the issue, the committee examined several statistics, including: participation numbers per sport for men's and women's teams; financial aid limits for men's and women's teams (including a comparison of limits for men's and women's "like" teams and a comparison of limits for team sports vs. equivalency sports); the number of athletes needed to field a team (starters and substitutes included); the number of Division I institutions that sponsor specific teams; injury rates for specific sports; and nationwide interest in particular (for example, high-school participation).

The committee also considered several other factors, including the Division I philosophy statement (NCAA Bylaw 20.8), including part "d," which states that Division I believes in offering extensive opportunities for participation in varsity intercollegiate athletics for both men and women; the impact of proposed changes to financial aid limits that may affect Division I-A, I-AA or I-AAA institutions, including Division I institutions that do not offer scholarship football; the interest in maintaining competitive equity, a level playing field and the avoidance of stockpiling athletes; a desire to deregulate and to avoid over-regulation; and consideration of diversity and minority-opportunity issues.

Legislative Proposals

The Financial Aid Committee has developed the following legislative proposals.

(All financial aid limits below refer to the number of awards an institution may provide in any academic year.)

1. Amend 20.8.1.2 to state that, as part of Division I membership requirements, an institution must provide institutional financial assistance that equals one of the following:

a. A minimum of 50 percent of the maximum allowable grants in 14 sports, at least seven of which must be women's; or

b. Financial aid representing a minimum aggregate expenditure of $670,000 (with at least $335,000 in women's sports) in 1998-99, exclusive of grants in football and men's and women's basketball, provided the aggregate grant value is not less than 38 full grants, with at least 19 for women; or

c. A minimum of the equivalent of 50 full grants (at least 25 in women's sports), exclusive of grants awarded in football and men's and women's basketball.

(Institutions could choose whichever one of the three preceding financial aid requirements would best meet their needs.)

2. Amend 20.8.3 to state that, as part of Division I membership requirements, an institution must sponsor at least 14 sports, with at least seven for women and at least two team sports for men (exclusive of football, if offered) and at least two team sports for women.

3. Amend 15.5.5.1 to either of the following:

a. In Division I-A football, place an annual limit of 75 (down from 85) on the total number of counters (including initial counters) in the sport of football at each Division I-A institution;

OR

b. In Division I-A football, place an annual limit of 85 on the total number of counters (including initial counters) (which is the current rule), or permit institutions to choose an annual limit of 75 on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) to counters and an annual limit of 95 on the total number of counters (including initial counters). The effect of this would be to allow an institution to declare, by a certain date, how it would plan to award scholarships in the sport of football. Institutions that would benefit by choosing this option could do so, while institutions that didn't want to use this option could opt to stay under the current rule.

4. Amend 15.5.5.2 to state that in Division I-AA football, an annual limit of 55 would be placed on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) to counters and an annual limit of 85 would be placed on the total number of counters (including initial counters). The effect of this would be to spread no more than 55 full scholarships among no more than 85 student-athletes.

5. The committee noted that increasing the maximum institutional grant-in-aid limitations significantly in track/cross country for both men and women would impact minority opportunities and address diversity issues within the sport.

As the committee examined the impact of increasing grant-in-aid limitations for women, it noted that an imbalance existed between the genders that demonstrated a severe need to increase the equivalency limits for men while also making adjustments to the women's equivalency limits. With that in mind, the committee proposed amending the listed legislation to one of the following:

a. Amend 15.5.3.1.1 to place a limit of 16 (up from 12.6) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in men's track/cross country, and amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 26 (up from 18) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's track/cross country;

OR

b. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 22 (up from 18) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's track/cross country.

6. Amend 15.5.3.1.3 to state that, for those institutions that sponsor women's cross country but do not sponsor women's track, there would be a limit of eight (up from six) on the value (equivalency) of financial aid awards in women's cross country.

7. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 14 (up from 12) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in field hockey.

8. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 14 (up from 12) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's lacrosse.

9. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 14 (up from 12) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's soccer.

10. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 15 (up from 14) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's swimming.

11. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of 13 (up from 12) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in softball.

12. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to place a limit of nine (up from eight) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) in women's water polo.

13. Amend 15.5.3.1.2 to either of the following:

a. In the sport of women's rowing, place a limit of 25 (up from 20) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies);

OR

b. In the sport of women's rowing, place a limit of 30 (up from 20) on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies).

14. Amend 15.5.2.1 to state that an institution is limited to 13 (up from 12) counters (head count) in women's gymnastics.

The committee also recommended that the Division I Management Council ask championships and sports committees that govern individual sports to examine scoring methods to potentially increase participation and interest for women.

The committee has stated that this may ultimately drive a change in the number of scholarships offered in the applicable sports. (For example, in cross country, an institution is limited to entering seven participants in a particular meet, of which the top five can score.)