The NCAA News - News and FeaturesJuly 6, 1998
Cabinet identifies possible funding for bracket growth
Division I group seeks collective approach
The NCAA Division I Business/Finance Cabinet is recommending a collective approach to find the revenue that is necessary to expand championship brackets in certain Division I sports.
The cabinet did identify about $300,000 in funding for Division I bracket expansion through contingency line items ($200,000) and through the marketing, licensing and promotions budget ($100,000).
In addition, it asked the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet to provide additional funds -- at least another $300,000 -- through a review of its championships policies and practices.
Some members of the Business/Finance Cabinet said a more conservative approach on certain current championships policies could result in substantial savings. For example, cabinet members said the current policy that establishes a 250-mile minimum on air transportation is one that could be altered to result in substantial financial benefits.
The bracket-expansion initiative originated in the Championships/
Competition Cabinet. That group, acting on recommendations from various sports committees, sought to expand brackets or fields in the following Division I championships: baseball, women's volleyball, women's soccer, women's softball, and men's and women's cross country. The Championships/Competition Cabinet also recommended additional funding to assist host institutions with expenses incurred in administering Division I and National Collegiate championships.
The Division I Management Council viewed the requests -- estimated to cost about $850,000 and $550,000, respectively -- at its April meeting. It took no action, instead referring the recommendations to the Business/Finance Cabinet.
The Business/Finance Cabinet concluded that expanding brackets would be a more appropriate use of limited funds than assisting host institutions with administrative costs.
However, the $300,000 that the Business/Finance Cabinet identified will accomplish only a fraction of the bracket expansion that has been recommended. If the Championships/Cabinet identified $300,000 in savings through changing policies and practices, that still would leave a $250,000 shortfall for accomplishing all of the proposed changes.
At that point, the Championships/Competition Cabinet either could adopt additional changes totaling $250,000 or it could prioritize the requests and fund the ones most in need of expansion.
The Championships/Competition Cabinet will meet July 7-10.
Clearinghouse
The Business/Finance Cabinet also made a significant recommendation with regard to the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse, recommending that the registration fee be increased from $18 to $25, effective with the 1999-2000 academic year.
The Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet has recommended that the registration fee not be increased, but the Business/Finance Cabinet believes an increase is warranted for these reasons:
The current price of $18 has failed to deter large numbers of high-school students from needlessly registering with the clearinghouse. The number of registrants has doubled since the clearinghouse originated in 1993-94, resulting in greatly increased overhead. Only about half of those who registered with the clearinghouse in 1996-97 appeared on an institutional request list.
In the first year, the NCAA's clearinghouse subsidy was 21.9 percent of the overall cost ($431,000 of $1,971,000). Last year, it was 40.8 percent of the total cost ($1,819,000 of $4,457,000).
A waiver is provided for prospective student-athletes who cannot afford the registration fee.
Any change in the application fee for 1999-2000 would need to be implemented by January 1999.
Basketball promotion
The committee also approved a set of principles for the plan to promote men's and women's college basketball. Those principles would:
Focus on regular-season competition, as well as NCAA championship competition.
Focus on improving in-arena attendance, with an emphasis on student attendance.
Focus on the use of television and radio and to positively promote and grow the sport. In addition, the respective promotional components will be designed to be publicity/media friendly, thereby generating additional exposure for the overall promotional plan.
Focus on growing youth participation in basketball at the grass-roots level.
Focus on promotional opportunities available internationally.
Focus on strategies to partner college basketball with the corporate sector, thereby generating revenue and positive exposure for college basketball.
Focus on strategies to attack the negative perceptions of college basketball as a result of current issues surrounding the game, such as gambling, student-athlete conduct and sportsmanship.
Be designed to use the NCAA membership, coaches associations and constituent groups to support and implement the plan.
Be designed to be implemented at the national, conference and institutional level. In addition, the components will be constructed as a series of phases over a multi-year period, probably three to four years.
Be designed to complement one another within each plan and to work together across plans to promote college basketball as a whole.
Be designed so that outcomes can be measured.
The full plan is to be considered in August by the basketball marketing subcommittee.
Other highlights
Division I Business/Finance Cabinet
June 23-24/San Diego
Reviewed the 1998-99 NCAA proposed general operating budget, noting significant increases and decreases. The cabinet noted that the budget did not reflect any increases in the Division I distribution to members nor any increases in championships brackets. The total Association-wide increase was due to the increased cost of the catastrophic-injury insurance program.
Requested that the staff evaluate programs, staffing, business process and practices during its transition to Indianapolis to provide the greatest efficiencies and cost savings for the Association.
Asked the marketing, licensing and promotions staff to explore whether certain Association-wide programs (for example, youth programs, drug-education programs or award ceremonies) could be packaged with corporate-partner initiatives to help underwrite such programs.
Recommended approval of $160,000 of $210,000 of grant requests made by affiliated organizations. The cabinet's funding priorities were for statistical and officiating services that it deemed essential and appropriate for certain sports.
Agreed to identify two members from the cabinet's Marketing Committee to work with representatives of the Championships/Competition Cabinet, the Football Issues Committee and other committees to identify the key issues and the future direction of Division I-AA football. The cabinet directed the staff to provide an inventory of current Division I-AA football activities being administered either by the NCAA or by NCAA Football.
Considered a request to add a non-voting Division II representative to the Marketing Committee. The cabinet noted that it does not have the authority to add members to the Marketing Committee; however, it agreed to share minutes and research materials that will assist Divisions II and III institutions with the marketing and promotion of college sports.
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