The NCAA News - News and Features

July 6, 1998

Division III Presidents Council minutes

Following are the minutes of the April 21, 1998, meeting of the Division III Presidents Council at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Indianapolis. All actions taken by the Presidents Council are included. Highlights of the meeting were reported in the May 4 issue of The NCAA News.

1. Announcements. President Curtis L. McCray, chair, welcomed President Roy B. Shilling Jr. of Southwestern University (Texas) as a newly appointed member of the Presidents Council. A brief introduction was provided by all members.

2. Previous Minutes. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes of the following meetings and telephone conferences: January 11, 1998, Presidents Council meeting; January 10, 1998, joint Presidents Council/Management Council meeting; and January 21, 1998, and March 3, 1998, Division III Administrative Committee telephone conferences.

It was voted that the minutes of the January 11, 1998, Presidents Council meeting; the January 10, 1998, joint Presidents Council/Management Council meeting; and the January 21, 1998, and March 3, 1998, Division III Administrative Committee telephone conferences be approved as distributed.

3. NCAA Executive Committee Report. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes from the Executive Committee's January 13, 1998, meeting.

4. Report of the April 14-15, 1998, Division III Management Council Meeting.

a. Review of Division III strategic plan.

(1) Time line and process. The Presidents Council agreed with the Management Council's recommendation to request greater involvement of the strategic-planning subcommittee in the review of Division III and Association-wide committees' progress toward goals.

(2) Planning priorities for 1997-2000. The Presidents Council:

(a) Endorsed the Management Council's recommendation to increase communication and input from chief executive officers, noting that it must be simplified and concise, and the use of technology should be increased.

(b) Endorsed the development of an evaluation tool (scorecard) to document progress toward the achievement of goals and priorities.

(3) Operations plan. The Presidents Council:

(a) Endorsed the Management Council's recommendation to forward a letter to all Division III and Association-wide committee chairs and staff liaisons requesting specific operations plans and requested an update on utilizing the evaluation tool at its August meeting.

(b) Approved the Management Council's recommendation that the Budget Committee establish a "planning reserve" for 1997-98 to fund Division III initiatives that are consistent with the plan but not yet identified by responsible committees.

(4) Strategic Plan Priority No. 5. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to direct the Division III strategic-planning subcommittee to review Priority No. 5 (diversity) and to forward its recommended revisions to appropriate committees for action.

b. Division III talking points. The Presidents Council reviewed and endorsed the document as recommended by the Management Council, noting one exception. The Presidents Council requested that the wording in the statement regarding the division's commitment to provide equitable opportunities be changed to "is committed to providing...."

c. Committee reports.

(1) Association-wide committees.

(a) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. No formal action was required; however the Presidents Council commended the committee and the members of the Division III Wrestling Committee for their work regarding rules changes in light of recent deaths of student-athletes in the sport of wrestling.

(b) Olympic Sports Liaison Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to refer the statement related to the decline in Olympic sports back to the committee, noting that the content of such a statement should be reviewed by all governance groups and approved by the NCAA Executive Committee prior to its release.

(c) Committee on Women's Athletics. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to defer action on the inclusion of a more descriptive nondiscrimination clause to the Association's Constitution pending legal interpretation, particularly in light of current legal actions.

(2) Policies and procedures subcommittee. The Presidents Council:

(a) Endorsed the Management Council's recommendation to approve the Division III infractions appeals policies and procedures.

(b) Discussed the possible certification of all-star contests as requested by the Management Council. The Presidents Council noted that it is philosophically opposed to certification for any sport, noting that the sponsorship of competition beyond the regular season and NCAA championships was not encouraged for Division III student-athletes. The Presidents Council further recommended no staff involvement, no use of institutional facilities and no use of institutional equipment in all-star contests, based on liability concerns.

(3) Division III committees.

(a) Budget Committee. No formal action was required; however, the Presidents Council noted the elimination of the request for a $6,000 consultant recommendation by the Interpretations and Legislation Committee.

(b) Championships Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Voted to not approve a Management Council recommendation to enhance the football championship for 1998 by adding an additional eight teams, noting that the membership did not consider the idea of bowl games to be a suitable postseason championship alternative in football. The Presidents Council voted to retain the current 16-team football championship for 1998-99, noting that the governance structure may suggest more appropriate models to comply with the principles of increased access and emphasis on in-season conference and regional play. Members of the Presidents Council expressed their desire that the Division III Football and Championships Committees consider subdivision in the sport of football as one of the possible models.

(ii) Agreed to sponsor legislation for the 1999 NCAA Convention to create a Division III women's golf championship effective with the 1999-2000 championship.

(iii) Approved the Management Council's recommendations related to the proposed revision of automatic-qualification principles and selection requirements. The Presidents Council also approved the proposed process and time line for submission of proposed revisions to Bylaw 31 for a vote by the membership at the 1999 Convention.

(iv) Agreed to ratify all other Management Council actions related to the Championships Committee, including issues related to representation on the Women's Lacrosse Committee; an increase in the travel party for teams participating in the men's and women's diving championships, and future priorities to be addressed by the committee.

(c) Financial Aid and Awards Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendations related to a second mailing to all Division III institutions who have failed to comply with the process for submission of nonathletics achievement awards and awards of circumstance to the committee for approval on behalf of the Management Council.

(d) Membership Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Endorsed the Management Council's recommendation to approve noncontroversial legislation effective immediately to require a nonrefundable $2,500 application fee for provisional members.

(ii) Agreed to sponsor proposed legislation recommended by the Management Council that would preclude a provisional member from awarding athletically related financial aid to incoming students (e.g., freshmen, transfers) during its second year of provisional membership.

(iii) Agreed to sponsor proposed legislation recommended by the Management Council that would require that only contests against the varsity program of a four-year, degree-granting collegiate institution be counted for sports-sponsorship purposes.

(iv) Agreed to sponsor proposed legislation recommended by the Management Council that would require institutions applying for reclassification to Division II to give a two-year notice. The Presidents Council further specified an amendment to prohibit service by a reclassifying institution's staff members on Division III committees during the transition. The Presidents Council also requested that the committee carefully review and consider institutions reclassifying to Division III prior to admittance.

(v) Agreed to ratify all additional Management Council actions related to the Membership Committee, including the use of the institutional self-study guide for the 1998-99 academic year; provisional member education plan; no increase in membership fees for 1998-99; review of scheduling requirements for football (Bylaw 20.10.5.1) and basketball (Bylaw 20.10.5.2); and a scheduling waiver request by Eastern Oregon University;

(f) Nominating Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to permit the Division III Administrative Committee to act upon committee appointments between the April and July 1998 Management Council meetings. The Presidents Council also ratified all Management Council actions related to the Nominating Committee, including Division III committee appointments and term lengths for current Division III sports committee members.

(g) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Agreed to sponsor proposed legislation recommended by the Management Council to amend Bylaw 21.8.3 and establish an attendance policy for all Division III committees.

(ii) Agreed to ratify all additional Management Council actions related to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, including referral of a recruiting issue to the Interpretations and Legislation Committee and the referral of student-athlete representation on the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports back to committee.

5. NCAA Legislation.

a. Noncontroversial legislation per Constitution 5.3.1.1.1. The Presidents Council ratified all noncontroversial legislation approved by the Management Council.

b. Legislative modifications per Constitution 5.4.1.1.1. The Presidents Council ratified all legislative modifications approved by the Management Council.

c. Review of Bylaw 31.7.2. The Presidents Council ratified the action of the Management Council to reinforce the current policy regarding in-person committee meetings.

6. Update on Presidents Council Nominations Process. The Presidents Council received an update regarding the current terms and requirements for Presidents Council members and received a chart identifying chief executive officers who have been solicited for nomination for three January 1999 vacancies on the Presidents Council (the requirements for those vacancies will be: female, public institution representative; Region 2; ethnic minority). The Presidents Council endorsed the following timetable to fill the January 1999 vacancies:

a. Identify January 1999 vacancies and solicit nominees in The NCAA News in June 1998.

b. Conduct a conference call of the Presidents Council nominations subcommittee during June/July.

c. Present the subcommittee's report during the August 1998 meeting.

7. General Issues.

a. Convention issues.

(1) The Presidents Council received an update on the results of the 1998 NCAA Convention survey.

(2) The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to appoint an ad hoc Convention planning subcommittee consisting of the following members: two Presidents Council representatives; three Management Council representatives; two Membership Committee representatives; and two at-large representatives. In addition, the Presidents Council noted that the Presidents Council representatives will be selected by the Presidents Council chair and vice-chair. The Presidents Council also noted that the work of the ad hoc committee should be completed via conference calls. In addition, if an in-person meeting was required that it should be held in conjunction with a Presidents Council meeting.

b. Division III newsletter. The Presidents Council endorsed the Management Council's recommendation regarding the development and quarterly distribution of a Division III newsletter and noted that it could serve as an excellent communication document.

8. Other Business. The Presidents Council endorsed the Management Council's recommendation that an Association-wide setting would be the most desirable means of involving Division III in the Association's marketing, licensing and promotion initiatives.