The NCAA News - News and Features

July 20, 1998

Management Councils face major decisions

Division I: Significant issues throughout agenda

Items from the four Division I cabinets -- including championship bracket expansion and a proposed format for future NCAA Conventions, as well as recommendations from the Division I Financial Aid Committee regarding compliance with Title IX -- figure to dominate the Division I Management Council's July 27-29 meeting in Philadelphia.

The Management Council will hear reports from each of the four cabinets, all of which have met since the last Management Council meeting in April.

Primary on the agenda will be the Championships/Competition Cabinet's bracket expansion requests (see story, page 6).

The cabinet has requested funding for expansion in baseball, men's and women's cross country, women's soccer, women's softball and women's volleyball.

The Business/Finance Cabinet has identified about $300,000 in funding for such expansion, about one-third of the projected cost.

The Championships/Competition Cabinet also has recommended that all preseason exempted football contests be discontinued after the 2002 season.

Also under consideration will be a proposal from the Strategic Planning Cabinet regarding a format for future NCAA Conventions designed to involve the entire Division I governance structure as well as Association-wide committees that have winter meetings (see story, page 5).

The Management Council also will consider the cabinet's request to propose legislation that allows chief executive officers to conduct override votes through written correspondence on occasions other than at the Convention.

An example of the effect of such legislation would be the current status of Proposal No. 98-32 regarding Sunday competition in NCAA championships (see story, page 1). The proposal, initially passed by the Division I Board of Directors, has generated enough written requests from the membership during the comment phase to require an override vote if the Board does not reverse its decision at its August 11 meeting.

Such an override vote currently would be held at the Convention. Under the cabinet's proposal, the Division I membership would not be required to conduct the override vote in-person.

Initial eligibility

The Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet's report features a plan to help educate the membership regarding initial-eligibility standards. The education process includes information on the pros and cons of various proposals ranging from a sliding scale that extends the index of combined grade-point averages and test scores and eliminates the partial-qualifier designation to retaining the current rule.

The cabinet also has forwarded to the Management Council its anticipated timetable for recommending any additional changes to those specified in Proposal No. 98-23 regarding the recruiting calendar for Division I men's basketball. It is anticipated that such recommendations would occur during the fall of 1999.

In addition, the cabinet has asked that the Management Council support enhancements to the NCAA Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance Program, including the establishment of coverage for women's basketball and the enhancement of coverage in men's basketball, football, baseball and men's ice hockey.

Manual revisions

The Management Council also will consider the cabinet's recommendations regarding the format of the 1999-2000 Division I Manual, including an option that would eliminate the gaps in legislative citations. The cabinet believes this would simplify the manual and would be consistent with the Association's federated approach.

Along with a review of the Division I budget, the Management Council will consider other items from the Business/Finance Cabinet, including a recommendation to increase the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse registration fee from $18 to $25, effective with the 1999-2000 academic year. The Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet has recommended that the registration fee not be increased.

The Management Council also will consider recommendations from the Division I Financial Aid Committee regarding ways to modify NCAA legislation to assist institutions in complying with Title IX. The recommendations include proposed legislation to reduce the number of counters in football from 85 to 75 or to spread 75 partial or full awards over 95 counters.

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

The Management Council may choose to propose any number of pieces of legislation, which would then be circulated for membership comment. Other legislative items that will demand the Management Council's attention include a review of Proposal No. 98-33, which would delete the requirement that no subdivision of Division I shall have more than 50 percent representation on any committee. The Management Council will review reports from each of the four cabinets, as well as from a Council-appointed subcommittee assigned to address the issue.