The NCAA News - News and Features

September 14, 1998

Audits to begin for selected exempted contests

Subcommittee also submits proposal to allow multi-year certification

The Exempted Contests Subcommittee formulated plans to begin auditing various exempted contests during its September 1-2 meeting in New York.

As requried by NCAA Bylaws 30.10.1.6 and 30.10.3.6, which were adopted at the 1996 NCAA Convention, exempted contests are to conduct an audit once every five years.

The subcommittee selected 10 events to be audited during the 1998-99 academic year. Those events include the BCA Classic (men's basketball); the Rolex National Intercollegiate Match Play Team Championships (men's and women's golf); the NACWA State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic (women's volleyball); the Men's Postseason National Invitation Tournament (men's basketball); the Women's National Invitation Tournament (women's basketball); and the Big Island Invitational (men's basketball).

Also selected were five events sponsored by the University of Hawaii, Manoa, including the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic (men's basketball); the Hawaii Wahine Invitational (women's basketball); the Rainbow Easter Tournament (baseball); the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Women's Volleyball Championship (women's volleyball); and the Rainbow Invitational (men's and women's swimming and diving).

The subcommittee also will recommend to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that certification fees be established for exempted contests that would help finance the audit. Such fees have been standard procedure as part of the football postseason bowl certification process.

In other action, the subcommittee will recommend to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that certain events that have been in operation for more than five years and are in good standing be considered for multi-year certification.

It was noted that many institutions, particularly in men's basketball, enter into contracts with sponsors several years in advance of the event. The subcommittee is suggesting that multi-year certification be available to these events with the provision that the contract for each event contain a clause stipulating that the contract is void if for some reason certification is not granted by the NCAA.

Exempted contests approved for multi-year certification still would be required to maintain up-to-date documentation even in years during which an application for certification is not necessary.

Subject to approval from the cabinet, multi-year certification could be available by fall 1999.