National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- September 28, 1998

Division III -- Management Council minutes

Following are the minutes from the July 27-29, 1998, meeting of the Division III Management Council at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia. All actions taken by the Management Council are included. Highlights of the meeting were reported in the August 17 issue of The NCAA News.

1. Announcements. John S. Biddiscombe, chair, welcomed all members, introduced Sharon K. Tufano, executive assistant for Division III; announced the pending resignation of Eugene Marshall Jr. as a member of the Division III Management Council due to his new appointment as director of athletics at Kean College; and reviewed the daily schedule for the meeting.

2. Previous Minutes. The Management Council reviewed the following minutes: April 14-15, 1998, Management Council meeting; May 19, 1998, and July 10 and 15, 1998, Administrative Committee telephone conference and mail ballots; April 21, 1998, Presidents Council meeting; and April 22, 1998, Executive Committee meeting.

It was voted that the minutes of the Management Council's April 14-15 meeting be approved. In addition, it also voted that the minutes of the Presidents Council April 21 meeting, and the Administrative Committee's May 19, and July 10 and 15 telephone conference and mail ballots be approved as distributed.

3. Division III Strategic Plan. The Management Council received an overview of the work of the strategic planning subcommittee during June and July. The Council also reviewed the vision, mission, timeline, priorities and priority scorecards as presented by the strategic planning subcommittee for 1998-2000 and recommended the following to the Presidents Council:

a. Section II: Vision. Recommended amending the statement to incorporate the issue of diversity.

b. Section III: Mission. Recommended the addition of Statement No. 9, "supporting ethnic and gender diversity" into the mission statement and the sponsorship of legislation to incorporate similar language into the Division III Philosophy Statement (Bylaw 20.10).

c. Section IV: Timeline. Recommended approval of the proposed timeline.

d. Section V: Planning Priorities. Recommended approval of the following revisions and additions to the priorities:

(1) Student-Athlete Welfare. Add review of official travel party sizes and per diems to the championships issues area. Reorder the statements in the area of financial aid issues to identify education of the membership including opportunity for input as the first priority followed by evaluation of financial aid legislation and third, evaluate membership practices.

(2) Membership Requirement, Education and Compliance Issues. Reorder the three statements to identify managing Division III membership process as the first priority followed by implementation of educational initiatives and third, review the role of conferences related to membership issues.

e. Section VI: Operations Plan/Scorecards. The Management Council commended the Association-wide and Division III general committees for their work in preparing and presenting operations plans to the strategic-planning subcommittee and for the subcommittee's efforts in detailing committee objectives on the Division III Strategic Planning scorecards. The Council recommended approval of the following revisions to the objectives identified in the scorecards:

(1) Insert column titled "completed" to track committee accomplishments.

(2) Prioritize all objectives in each of the seven Division III priority areas based on implementation deadlines.

(3) Amend Priority No. 1 -- Student-Athlete Welfare.

(a) Move Objective Nos. 7, 8 and 9 into Membership Requirements, Education and Compliance priority.

(b) Add Objective No. 7 -- discuss revisions to nontraditional seasons legislation.

(d) Add Objective No. 13 -- review feasibility of creating a Division III Special Assistance Fund.

(e) Add Objective No. 14 -- discuss possible criteria to determine successful academic progress toward completion of degrees for student-athletes.

(f) Add Objective No. 15 -- Monitor Division III involvement in NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program.

(g) Add Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to Objective Nos. 5, 6, 7, 14 and 15.

(4) Amend Priority No. 2 -- Membership Issues.

(a) Rename priority to "Membership Requirements, Education and Compliance Issues."

(b) Add Objective Nos. 1, 6 and 8.

(5) Amend Priority No. 3 -- Communication and Technology Initiatives. Add "e.g., NAD3AA" to Objective No. 3.

(6) Amend Priority No. 4 -- Diversity.

(a) Eliminate notation to specific data in Objective No. 2.

(b) Add legislative implications and implementation deadline as January 1999 and August 1999 to Objective No. 1.

(c) All objectives that indicate "ongoing" implementation deadline should include a checkpoint of January 1999 and January 2000 Convention.

(7) Amend Priority No. 5 -- Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

(a) Add Objective No. 3 -- partner with Citizenship through Sports Alliance.

(b) Add Objective No. 4 -- discuss codes of conduct for coaches.

(8) Amend Priority No. 6 --Enhance Division III Identity. Add Objective No. 7 -- examine issues of marketing, licensing and promotions initiatives relative to Division III.

(9) Amend Priority No. 7 -- Implementation of New Governance Structure. Add Objective No. 2 -- review all-star contest certification.

f. Recommended distribution of updated scorecards with cover letter to all Division III and Association-wide committee chairs and staff liaisons.

4. Committee/Subcommittee Reports.

a. Association-wide committees.

(1) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The Management Council:

(a) Endorsed in concept the committee's recommendations to strengthen the penalty regarding wearing mouthguards in men's ice hockey. It referred back to the Division III Championships Committee the modification of the rule regarding the modifications of mouthguards for goaltenders, noting the need for consistent rules in all three divisions.

(b) Approved the sponsorship of noncontroversial legislation to amend NCAA Bylaw 16.4.1 to permit institutions to provide medical expenses for student-athletes during the summer. The Council also approved the sponsorship of noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 16.4.2 to preclude providing weight-gain muscle/strength supplements at all times to student-athletes.

(c) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the request to increase the drug-testing budget by $80,000 for 1998-99 only to finance the purchase of carbon isotope ratio (CIR) equipment at the UCLA laboratory.

(d) Approved the recommendation to include in a mailing information about the revised American Heart Association statement on preparticipation screening, noting the importance of ensuring student-athletes' report to sports medicine personnel any fainting or extreme chest pain experienced during athletic activity. The Council noted that the mailing also should be sent to all institutional student-athlete advisory committees.

(e) Referred back to the committee a request to adopt noncontroversial legislation to expand the committee by one to include a coach representing a sport other than football, suggesting instead that new legislation to loosen the committee's membership requirements. The Council also noted that the current vacancy for a coach should be readvertised for a Division II coach if the committee so desires.

(f) Received information that the American Heart Association has issued a scientific statement that is an addendum to its original 1996 statement regarding cardiovascular preparticipation screening of competitive athletes.

(g) Noted an ongoing concern from the committee regarding baseball bats and the potential for serious injury to student-athletes.

(h) Reviewed the drug-testing data for the period of August through December 1997.

(i) Acknowledged the representation of Stanley P. Caine, president, Adrian College, and vice-chair of the Management Council, at the national Inter-Association Task Force on Campus Alcohol and Substance Abuse Issues conference. The Council noted evidence that student-athletes may consume alcohol more frequently than nonstudent-athletes.

(2) Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

(3) National Youth Sports Program Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

(4) Olympic Sports Liaison Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

(5) Postgraduate Scholarship Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

(6) Research Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

(7) Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. The Management Council:

(a) Opposed the recommendation to add an amendment to the NCAA position on gambling. The Council felt the proposed statement was overly broad and too far reaching, and appeared to lump all gambling activity into the "illegal" realm.

(b) Recommended that the Presidents Council forward to the Executive Committee a concern regarding committee chairs communicating written views not formally reviewed and endorsed by the Association's governance structure.

(c) Referred a recommendation to add two student-athlete representatives to the committee as part of a comprehensive review of student-athlete representation in the governance structure. The Council further suggested that equal representation for all three divisions should be considered.

(d) Referred back to the committee a recommendation to prohibit NCAA staff from attending functions or meetings hosted by affiliated organizations in metropolitan areas that have an open or legal sports book and would be conducted at any gambling casino noting:

(i) Endorsement of the recommendation in principle.

(ii) Request for a more comprehensive approach including all NCAA championships, committee meetings and affiliated group meetings.

(iii) Concern regarding the timing of the recommendation and its potential impact on the 1999 NACDA convention in Reno, Nevada.

(e) Referred to the Division III Championships Committee the issue of conducting background checks for officials at NCAA championships. The Council noted that budgetary implications should be clarified prior to forwarding a recommendation back to the Management Council.

(f) Accepted a report indicating that in June 1999 the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance will host 99 men and/or women in sportsmanship and ethical conduct at a meeting of the Freedom Forum in Washington, D.C.

(g) Reviewed the preliminary strategic plans set forth by four subcommittees of the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

(8) Committee on Women's Athletics. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council forward to the Executive Committee a proposal to amend NCAA Constitution 2.6 -- Principle of Nondiscrimination.

(b) Charged the Division III Championships Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the administration of Division III championships activities related to gender-equity concerns.

(d) Endorsed the involvement of the NCAA in the General Accounting Office (GAO) study. The Council noted that the extent, the focus and scope of NCAA involvement should be determined by the NCAA research staff, not the GAO, and encouraged careful evaluation of involvement of NCAA in studies requested by the federal government.

b. Management Council subcommittees.

(1) Administrative review subcommittee. The Management Council:

(a) Approved the subcommittee's actions on seven appeals. The Council also requested the addition of a column to the Management Council report entitled "rationale."

(b) Reviewed an appeal from an institution requesting reclassification from Division I to Division III. The Management Council recommended that the Presidents Council waive Bylaw 20.5.1 to establish a four-year reclassification period (e.g., 1998-99 through 2001-02) to permit the institution to reclassify from Division I to Division III. The institution could apply for active status for the academic year 2002-03. The review included:

(i) A motion to waive the 30-day (Management Council policy) requirement of notification to appeal a Division III committee decision. The motion was approved.

(ii) Brief history of the administrative review subcommittee's initial review and denial of the case based on Bylaw 20.5.4.1, and a second review, which reflected no new information and a reaffirmation of the initial denial.

(c) Directed the Division III Membership Committee to develop proposed legislation to establish a four-year reclassification period for Division I institutions that wish to reclassify to Division III, similar to legislation adopted at the 1998 Convention for members reclassifying from Division II, and recommended that the Presidents Council consider sponsoring the proposal for the 1999 Convention.

(2) All-star contests certification subcommittee. The Management Council approved the subcommittee's recommendation to mail a survey to conference commissioners, athletic directors of independent institutions, Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members and selected coaches associations regarding their knowledge and experience with all-star events over the last three years. The Council noted that prior to forwarding a final recommendation to the Presidents Council regarding this issue it is important to identify the magnitude of all-star activity in all sports and to identify the terms and/or events occurring which may not be called "all-star."

(3) Convention planning subcommittee. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council forward to the Executive Committee a request to pursue a prominent speaker for Association-wide keynote address in the area of sportsmanship and ethical conduct.

(b) Accepted information from the subcommittee indicating that it divided into three subgroups to discuss topics, time frames and affiliate group meetings for planning purposes: (1) educational programs -- Tom Courtice, president, Ohio Wesleyan University; Bob Malekoff, director of athletics, College of Wooster; and Marilyn Skrivseth, director of athletics, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; (2) business session topics -- Linda Hopple, commissioner, Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference; Oscar Page, president, Austin College; and Christopher Walker, faculty athletics representative, University of Redlands; (3) keynote speaker -- John Biddiscombe, director of athletics, Wesleyan University (Connecticut); Joy Reighn, director of athletics, Rowan University; and Judson Taylor, president, State University of New York at Cortland.

(c) Accepted the information from the subcommittee indicating that it identified broad areas as potential topics of interest for discussion at the 1999 Convention including: professional development, nontraditional seasons, membership issues, diversity seminar, sportsmanship and ethical conduct, gambling, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee presentation.

(d) Accepted information from the subcommittee that a tentative Convention schedule was identified (January 9-12, 1999). The subcommittee plans to complete its preliminary charge by September 4, 1998, and submit recommendations to the Management and Presidents Council for review during their October meetings.

c. Division III committees.

(1) Budget Committee. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the 1998-99 Division III operating budget.

(b) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve a request to consider additional funding requests from Division III committee recommendations identified in the respective operations plans for 1998-99. Also, the Management Council approved the request for the Division III Budget Committee to review any initiatives recommended by the Management Council via conference call between the Management and Presidents Council meetings.

(c) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the representation of one of the Division III Budget Committee's members on the Division III strategic planning subcommittee.

(d) Reviewed Association-wide funding/staffing principles as approved by the NCAA Transition Oversight Committee during the restructuring process on June 26, 1996.

(2) Championships Committee. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the revised selection principles and sponsor proposed legislation to amend Bylaw 31.3, noting the following changes:

(i) Add an introductory statement indicating that the guiding principles are derived from the mission statement in the Division III strategic plan.

(ii) Separate the principles regarding automatic qualification and at-large selection.

(iii) Highlight the priority specifying that results from geographical regional competition will be given the highest priority in the selection process.

(iv) Move the statement that "all members of a conference will be placed in the same region for selection purposes" in Operating Guidelines (No. 1) and add the statement that "exceptions may be made on a case by case basis."

(v) Add a statement (No. 2) to the operating guidelines which directs sports committees to avoid moving conferences out of their regional/geographical playing area to minimize hardships related to hosting and regular-season play.

(vi) Add an effective date of 2001-02 to the requirement that all conferences must play a minimum percentage of their published schedule against conference competition in order to be eligible to receive an automatic bid to accommodate preexisting schedules.

(vii) Issued an interpretation of No. 11 in the Conference Automatic Qualification Requirements section as follows: "the declaration of an institution in a conference to participate for automatic qualification with that conference counts as one of seven members for that conference only. The institution may participate in conference competition in another conference but cannot count as one of the seven institutions necessary to qualify the second conference for automatic qualification purposes."

(b) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the establishment of a 24-team, five-week football championship, effective 1999. The Management Council noted the following factors regarding its recommendations:

(i) While the issue of missed class time (final exam period) for football may be a concern, it should be viewed in light of the minimal class time missed in football in comparison to many other sports, particularly spring sports.

(ii) The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee supports the recommendation.

(iii) The potential positive impact of the recommendations for student-athletes and institutions.

(c) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the recommendation to increase the field size for men's and women's indoor track and field to 200 for both championships, effective with the 2000 championship. The Management Council noted that funds have been encumbered to address the expansion of participants in all individual team sports, consistent with sponsorship ratios.

(d) Approved sponsorship of noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 21.8.6.2.2 to add responsibility for oversight of playing rules to the Championships Committee's duties.

(e) Recommended caution regarding any deviation from current legislation pertaining to the issue of Sunday competition.

(f) Accepted the information regarding the Championships Committee's review of men's and women's tennis, men's and women's swimming and diving and other individual-team sport field sizes which will occur in October and February. Final recommendations will be forwarded for the April 1999 Management Council meeting for likely implementation for the fall 2000.

(g) Accepted the information regarding championships competition misconduct during the past five years.

(3) Financial Aid and Awards Committee. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve amendments to rename titles in Bylaws 15.02.4.4-(c) 15.1.1-(a) and 15.2.6 to "institutionally administered" work study.

(b) Recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor proposed legislation to reflect deregulatory amendments to Bylaw 15: awarding of institutional aid to student-athletes to conform to institutional policy for all students; counting only federal work-study program assistance earnings as institutional aid; remove wording to differentiate between recruited and nonrecruited student-athletes; awarding of financial aid for summer in accordance with institutional policy; and broaden the group permitted to select recipients of nonathletics achievement awards to include "institutional representatives, other than athletics department staff members" and editorial revisions. The Council noted that the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee will review proposals for proper editorial content and format.

(c) Recommended that the Presidents Council defer sponsorship of legislation as requested by the Olympic Sports Liaison Committee pending a thorough review of all issues related to financial aid from outside sources (Bylaw 15.2.5) at the 1999 Convention.

(d) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve a discussion session related to Bylaw 15.2.5 (financial aid from outside sources) at the 1999 Convention and support expenses for four committee members (three financial aid representatives and one student-athlete) to attend.

(e) Approved the committee's recommendations to approve awards of circumstance and nonathletics achievement awards pursuant to Bylaws 15.4.6.3 and 15.4.6.4 for awards submitted by Bridgewater College (Virginia), Central College (Iowa), Clark University (Massachusetts), DePauw University, Juniata College, University of Redlands, University of the South, Ursinus College and Whitman College.

(f) Approved the committee's recommendation to deny the Central College (Iowa) Preministerial/Church Related Vocation Scholarship as a nonathletics achievement award.

(g) Approved the committee's recommendation to include basic information related to financial aid on NCAA Web page (e.g. Division III guide to financial aid, copies of Legislative Assistance column related to financial aid, Division III Financial Aid and Awards Committee minutes and roster).

(h) Reaffirmed the interpretation of former NCAA Division III Steering Committee action stating that it is permissible for a student-athlete to use a letter of reference from an athletics department staff member when applying for awards.

(i) Noted for the record that 218 of 397 (88 percent) Division III institutions had responded to the second (May 13, 1998) financial aid mailings. Also, 138 submitted financial aid awards for review pursuant to Bylaws 15.4.6.3 and 15.4.6.4, 72 indicated that they do not offer any awards and eight institutions have requested an extension of the August 1, 1998, deadline.

(j) Approved the committee's timetable to complete the review of all submitted awards by June 1999 and that notification will be sent to each institution.

(4) Committee on Infractions and Student-Athlete Reinstatement. The Management Council:

(a) Recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor proposed legislation with an immediate effective date to amend Bylaw 14.2.6 (season of competition waiver) to permit a student-athlete to regain a season of competition when a coaching staff member carelessly costs a student a season of competition by directing him/her to participate in a contest when the staff member is unsure of the student-athlete's eligibility status and the student is subsequently determined to be ineligible for competition.

(b) Recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor proposed legislation with an immediate effective date to amend Bylaw 14.2.5 (hardship waiver) to state that contemporaneous medical documentation shall be submitted with any hardship waiver request.

(c) Recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor proposed legislation to amend Bylaw 15.2.5.3-(b) and 15.2.5.4-(b) (de minimus proposals on athletics participation not major criterion) to decrease the number of circumstances in which an institution is required to declare a student-athlete ineligible as a result of a violation where the student-athlete did not receive a benefit and little or no recruiting or competitive advantage occurred.

(d) Recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor proposed legislation to amend Bylaws 16.4.2, 16.6.2, 16.8.2, 16.10.2, 16.11.2 and 16.12.2 (restitution proposals) to eliminate the ineligibility component for those violations of NCAA rules where a student-athlete or prospect receives an extra benefit valued at $25 or less and the action by the subcommittee is to require payment in order for the student-athlete or prospect to regain his or her eligibility.

(e) Approved the committee's recommendation that the Division III representative on the Division I subcommittee on amateurism and agents be a member of the Division III subcommittee on student-athlete reinstatement.

(f) Referred back to Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee a recommendation to prohibit NCAA staff members from attending functions hosted by affiliated organizations which are held in metropolitan areas that have an open or legal sports book or from attending meetings held at any gambling casino facility.

(5) Interpretations and Legislation Committee. The Management Council:

(a) Approved the committee's recommendation to eliminate gaps and all unnecessary references to other divisions in the text of the Division III Manual and to renumber the Manual based upon an approach consistent with the other divisions. The Council noted strong support for an Association-wide cross reference resource (e.g. all division manuals available online).

(b) Approved the committee's recommendation to approve editorial revisions of Bylaws 11, 13, 14, 15, and 17 and incorporate changes in the 1999-2000 NCAA Division III Manual.

(d) Accepted the committee's recommendation for a discussion forum on deregulation and referred it to the Convention planning subcommittee.

(6) Membership Committee.

The Management Council recommended that the Presidents Council approve the following committee recommendations regarding membership:

(a) Grant active conference status to the American Southwest and Northwest Conferences, effective September 1, 1998.

(b) Grant active membership to the following 14 institutions: Brooklyn College; College of Mount St. Joseph; Hilbert College; Lasell College; Lewis and Clark College; Linfield College; University of Maine, Farmington; University of the Ozarks; Pacific Lutheran University; Pacific University (Oregon); Wheelock College; Whitman College; Whitworth College; and Willamette College, effective September 1, 1998.

(c) Move the following eight institutions into their final year of provisional membership: Cazenovia College; Eastern Oregon State College; Evergreen State College; George Fox College; Marantha Baptist Bible College; University of Pittsburgh, Bradford; University of Puget Sound; and Trinity College (District of Columbia). [Note: Subsequent to the meeting, the committee identified additional issues regarding the membership status of Trinity College. These issues were referred to the Division III Administrative Committee.]

(d) Grant provisional membership to the following four provisional members reclassifying from Division II to Division III: Concordia University, St. Paul; and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor for a two-year period; Schreiner College for a three-year period; and East Texas Baptist College for a four-year period, noting that full compliance with Division III legislative requirements is mandated for the final two-year period for all institutions.

(e) Grant first-year provisional membership to the following 22 institutions: Baptist Bible College; Bay Path College; Becker College; Dominican University (Illinois); D'Youville University; Husson College; La Grange College; LeTourneau University; Lindenwood University; Medaille University; Mount Ida College; New York City Technical College; Northland College; Peace College; Pennsylvania State University, Altoona; Philadelphia College of the Bible; Piedmont College; University of Pittsburgh, Greenberg; University of Texas at Dallas; Seattle University; Shawnee State University; and State University of New York, Farmingdale, effective September 1, 1998.

The Management Council also recommended that the Presidents Council approve the sponsorship of proposed legislation:

(f) To amend Bylaws 20.10.5, 20.10.5.3.1.1 and 20.10.5.3.1.3 to eliminate the 50 percent scheduling requirements for football and men's basketball.

(g) To amend Bylaw 31.2.1.4 (joint declaration program) and the appropriate contest exemptions in Bylaw 17 related to championships competition for members of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA).

(h) To amend NCAA Constitution 4.02.4 and 6.1.4 to legislatively mandate the appointment of a senior woman administrator at all Division III institutions which sponsor an intercollegiate athletics program for women. The Council requested consultation with legal counsel to identify potential issues of concern.

(i) To amend Bylaw 20.5.2 and Constitution 3.6.1.2.1.2 to permit the Membership Committee to waive one year of the four-year provisional membership period if an institution reclassifies its provisional membership from Division II to Division III.

The Management Council also:

(j) Recommended that the Presidents Council approve the establishment of mandatory provisional member orientation sessions, requiring that each provisional member institution be represented at the orientation session by the chief executive officer, director of athletics and others as the institution deems appropriate.

(k) Extended the provisional membership of Lesley College for two additional years of full compliance. The Management Council decision was based on:

(i) A significant increase in the institution's budget allocation to support athletics.

(ii) The institution's commitment to a merger which will increase female enrollment and eligible participants for athletics.

(l) Approved a minimum contest waiver request for Agnes Scott College per Bylaw 20.10.3.2.9.1.

(m) Approved the committee's recommendation to request staff to conduct a review of sports sponsorship data and determine which institutions do not currently meet the new sport sponsorship requirements that will become effective September 1, 2001.

(n) Approved the adoption of noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 20.3.5.2 to permit the Management Council, as opposed to the membership, to waive membership criteria, upon recommendation of the Membership Committee.

(7) Nominating Committee. The Management Council:

(a) Approved the committee's recommendations for immediate appointments to Division III Management Council, Membership Committee, and Nominating Committee.

(b) Approved the committee's recommendations for appointments to all Division III sports committees noting concerns expressed by the chair of the Men's Golf Committee regarding the lack of coaching representatives for appointment. The Management Council recommended that the Nominating Committee:

(i) Fill the next available vacancies on the Men's Golf Committee with coaches.

(ii) Highlight all Division III sports committee vacancies in The NCAA News and also include the listings in the Division III Newsletter.

(c) Recommended that the Nominating Committee extend the Management Council terms of Albert D. Bean Jr. and Maureen Hager for two years through January 20, 2001, per Bylaw 4.7.4.4. The Council noted that the extension provides each individual a full four-year term of service on the Management Council and more evenly distributes future vacancies.

(d) Accepted the information regarding reviewing the assignment of Nominating Committee members to a geographic region of the country to enhance the solicitation of nominees as vacancies occur.

(e) Accepted the information regarding the Nominating Committee recognizing the need to establish committees that are more equitable in male and female membership. The Council noted that the issue of increasing gender and ethnic diversity is included in the committee's operations plan for 1998-2000.

(8) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The Management Council received an oral report regarding the work of the committee. No action was required.

5. NCAA Legislation.

a. Review of legislation submitted by the Division III membership for the 1999 NCAA Convention. The Management Council reviewed Proposal No. 1-9 -- (Eligibility --Division III -- "4-2-4" Transfer) and deferred action until its October meeting requesting staff to work with the sponsors to pursue possible modifications or amendment-to-amendment to close the perceived loophole regarding academic progress in a manner more acceptable to the sponsors. The Council also requested staff to inform sponsors and Interpretations and Legislation Committee that Bylaw 14.5.4.3 also should be inserted into the proposal.

b. Review of proposed legislation sponsored by the Division III Presidents Council for the 1999 NCAA Convention. The Management Council recommended that the Presidents Council:

(1) Approve Proposal No. 1 (Athletically Related Financial Aid) as drafted to preclude a provisional member from awarding athletically related financial aid during the second year of provisional membership.

(2) Approve Proposal No. 2 (Establishment of Division III Women's Golf Championship) as drafted to establish a Division III women's golf championship and a Division III women's golf committee, effective with the 1999-2000 academic year.

(3) Approve Proposal No. 3 (Change of Division Membership -- Notification and Championships Eligibility) as drafted to establish a two-year notification period for institutions that intend to reclassify from Division III to Division II with an amendment for a waiver exception to Bylaw 20.5.2.2 to grandfather institutions that have notified the NCAA as of June 1, 1998, of their intent to reclassify.

(4) Approve Proposal No. 4 (Division III Membership -- Minimum Contest Requirements) as drafted to specify that Division III institutions may include only contests against the varsity program of a four-year degree-granting collegiate institution in meeting minimum contest sport sponsorship requirements.

(5) Approve Proposal No. 5 (Division III Committees) as drafted to specify that a Division III committee member who has two consecutive unexcused absences may be removed from the committee.

c. Noncontroversial legislation per NCAA Constitution 5.3.1.1.1. The Management Council:

(1) Approved Proposal No. 1 (Bylaw 3.3.1.2 and 3.3.4.4 -- Division III Conference Membership), to permit a Division III conference with at least six active member institutions to be a member of the Association, even if the conference is composed of one or more additional provisional members.

(2) Approved Proposal No. 2 (Bylaw 3.7.3.1 -- Provisional Member Application Fee), to require provisional members to pay a nonrefundable $2,500 application fee in addition to the payment of annual dues.

(3) Approved Proposal No. 3 (Bylaw 4.12.2.2 -- Division III Geographical Regions), to eliminate the exception that permits an institution to transfer to a different region based on its conference affiliation for purposes of representation on the Division III Presidents Council, Management Council or general committees.

(4) Approved Proposal No. 4 (Bylaw 17.19 -- Playing and Practice Seasons - Division III Women's Ice Hockey), to permit women's ice hockey teams to participate beyond the end of the playing season and to compete in more than the permissible number of contests if chosen to be involved in the new national championship tournament hosted and organized by the American Women's College Hockey Alliance.

(5) Approved Proposal No. 5 (Bylaw 17.27 -- Playing and Practice Seasons -- Division III Women's Water Polo), to establish preseason practice dates, first date of competition, end of regular-playing season and annual exemptions in the sport of Division III women's water polo.

(6) Approved Proposal No. 6 (Bylaw 21.1.3.1 -- Honors Committee), to eliminate the requirements that the composition of the committee include one former NCAA president.

d. Modifications of legislation per Constitution 5.4.1.1.1. The Management Council approved the intent-based legislation:

(1) Proposal No. 1 (NCAA Constitution 3.1.3 -- Membership Moratorium), to repeal the membership moratorium, thus permitting institutions to seek election to provisional or active membership in accordance with applicable Division III membership requirements.

(2) Proposal No. 2 (Bylaws 14.5.1.1 and 14.5.4.3 -- Eligibility -- Division III -- "4-2-4" Transfers) to modify the wording to make both bylaws consistent.

(3) Proposal No. 3 (Bylaw 21.8.7.13 -- Women's Lacrosse Committee), to specify that the Division III women's lacrosse committee shall consist of five members, each representing one of the five geographical regions.

e. Annual exemptions. The Management Council deferred discussion on playing seasons and annual exemptions to its October 1998 meeting.

f. Nontraditional seasons. The Management Council referred the issue of nontraditional seasons to the Convention-planning subcommittee for discussion at the 1999 NCAA Convention. The Council noted key issues for consideration in planning should include:

(1) Impact of geographic locations.

(2) Involvement of Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members in discussion.

(3) Utilization of existing conference survey data (e.g. University Athletic Association and Middle Atlantic States).

(4) Involvement of coaches association representatives along with input, as appropriate, from members at the national coaches association meetings (e.g. volleyball, soccer).

6. Federal relations report. Doris Dixon, NCAA director of federal relations, provided the Council with an update regarding the actions in Washington.

7. Committee/subcommittee assignments.

a. NCAA Honors Committee Management Council representative. The Management Council appointed Lynda J. Calkins as the Management Council representative to the NCAA Honors Committee.

b. Management Council subcommittee appointments. The Management Council appointed Dee Fairchild to the administrative review subcommittee and Kathryn Springsteen to the academic issues subcommittee.

c. January 1999 Management Council vacancies as representatives on Division III general and Association-wide committees. The Management Council:

(1) Reviewed the January 1999 vacancies to serve on Division III general committees: championships, membership, budget, and student-athlete advisory. Appointments will be made during its January 1999 post-Convention meeting. Notification of interest from Management Council members was requested by August 15, 1998.

(2) Reviewed vacancies for the Management Council representatives to serve on Association-wide committees: Committee on Women's Athletics, Minority Opportunities and Interests, National Youth Sports Programs and Olympic Sports Liaison. Appointments will be made during its January 1999 meeting. Notification of interest was requested by August 15, 1998.

(3) Reviewed the requirements and duties for the position of Management Council vice-chair. Notification of interest from Management Council members is due to the staff by August 15, 1998. Mail ballot voting will occur prior to the October meeting.

8. Other Business.

a. Association-wide budget. Cedric W. Dempsey, NCAA president; James L. Isch, NCAA vice-president of finance and information services; and Keith E. Martin, NCAA director of finance and business operations, presented an overview of the NCAA restricted-earnings judgment, the NCAA internal strategic plan and NCAA guiding principles related to the Association-wide budget, proposed revenue enhancements, expenditures and reallocation. The Management Council recommended that the Presidents Council:

(1) Endorse proposed guiding principles.

(2) Endorse proposed budget assumptions.

(3) Endorse proposed better business practices.

(4) Endorse proposed travel and committee meeting practices and noted:

(a) Input from committees is important regarding proposed suggestions. -- --

(b) A desire to evaluate the new governance structure to create a more concise process.

(d) A review of the size of the governance structure may be appropriate -- downsize if possible.

(5) Endorse proposed technology initiatives. The Management Council noted:

(a) Caution in moving toward eliminating hard copies of minutes and selected publications.

(b) Electronic distribution may negatively impact institutions and individuals from a cost and access perspective.

(6) Endorse proposed revenue enhancements and noted:

(a) Current exclusivity of corporate partner program inhibits raising revenue for Division III championships.

(b) Importance of updating membership regarding reallocation process once the restricted-earnings judgement is settled.