The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- September 28, 1998

Division III -- Presidents Council minutes

Following are the minutes of the August 11, 1998, meeting of the Division III Presidents Council at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago. All actions taken by the Presidents Council are included. Highlights of the meeting were reported in the August 31 issue of The NCAA News.

1. Announcements. Ann H. Die, chair, welcomed everyone and announced the resignation of Curtis McCray as chair and member of the Council due to his new position as president at National-Louis University. She also noted the absence of Judith L. Kuipers due to the sudden illness of her husband.

2. Previous Minutes. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes of the following meetings and telephone conferences: April 21, 1998, Presidents Council meeting; May 19, 1998, Division III Administrative Committee telephone conference; and May 19, 1998, and July 10 and 15, 1998, mail ballots.

It was voted that the minutes of the April 21, 1998, Presidents Council meeting; and the May 19, 1998, Division III Administrative Committee telephone conference and July 10 and 15, 1998, mail ballots be approved as distributed.

3. NCAA Executive Committee Report. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes from the Executive Committee's April 22, 1998, meeting.

4. Report of the July 27-29, 1998, Division III Management Council Meeting.

a. Review of Division III strategic plan.

(1) Section II (Vision). The Presidents Council approved the Division III strategic plan as recommended and the sponsorship of legislation for the January 1999 Convention to amend NCAA Bylaw 20.10 by adding (i) "support ethnic and gender diversity for all constituents."

(2) Section IV (Timeline). The Presidents Council approved the timeline as recommended.

(3) Section V (Planning Priorities) and Section VI (Operations Plan/Scorecards: The Presidents Council approved the recommendations as amended and recommended distribution of updated planning scorecards with a cover letter to all Division III and Association-wide committee chairs and staff liaisons.

(a) Priority No. 1 -- Student-Athlete Welfare. Add (5) "coordinate educational programs for members regarding student-athlete use and abuse of alcohol" to 1-c -- Health-Safety issues.

(b) Priority No. 6 -- Enhance Division III Identity. Add term "implement" to 6-c.

(c) Priority No. 7 -- Implementation of New Governance Structure. Add (2) "Assessment of Division III strategic planning priorities."

b. Committee reports.

(1) Association-wide committees.

(a) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The Presidents Council approved the recommendation 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. The Council noted that implementation required approval from all three divisions.

(b) Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. The Presidents Council approved the recommendation to 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) Committee on Women's Athletics. The Presidents Council approved the recommendations to:

(i) Forward to the Executive Committee a request to amend NCAA Constitution 2.6 -- Principle of Nondiscrimination.

(ii) Endorse the American Council on Education (ACE) resolution related to the discontinuation of sports teams.

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

(2) Management Council subcommittees.

(a) Administrative review subcommittee. The Presidents Council approved a recommendation to establish a four-year reclassification period for a Division I institution wishing to reclassify to Division III.

(b) Convention planning subcommittee. The Presidents Council approved a recommendation to forward to the Executive Committee a request to pursue a prominent speaker for an Association-wide keynote address at the 1999 NCAA Convention in an area such as sportsmanship and ethical conduct.

(3) Division III committees.

(a) Budget Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved the 1998-99 Division III operating budget. --

(ii) Approved the recommendation for representation of one of the Division III Budget Committee's members on the Division III strategic planning subcommittee.

(b) Championships Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved the revised selection principles and the sponsorship of proposed legislation to amend Bylaw 31.3.

(ii) Approved the recommendation to establish a 24-team, five-week football championship, effective 1999.

(iii) Approved 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.

(iv) Endorsed the position of the Management Council regarding any deviation from current legislation pertaining to the issue of Sunday competition.

(c) Financial Aid and Awards Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved amendments to rename titles in Bylaws 15.02.4.4-(c) 15.1.1-(a) and 15.2.6 to "institutionally administered" work study.

(ii) Approved sponsorship of 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; broadening the group permitted to select recipients of nonathletics achievement awards to include "institutional representatives, other than athletics department staff members," and several editorial revisions.

(iii) Approved a recommendation to 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.

(iv) Approved a discussion session related to Bylaw 15.2.5 (financial aid from outside sources) at the 1999 Convention and providing expenses to permit four committee members (three financial aid representatives and one student-athlete) to attend.

(v) 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.

(vi) Accepted the information that the Financial Aid and Awards Committee expects to complete the review of all submitted awards by June 1999 and that notification will be sent to each institution.

(d) Committee on Infractions and Student-Athlete Reinstatement. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved sponsorship of 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.

(ii) Approved sponsorship of 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.

(iii) Approved sponsorship of 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.

(iv) Approved sponsorship of 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/her eligibility.

(e) Interpretations and Legislation Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved the Management Council's recommendation to eliminate gaps and all references to other divisions in text in Division III manual and renumber based upon consistent approach with other divisions.

(ii) Approved the Management Council'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.

(iii) Accepted information and expressed support for deregulation efforts of Bylaws 10 through 17.

(f) Membership Committee. The Presidents Council:

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

(ii) Granted 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.

(iii) Moved 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).

(iv) Granted 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.

(v) Granted 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 at Farmingdale, effective September 1, 1998.

(vi) Approved sponsorship of legislation to amend Bylaws 20.10.5, 20.10.5.3.1.1 and 20.10.5.3.1.3 (football and men's basketball scheduling) to eliminate the 50 percent scheduling requirements for football and men's basketball.

(vii) Approved sponsorship of legislation to amend Bylaw 31.2.1.4 (joint declaration program) and the appropriate context-exemption provisions in Bylaw 17 for members of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

(viii) Approved sponsorship of legislation to amend NCAA Constitution Articles 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.

(ix) Approved sponsorship of legislation to amend Bylaw 20.5.2 (requesting reclassification) and Article 3.6.1.2.1.2 (credit for time completed as provisional member) 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.

(x) Approved the provisional member orientation sessions, requiring 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.

(xi) Approved sponsorship of legislation to establish a four-year reclassification period for Division I institutions wishing to reclassify to Division III.

(g) Nominating Committee. The Presidents Council:

(i) Approved recommendations for immediate appointments to Division III Management Council, Membership Committee, and Nominating Committee.

(ii) Approved recommendations for appointments to all Division III sports committees and the Management Council recommendations forwarded to the Nominating Committee.

5. NCAA Legislation.

a. Review of legislation submitted by the Division III membership for the 1999 NCAA Convention. The Presidents Council reviewed Proposal No. 1-9 -- (Eligibility --Division III -- "4-2-4" Transfer) and deferred action until its October meeting.

b. Review of proposed legislation sponsored by Division III Presidents Council for the 1999 Convention. The Presidents Council ratified all legislative proposals approved by the Management Council.

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

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

6. Update on Presidents Council Nomination Process. The Presidents Council:

a. Selected David L. Beckley, Rust College, as vice-chair, effective immediately. Noted that pursuant to the appointment, Beckley also will serve on the Executive Committee.

b. Selected Roy B. Shilling Jr., Southwestern Texas University, to serve on the Presidents Council's nominations subcommittee.

c. Reviewed requirements for one immediate Presidents Council vacancy (McCray) and three vacancies for January 1999 (Beckley, Kuipers and Robert W. Neff).

d. Requested that the nominations subcommittee's conference call be set up to determine a slate followed by a mail ballot to all Presidents Council members.

e. Reviewed January 1999 vacancies for chair and vice-chair. Self-nominations will be accepted. Ballots will be mailed prior to the Presidents Council's October meeting.

7. General Issues.

a. Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity. The Presidents Council recommended to the Executive Committee that Division III and Association-wide presidential leadership engage in an audit to reexamine specific Association programs and policies related to Title IX compliance. Specific areas include:

(i) Promotions and marketing (NCAA corporate partner program).

(ii) NCAA championships and bracket sizes.

(iii) Special events and exempted events.

(iv) NCAA sponsored officiating improvement programs.

8. Other Business.

a. Association-wide budget. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council's recommendations to:

(a) Endorse proposed NCAA budget guiding principles.

(b) Endorse proposed NCAA budget assumptions.

(c) Endorse proposed better business practices.

(d) Endorse proposed travel and committee meeting practices.