The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 26, 1998

Division III

Program to ensure rules knowledge for provisional schools

A new program is making certain that provisional members in Division III are entering the provisional process with a clear understanding of what it means to be a Division III institution.

Representatives from 27 new provisional member institutions attended the Division III Provisional Member Orientation Sessions, held September 21 in Teaneck, New Jersey, and September 28 in Dallas. Presidents and athletics directors -- as well as many faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, student affairs officers and financial aid office personnel -- represented the institutions.

Israel Negron, NCAA membership services representative and staff liaison to the Division III Membership Committee, said the sessions were intended to provide institutions with a detailed look at what it will be like to be a Division III member.

"We want to make sure that the schools really want to be in Division III, and we want them to know what's different about Division III vs. Division II or NAIA," he said. "We want them to determine whether Division III is the right place for them, and if not, we want to help guide them to the right place."

Assurance about preparation

In addition to providing a vehicle for prospective Division III member institutions to more thoroughly assess their commitment and preparedness to joining the Association, the program also is intended to provide the Association's membership with greater assurance as to the readiness of new members joining Division III.

Provisional members that complete the entire four-year process, of which these orientation sessions are merely the first step, should possess an enhanced level of awareness and engagement of the Division III philosophy, as well as an understanding of membership and financial aid requirements. They also should possess a more complete understanding of NCAA rules and the ability to develop institutional policies and systems for complying with Association rules.

Several principles within the provisional member education program are intended to address those issues. The Division III Presidents Council, in approving the program, stipulated that the institutions' chief executive officers must be involved in the orientation sessions to reflect the level of commitment required of the institution throughout the process.

"The Division III presidents thought it was important that their colleagues at these new institutions be thoroughly educated in what Division III was about," Negron said.

Because some CEOs had already booked conflicting appointments when the Presidents Council added that stipulation, a makeup session for CEOs who missed the September meetings will be conducted at the 1999 NCAA Convention.

Other key officials, such as faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators and financial aid directors, have been encouraged to participate in as many of the provisional member educational activities as possible.

To keep travel costs down and to make it easier for the institutions to bring a larger number of representatives, the sessions were held in areas that were within easy driving distance for a significant number of institutions.

Financial aid officers were encouraged to attend, said Richard A. Rasmussen, executive secretary of the University Athletic Association and Division III Membership Committee chair.

"Financial aid is a critical area because many of the institutions are coming from situations where they may have been awarding athletically related financial aid," Rasmussen said. "The approach to financial aid in Division III is very different."

Rasmussen also noted that the issue of educating provisional members regarding financial aid had been raised in Division III discussions at previous NCAA Conventions.

"One of the big concerns of the membership with regard to provisional members has been ensuring that the provisional members really understand and properly apply the financial aid legislation," he said.

Presenters at the sessions included members of the NCAA governance staff and membership services staff, who addressed the legislative process and NCAA rules, as well as several Division III Membership Committee members.

Real-world issues

"The athletics directors who presented focused on how a real-world Division III athletics department does things," Negron said. "And while Association staff members were able to talk about rules, their peers were there to address systems and procedures to implement the rules."

The review of Division III legislation included membership requirements, playing and practice seasons, financial aid and the Institutional Self-Study Guide.

Attendees also were given an introduction to the four-year provisional member process, which will include specific assistance in completing the required institutional self study of the athletics program; the development and implementation of an institutional action plan to address concerns or issues identified during the institutional self study; forums with active members; assistance in developing compliance procedures regarding key membership requirements; compliance-systems education and assessment; and verification that membership requirements are being met.

"Overall, I thought the sessions went very well," Rasmussen said. "There was good interaction between the (Association) staff and the members of the Membership Committee, and the representatives from the provisional member institutions asked a lot of good questions."