The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- November 9, 1998

Division III: CEOs focus on proposed Convention legislation

ATLANTA -- The Division III Presidents Council, which met October 27 in Atlanta, addressed legislation that will come before the membership at the 1999 NCAA Convention.

The Council agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment to Proposal No. 2-45 as published in the Second Publication of Proposed Legislation. This amendment-to-amendment would delete part B of the proposal, eliminating the requirement that all members of a conference must play a minimum percentage of their published schedule against conference opponents to receive an automatic bid. The Presidents Council agreed that the issue of minimum contests in this instance should be left up to conferences.

In another action, the Council agreed to sponsor a resolution as an amendment-to-amendment to Proposal No. 2-45. The resolution specifies that, should the automatic-qualification legislation be adopted, the Division III Championships Committee and governing sports committees will work together to clarify the policies and procedures that will be used in the implementation of at-large berths ("Pools B and C") in each team sport. All recommendations would be due by June 15, 1999, for implementation during the 1999-2000 academic year.

In another action, the Council agreed to sponsor noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 31.1.4 to establish procedures to permit the adjustment of a championships schedule for religious observances on any day, not just a Sunday. The legislation also specifies that the institution requesting accommodation be required to have a written policy supporting the request.

The Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to drop a proposed waiver from the legislation. The waiver would have permitted the championships and sports committees to waive the request and retain the competition on the day in question if the committees thought granting it would "unduly disrupt the championship." The Presidents Council agreed with the Management Council's concerns that the waiver language was too vague.

Financial aid

The Council approved the Management Council's recommendation to approve a five-year resubmission requirement for awards of circumstance and nonathletics achievement awards to be performed in conjunction with the institution's self-study, effective September 1, 2000. The Council also agreed with the Management Council's clarification that institutions must submit full information for new and changed awards on an ongoing basis and that institutions must undertake a comprehensive review and evaluation of all institutional awards every five years as part of the NCAA Institutional Self-Study.

In another action, the Council approved the Management Council's recommendation that NCAA enforcement staff contact the chief executive officers of institutions that have not submitted their awards of circumstance and nonathletics achievement awards for review by March 1, 1999.

The Council also confirmed that provisional members must submit their awards of circumstance and nonathletics achievement awards for approval no later than the end of their second year of provisional membership.

Senior woman administrator

The Council discussed Proposal No. 2-26, which would require Division III institutions to designate a woman as the institution's senior woman administrator (SWA), and it further clarifies the status and role of that position.

The Council was advised of a recommendation from the Association's general counsel indicating that the language in the proposal should be changed. Legal counsel advised that the proposal be amended to eliminate the specific requirement that the SWA be a woman and expressed concern that institutions may potentially expose themselves to Title VII claims if they advertised for a position by gender. The Management Council had discussed the proposed amendment-to-amendment extensively, but failed to forward the recommended change to the President Council.

The Presidents Council intends to withdraw the proposal and refer it to the Committee on Women's Athletics. Council members agreed that the intent of the original proposal was desirable, but they expressed concern that the Committee on Women's Athletics had not had an opportunity to review legal counsel's opinion and fully address related concerns. The Council also wanted time to permit the committee to forward a proposal that might be adopted by all three divisions.

The Presidents Council further requested that the Committee on Women's Athletics provide recommendations to the Council no later than its July meeting.

Other issues

The Council also reviewed the recommendations from the Management Council's subcommittee to review all-star contests certification. The Council approved the recommendations of the subcommittee, which included: providing the Division III membership with information regarding the key liability, health and safety issues involved with all-star contests and their sponsorship, especially those regarding the involvement of institutional staff, facilities and equipment; developing a list of suggested recommendations/guidelines in conjunction with Association counsel and the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport; considering the sponsorship of legislation to ensure that all sports are treated consistently by precluding student-athlete participation until eligibility is exhausted; and clarifying whether NCAA catastrophic-injury insurance covers student-athletes participating in all-star events.

In another action, the Council also approved recommendations from the Nominating Committee regarding positions on the Management Council and on Division III committees.

It also endorsed the appointment of M. Lee Pelton, president of Willamette University, to replace Curtis McCray, who left an immediate vacancy when he changed institutions. It also endorsed the nominations of Ann Die, president of Hendrix College, as the Presidents Council chair and Thomas Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University, as Presidents Council vice-chair. Their terms will begin immediately following the close of the 1999 Convention.

Other highlights

Division III Presidents Council
October 27/Atlanta