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The NCAA News -- November 23, 1998

Litigation, structure to be discussed at Convention forum

Discussion topics for the Division I Forum at the 1999 Convention have been determined.

The topics, selected by the Division I Management Council's Administrative Committee, cover a broad range of issues affecting Division I institutions and will be presented during the Monday, January 11 business session from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio.

This year's topics are:

  • The restricted-earnings lawsuit.

  • A preliminary report from the Management Council's Subcommittee to Review the Governance Structure.

  • A preliminary report from the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues.

  • A discussion of issues related to the new performance standards established for baseball bats.

    The discussion of the restricted-earnings case will include a presentation of principles recommended by the Division I Management Council to guide continuing discussion of the funding of expenses in the lawsuit. Those principles present options that range from dividing expenses equally among all Division I institutions to dividing payments based on the revenue-distribution formula used for the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

    Included in the preliminary re-port from the Management Council Subcommittee to Review the Governance Structure is a discussion of proposals that range from revising the legislative calendar to modifying the composition of the Management Council and Board of Directors. The subcommittee, which is composed of Arthur W. Cooper, North Carolina State University; Jeremy N. Foley, University of Florida; Constance H. Hurlbut, Patriot League; Orby Moss Jr., Georgia State University; John C. Parry, Butler University; and Charles Whitcomb, San Jose State University, has identified several issues for review, including a possible reduction in the number of Management Council and Board of Directors meetings per year.

    Also to be considered are the number of times the Management Council and Board consider legislation and the number and use of comment periods, future Division I participation in the Convention, the role of the Division I cabinets and representation of Division I-A, I-AA and I-AAA conferences on the Board, Management Council and cabinets.

    The subcommittee plans to use the feedback received from the membership during this session in developing its final recommendations to the Management Council in April.

    Although the Working Group to Study Basketball Issues is in the early stages of its year-long evaluation of Division I basketball, discussion at the Convention will be used to seek reactions to survey data collected from CEOs, directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, men's and women's coaches, and commissioners.

    The discussion of baseball bats will address the recent decision of the Division I Baseball Committee, which recommended that bats meeting the new performance standard be used for the 1999 Division I Baseball Championship (see page 1). The Executive Committee in August had agreed that the new standards become effective for the 2000 regular season.

    This session also will provide an opportunity for Division I institutions and conferences to share their plans for responding to the new bat standards during the 1999 regular season.

    The format for this year's forum will differ from last year's in that all four topics will be covered in one meeting location. At the 1998 Convention forum, various discussion items were covered in concurrent meetings at different sites.