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The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- January 18, 1999 Division I legislative cycle to undergo modifications
The Management Council, meeting in conjunction with the NCAA Convention in San Antonio January 9-12, took the actions based on a preliminary report submitted by the Council's Subcommittee to Review the Division I Governance Structure. The subcommittee presented its report at the Division I forum January 11 and noted that additional recommendations regarding the governance structure would be submitted at the Management Council's April 1999 meeting. The Council, which currently reviews Division I legislation four times per year, voted that beginning with the October 1999 meeting it would receive and act on legislation only at the October and April meetings. The Council did, however, initially approve a proposal that would grant the Council the authority to only adopt emergency, noncontroversial legislation at the January and July meetings, subject to review by the Board of Directors. The Council's Administrative Committee would be responsible for selecting the proposals that could be considered emergency and noncontroversial. The Council also gave initial approval to a proposal that would eliminate the 60-day comment period following cabinet action. The current legislative cycle allows for two 60-day comment periods, one following cabinet action and another after legislation receives initial approval from the Council. The elimination of the first comment period would become effective upon the anticipated adoption of the proposal in April 1999. The changes were discussed at length during the Division I forum and were prompted in part by concerns among Division I members regarding the confusion in monitoring the status of legislation in the current structure. "Some have suggested the cycle is too short and chaotic," said Art Cooper, chair of the Subcommittee to Review the Division I Governance Structure and faculty athletics representative at North Carolina State University. "We think we can balance the desire for an ability to act quickly against a need for measured consideration. This will be easier for the membership to handle."
The changes did, however, prompt the Council to recommend that the Division I Board of Directors consider meeting approximately two weeks after the Council's two annual legislative meetings beginning in October 1999. The Board, which met January 12, agreed to consider the recommendation, but noted that this decision would not preclude scheduling other meetings, as necessary. Changes in composition The Council and Board also considered two proposals addressing the composition of both groups. The Management Council gave initial approval to a proposal that would expand the Council to 51 members, effective with the Council's July 1999 meeting. The proposed composition would include three administrators or representatives each from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Pacific-10 Conference and Southeastern Conference; two administrators or representatives each from the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences; one administrator or representative each from the Big West and Mid-American Conferences and from each of the Division I-AA and I-AAA conferences listed in Constitution 4.5.1-(c)-(1); and four at-large positions from the Division I-AA and/or I-AAA membership. The Board discussed the Council's decision, supported the current percentage of Division I-A and Division I-AA/I-AAA members on the Management Council and noted the need to accommodate the Mountain West Conference in the governance structure. However, the Board expressed great concern with the proposal for several reasons, including the proposed increase to 51 members, the fact that the proposal does not address future conference realignments, and the lack of criteria for identifying different categories of Division I-A institutions. The Board encouraged the Management Council to continue to explore alternative options for the composition of the Council, to develop general principles for how positions are allocated, and to submit to the Board in April a report of recommended changes to the composition of the Council and cabinets, including the impact on meeting and travel expenses. Regarding possible changes in the composition of the Board, the presidents expressed no objection to a proposal initially approved by the Management Council that would expand the Board to a total of 18 members to include an additional member from the Mountain West Conference, one representative each from the Big West and Mid-American Conferences and one additional Division I-AA/I-AAA representative. The Board noted, however, that it would review the proposal, which will be distributed to the membership for comment, at its April meeting subsequent to a second review by the Management Council. Anticipating further review of modifications to the Division I governance structure, the Management Council directed the subcommittee to study the impact of the changes in the composition of the two groups, as well as details of the legislative process as affected by the anticipated changes, and to report its findings and recommendations at the Council's April 1999 meeting. The Management Council also will review the role of the Division I cabinets in April. The Council will solicit input from the Strategic Planning and Business/Finance Cabinets, including descriptions of the cabinets' duties, evaluation of the cabinets' functions, and whether these functions could be performed as effectively by the Council or a committee that reports directly to the Council. Exempted contests legislation In legislative action, the Board adopted an amended version of Proposal No. 98-92 regarding exempted contests, which would allow Division I basketball schools to choose to participate in an exempted contest or add a 28th regular-season game to their schedules. The legislation, which had been forwarded to the Board after receiving final approval from the Management Council, limits schools' participation in exempted contests to two certified events in a four-year period. The original proposal stipulated that no more than one of those events could be outside the continental United States, but the Board deleted that part of the legislation because the Board believed it may have unintended consequences. The Board noted that there might be other unintended consequences with this modification to the proposal and that the Board would be willing to consider additional legislation submitted through the normal legislative process to address any complexities. The intent of the legislation is to allow greater flexibility for institutions in scheduling basketball contests and to address competitive-equity concerns by providing an opportunity for any Division I institution to compete in certified events so that the inherent recruiting and competitive advantages are distributed equally among Division I institutions. The Men's and Women's postseason National Invitation Tournaments, events that are annual exemptions, are not subject to the provisions of the proposal. In football, the Division I-A members of the Board voted to adopt Proposal No. 98-90, which would allow Division I-A football institutions to participate in a 12th regular-season game during years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November (2002, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2019 over the next 20 years). The proposal also eliminates annual preseason exempted contests after the 2002 playing season. The purpose of the legislation is to promote competitive equity in college football and to address concerns that institutions selected to play in preseason exempted games receive significant financial, competitive and recruiting advantages over institutions that are not selected for such games. Division I-A members of the Management Council gave final approval to the legislation before forwarding it to the Board. Similar legislation received initial approval from the Division I-AA Football Governance Committee and will be reviewed again in April. Financial aid legislation The Management Council reviewed a report from the Committee on Financial Aid, submitted in response to a referral from the Council and Board of Directors, regarding the feasibility of increasing a full grant-in-aid to the cost of attendance or an equivalent amount as a possible alternative to student-athlete employment during the academic year for full grant recipients and the possible implications of increasing the grant-in-aid for student-athletes who receive partial grants. The Council noted that the current employment legislation has been in effect only since August 1, 1998, that the legislation has not appeared to create significant problems and that the difference between a full grant-in-aid and the cost of attendance varies significantly from institution to institution. The Council agreed, therefore, that no change to the current student-athlete employment legislation is necessary at this time and requested that the Committee on Financial Aid solicit feedback from each institution, including the campus student-athlete advisory committees, to determine whether the $2,000 limit on earnings permitted by the student-athlete employment legislation is satisfactory. The Board subsequently accepted the Council's recommendations. In other actions regarding financial aid, the Council declined to approve legislation that would have increased the financial aid limits for women in a number of sports (legislative Proposal Nos. 98-112 through 98-121). The legislation had been proposed by the Financial Aid Committee to address concerns about the effect of current award limits on the ability of institutions to meet Title IX scholarship requirements. The Council noted that the Championships/Competition Cabinet and the various sports committees had not completed their review of the proposals, that the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet sponsored these proposals to provide an opportunity for membership comment but specifically did not express support or opposition to the proposals, and that the majority of the comments received did not indicate strong membership support for the proposals. "There were concerns about the competitive-equity aspects (of the legislation)," said Robert A. Bowlsby, chair of the Management Council and director of athletics at the University of Iowa. "Some of the mid-major schools expressed concern that the limits might help in meeting Title IX requirements but at the detriment of their ability to compete. "For example," Bowlsby said, "if the University of Iowa added another woman on scholarship to the volleyball team, that student-athlete may have otherwise gone to another institution. As you add more scholarships in the larger programs, there are competitive issues for other schools." The Council also declined to give initial approval to Proposal No. 98-57, which would have increased by 25 percent the total number of counters in all women's head-count sports except basketball, and would have increased by 25 percent the maximum number of equivalencies in all women's sports except rowing. The Council did give initial approval to one piece of financial aid legislation (Proposal No. 98-41) that would permit institutions to pay certain withholding taxes of foreign students. Unlike for American student-athletes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires institutions to withhold 14 percent of the value of room and board awarded to foreign students. It was noted that the Council had received additional information, that had not been available to the Committee on Financial Aid, from the IRS indicating that foreign student-athletes rarely receive a refund for the full amount of the withholding tax through normal IRS filing procedures. Senior woman administrator The Management Council reviewed a report from its Subcommittee to Review the Definition of the Senior Woman Administrator and took several actions. The Council agreed that consideration should be given to amending the current definition of the senior woman administrator specified in Constitution 4.02.4 with the following language (bold type indicates new wording): "A senior woman administrator is the highest-ranking female administrator in the department of athletics other than the director of athletics involved with the conduct of a member institution's intercollegiate athletics program. If the institution has a female director of athletics, another female administrator may be designated as senior woman administrator." The Council also agreed that consideration should be given to adding a new provision to Constitution 6.1 (Institutional Governance) following the requirement regarding the faculty athletics representative as follows: "All member institutions that sponsor women's athletics programs shall designate an individual to serve as a liaison to the NCAA for issues related to women's athletics. That individual shall be a full-time employee who also is an administrator, coach or faculty member of the institution and may be the senior woman administrator of the institution as defined in Constitution 4.02.4. "The liaison shall be attentive to issues of particular interest to women's athletics and shall be responsible for facilitating the institution's conformity with the principle of gender equity defined in Constitution 2.3. The liaison also may participate in the development of overall athletics policies for the institution and such other duties and responsibilities as determined by the institution." The Council noted that those changes reflect a compromise approach to establishing a senior woman administrator (as opposed to a women's administrator) and referred these proposed changes to the Committee on Women's Athletics to evaluate whether it is more important to require the liaison position or to specify the gender of that position without requiring institutions to designate an individual. The Council also requested staff to communicate with legal counsel to determine whether possible legal issues exist if "the senior woman administrator position" on committees can only be filled by individuals who meet the proposed definition of the senior woman administrator, which would not be a required position, and if an individual designated as the liaison to the NCAA for issues related to women's athletics would not be considered for the position unless designated as the senior woman administrator as defined in Constitution 4.02.4. Other Board actions The Board took several other actions, including the approval of a Management Council recommendation to eliminate the "gaps" in legislative citations, all voting-line references to federated provisions other than subdivision distinctions, and all references to other divisions in the text of the Division I Manual, as long as a cross-reference system or master Manual is maintained, effective with the 2000-01 Manual. The Board also approved the Management Council's recommendation to establish an annual Association-wide sportsmanship award, which would be presented in conjunction with the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, and agreed that institutional student-athlete advisory committees should be involved in the selection of institutional nominees. The Board also approved legislation to amend Constitution 2.6 regarding the principle of nondiscrimination as follows (bold type indicates new wording): "The Association shall promote an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person. It is the policy of the Association to refrain from discrimination within its own governance policies, educational programs, activities and employment policies, including on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation. It is the responsibility of each member institution to determine independently its own policy regarding nondiscrimination." It was noted that the change would be subject to approval by all three divisional presidential bodies, the Executive Committee, and a two-thirds majority vote of the total membership in all three divisions (present and voting) no earlier than at the 2000 Convention. In other actions, the Board reviewed the recently approved Division I budget process and requested that the staff and Division I Budget Subcommittee develop a possible Division I budget process that would account for the possible elimination of the Board's summer meeting in future years. The Board also reviewed several expenditure savings proposals, including the elimination of first-class travel, and took the following actions:
Other legislation The Board adopted several items of legislation that had received second approval from the Management Council, including Proposal 98-131, which establishes equestrian as an emerging sport for women (effective August 1, 1999). Two proposals regarding softball also were approved, including Proposal No. 98-49, which establishes a recruiting calendar in the sport (effective August 1, 1999) and Proposal No. 98-93, which would establish a maximum limit of three contests that may be played in any one day (effective August 1, 1999). The Board also adopted Proposal No. 98-47, which permits a student-athlete with a specified learning disability who was not a qualifier to earn a fourth season of competition, provided the student-athlete has satisfied certain procedures and has completed at least 75 percent of his or her degree program at the beginning of the fifth academic year following the student-athlete's initial, full-time collegiate enrollment. The proposal, which becomes effective August 1, 1999, is part of the consent decree approved by the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Justice. Other legislative proposals gaining final approval from the Management Council that were adopted by the Board of Directors include:
The Council tabled two proposals, including Proposal No. 98-96, which would expand the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct (an Association-wide committee) by adding two currently enrolled student-athletes in an advisory capacity. The proposal was tabled until the Council's April meeting to allow the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to provide input regarding student-athlete representation on all Association-wide committees. Also tabled was Proposal No. 98-91 that would have permitted football student-athletes in Division I under certain conditions to participate in individual skill-related instruction outside the playing season but during the academic year. The Council originally had approved the legislation but tabled it until its April meeting to hear input from football student-athletes. The skill training could be provided, according to the legislation, only if requested by the student-athlete and without the use of pads or helmets and in groups no larger than four athletes at any one time in any facility. Initial approval The Management Council gave initial approval to the following proposals:
The Council referred Proposal No. 98-59 regarding medical expenses to the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The Council requested that the committee submit a report to the Council, no later than after the committee's second meeting following this referral, containing a definitive list of supplements that should be included with this proposal accompanied by an opinion from legal counsel regarding any liability issues. The Council also referred Proposal No. 98-107 regarding revisions in the recruiting calendar for Division I women's basketball to the Working Group to Study Division I Basketball Issues. The Council declined to give initial approval to the following proposals:
An additional 10 proposals were submitted by conferences for the Council's consideration and were referred to the appropriate governing body for further review. Proposal No. 99-3 regarding volunteer coaching limitations was tabled until the Council's April meeting in order to seek an opinion from legal counsel and to allow conferences to provide input to Council members.
Other highlights: Board of Directors
Division I Board of Directors
Other highlights: Management Counci
lDivision I Management Council
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SAN ANTONIO -- Prompted by recommendations from a comprehensive review of the Division I governance structure, the Division I Management Council approved changes that would modify the Division I legislative cycle by reducing the number of comment periods and the number of times each year during which the Council would consider legislative proposals.
The Council agreed to continue scheduling four meetings per year, with the understanding that the agenda for the July 1999 meeting, to the maximum extent possible, should emphasize broad policy issues. The Council will re-evaluate the number of meetings per year at its October 1999 meeting.