National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- January 18, 1999 Division II delegates keep men's lacrosse championship The Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship looked death in the face but lived to see another day.
The vote was a significant one because it would have been the first time for an NCAA division championship to be eliminated because of insufficient sponsorship without leaving a National Collegiate alternative in place. The men's lacrosse championship currently is sponsored by 30 institutions. Supporters of the proposal argued that the provision under which the championship would be eliminated is arbitrary. In order to discontinue a championship in an Olympic sport, the membership must take action to vote it out of existence, but non-Olympic sports must be saved legislatively. Proponents also said that eliminating the championship would be unfair to student-athletes. "We should be looking to add athletics opportunities rather than eliminate them," said Vince Salamone, director of athletics at Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus. The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also weighed in on behalf of the event. Somewhat ironically, almost immediately after the lacrosse vote, delegates chose to discontinue the Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship, 182-21 with 28 abstentions. The circumstances were substantially different, however, since Division II ice hockey sponsorship soon will stand at only seven teams. Also, ice hockey was protected because of its Olympic status, thus necessitating a specific action to discontinue the championship. Division II also chose to create a Division II Women's Golf Championship, effective with the 1999-2000 academic year. Two potentially spirited legislative debates did not develop. Proposal No. 1, which would have permitted Simon Fraser University, a Canadian institution, to apply for NCAA membership, was ruled out of order. The NCAA Executive Committee has agreed to review the proposal as an Association-wide issue. Also, on January 10, the Division II Presidents Council eliminated the division's geographic-proximity policy, which resulted in Proposal No. 7 not being considered. The remaining proposals in the Presidents Council grouping fared as follows:
Delegates also heard reports from the Division II Presidents Council, the Division II Strategic Planning Project Team, the Division II Management Council, and the Budget and Finance Committee. After voting was completed, they also heard a presentation on the new distribution formula for the Division II Enhancement Fund, heard a report from the Division II Project Team to Review Issues Related to Diversity, and heard a report from the Division II Legislation Committee about the division's deregulation efforts. The meeting marked the conclusion of Lynn Dorn's term as Division II Management Council chair. Dorn, director of women's athletics at North Dakota State University, has chaired the Division II Steering Committee and the Division II Management Council for the last five years. Clint Bryant of Augusta State University, Dorn's replacement as Management Council chair, read a resolution commemorating her contributions to the division, and delegates recognized her with a prolonged standing ovation. Arend D. Lubbers, president of Grand Valley State University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council, closed the Convention with several observations about Division II. "I feel good about our division and its organization," he said. "We have a Convention where people who hold all offices responsible for athletics participate in shaping the division. I'm glad we didn't give up the Convention." He commended the division for its meaningful involvement of student-athletes but expressed concern over diversity matters. "We are ahead of other divisions in the inclusion of students in our deliberations," he said. "Our commitment to the welfare of student-athletes brings them into our discussion of how we can best fulfill that commitment... "One area that diminishes my good feeling was reported to you by Clint Bryant. It doesn't hold water that so many athletes are people of color and that there are so few minority administrators or coaches among our membership. Let's resolve to do better." -- David Pickle
Division II legislative actionsNo. 1: Eligibility For Membership. Intent: To specify that, under defined conditions, institutions outside the United States, its territories and possessions would be permitted to apply for NCAA Division II membership. Ruled out of order by the Executive Committee. No. 2: Eligibility -- Additional Season-Of-Competition Waivers. Intent: In Division II, to specify that the Management Council or its designee has the authority to waive the normal application of the season-of-competition rule based upon objective evidence that demonstrates circumstances that warrant a waiver. Defeated, 94-136 (1 abstention). No. 3: Two-Year College Transfers -- Partial Qualifier Or Nonqualifier. Intent: In Division II, to specify that a two-year college student who was not a qualifier shall be limited to using no more than 50 percent of the total number of transferable-degree credit hours from physical education or recreation-activity courses. Defeated, 68-165 (1 abstention). No. 4: NCAA Championships -- Minimum Sponsorship Criteria -- Division II Lacrosse Championships. Intent: In Division II, to create a protected status to continue a National Collegiate Championship or a division championship in the sports of men's and women's lacrosse. Adopted, 125-95 (17 abstentions). No. 5: Division II Championship -- Women's Golf. Intent: To establish a National Collegiate Division II Championship in the sport of women's golf. Adopted, 226-3 (6 abstentions). No. 6: Division II Championship -- Men's Ice Hockey. Intent: To discontinue the National Collegiate Division II Championship in the sport of men's ice hockey. Adopted, 182-21 (28 abstentions). No. 7: Championship Site Criteria -- Division II. Intent: To eliminate geographical proximity from the site-determination criteria for Division II championships. Not considered as a result of the Division II Presidents Council's elimination of the geographic-proximity policy. No. 8: Resolution: Commitment to Diversity. Adopted, 230-0 (4 abstentions). No. 9: Recruiting -- Telephone Calls -- Division II Football. Intent: In Division II football, to permit one telephone call to a football prospect (or the prospect's relatives or legal guardians) during the month of May of the prospect's junior year in high school; further, to preclude any additional telephone calls until September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's senior year in high school. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 10: Telephone Calls -- Division II Men's and Women's Basketball. Intent: To permit institutions to make one telephone call to a prospect [or the prospect's parents or legal guardian(s)] on or after June 21 of the prospect's junior year in high school; further, to permit only three telephone calls to a prospect [or the prospect's parents or legal guardian(s)] during the month of July following the prospect's junior year in high school, with the restriction that no more than one telephone call may occur per week. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 11: Unofficial Visit -- National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Intent: To specify that National Girls and Women in Sports Day activities held on an institution's campus are exempt from the limitations on providing entertainment to a prospect. Adopted. No. 12: Recruiting -- Recruiting Calendar -- Division II Football. Intent: In Division II, to permit contact with a two-year college football prospect at the conclusion of the two-year college prospect's football season. Adopted. No. 13: Foreign Tours -- Seasons of Competition. Intent: To permit a student-athlete to engage in competition on an institution's foreign tour conducted after the intercollegiate season and prior to the start of the next academic year without using a season of competition; further, to permit student-athletes who were enrolled as full-time students the previous academic year and have established eligibility for the subsequent academic year to participate on a summer foreign tour. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 14: Hardship Waiver -- Division II. Intent: To require the submission of contemporaneous medical documentation with any hardship-waiver request. Adopted. No. 15: Initial Eligibility -- GED Test/Equivalency Diploma -- Division II. Intent: To specify that a prospect may qualify for athletically related financial aid and practice on-campus or at the institution's regular home facility, but not for competition, by presenting a minimum average score of 45 on the five-part GED test and satisfying either the minimum grade-point average and core-course requirements or the minimum standardized test score as set forth in 14.3.2.1.2. Adopted. No. 16: Eligibility -- One-Time Transfer Exception -- Division II. Intent: In Division II, to permit a student-athlete who attended a four-year institution, did not receive athletically related financial aid and did not participate in intercollegiate athletics (other than in limited preseason tryouts) to exclude attendance at that institution for purposes of applying the one-time transfer exception, provided the student-athlete was meeting satisfactory-progress requirements at that institution. Defeated. No. 17: Financial Aid -- Outside Sources. Intent: To permit a student-athlete (recruited or nonrecruited) who is the recipient of a permissible outside financial aid award administered pursuant to 15.2.5.4 and 15.2.5.6 to receive such an educational award directly from the awarding agency, provided the aid is awarded prior to the recipient's initial enrollment at a member institution and the awarding agency provides written notification of the award to the institution. Adopted. No. 18: De Minimis Violations -- Improper Financial Aid -- Division II. Intent: To specify instances in which a de minimis violation will not render a prospective or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 19: Financial Aid -- Professional Sports Organization. Intent: To permit an institution to continue providing financial aid for the remainder of the term of the award to a student-athlete who completes his or her four seasons of competition in a sport and signs a contract or receives compensation from an agent or a professional sports organization. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 20: Restitution for Receipt of Improper Benefits -- Division II. Intent: In Division II, to specify circumstances in which an institution does not have to declare a student-athlete ineligible and seek reinstatement on behalf of a student-athlete who received an improper benefit, provided the student-athlete repays the value of the improper benefits. Adopted. No. 21: Permissible Expenses -- Meals. Intent: To permit institutions to provide meal expenses to student-athletes serving on university committees who miss a regular meal as a result of a committee meeting conducted when regular institutional dining facilities are open. Adopted, effective immediately. No. 22: Awards Banquets -- Complimentary Admissions. Intent: To permit institutions to provide complimentary admissions to one annual awards banquet for a student-athlete's two guests and spouse. Adopted. No. 23: Refreshments at Educational Events. Intent: To permit institutions to provide reasonable refreshments to a student-athlete's parents or legal guardians in conjunction with educational activities. Adopted. No. 24: Playing and Practice Seasons -- Division II Basketball -- Annual Exemptions. Intent: In Division II, to permit a member institution to exempt annually not more than two exhibition contests against Division I or III institutions from the maximum number of permissible basketball contests during any year in which it does not utilize an exempted contest against a foreign team in the United States or against a "club" member of USA Basketball. Adopted. |
Division II delegates at the 1999 NCAA Convention granted the championship a reprieve, voting 125-95 with 17 abstentions January 11 to continue the event even though it is below the standard of 40 sponsors that is required for a division championship to continue.