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The NCAA News -- February 1, 1999

I-AA panel follows I-A lead in eliminating exempt events

The Division I-AA Football Governance Committee, which met January 8 in San Antonio, gave initial approval to a proposal that would eliminate annual preseason exempted contests in football after the 2002 playing season.

Proposal No. 98-90 would, beginning with the 2002 football season, permit Division I-AA institutions to schedule a 12th football contest in those years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November.

The proposal already has been adopted for Division I-A institu-tions, having gained second approval from the Division I Management Council and final approval from the Division I Board of Directors.

The purpose of this proposal, as with the Division I-A 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.

The committee initially approved, but then tabled until April, Proposal No. 98-91, which would permit football student-athletes to participate in individual skill-related instruction outside the institution's declared playing season during the academic year, provided (a) the student-athlete requests such instruction; (b) such instruction does not involve the use of any pads or helmets; and (c) no more than four student-athletes are involved in skill-related instruction with their coaches at any one time in any facility.

Division I-A previously had tabled the same proposal.

In other legislative actions, the committee recommended changing the effective date of Proposal No. 98-54 to August 1, 1999, and agreed to support the proposal only if Division I-A supports the legislation. The proposal would expand the spring evaluation period to permit 30 consecutive days (excluding Memorial Day and Sundays), beginning April 15 through May 31.

During the Management Council meeting January 11, Division I-A members gave initial approval to the proposal with an effective date of August 1, 1999.

Accordingly, the proposal received initial approval in Division I-AA.

In other action, the committee reviewed a request from the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to be represented at future Division I-AA Football Governance Committee meetings.

The committee declined the request, noting that the presence of a representative during the Division I-AA meeting was not necessary because no other sport has a specific representative from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and all actions of the Division I-AA Football Governance Committee are reported to the full Management Council, where two Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives are present.

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