National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- April 12, 1999

Nontraditional-season issues among Council review items

In its upcoming meeting April 12-13, the Division III Management Council expects to review the proposed budget for Division III and discuss issues related to nontraditional seasons, proposed championships expansion and the frequency of Division III committee meetings.

Most of those issues will then be forwarded to the Division III Presidents Council for consideration at its April 20 meeting.

Nontraditional seasons

As the Management Council continues to investigate the membership's opinions about nontraditional seasons, it will hear a report from the Division III Nontraditional Seasons Subcommittee and review the results of a pilot survey. The subcommittee distributed the survey to all Division III conference commissioners and athletics directors from selected independent institutions.

The Management Council will review highlights of the pilot survey, which indicated support for legislative modifications for both team and individual sports. The pilot survey also revealed minimal support for reduction in the overall length of the playing season and support for reducing competition in the nontraditional segment.

The Management Council also is expected to discuss the subcommittee's next step, which is the review of a survey that has been distributed to all Division III athletics directors. The response deadline for this more comprehensive survey is April 23.

Championships

The Management Council also is expected to review a recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to increase selected team-sport brackets to reflect a 1:7.5 ratio.

Responding to concerns expressed during consideration of the automatic-qualification legislation adopted at the 1999 NCAA Convention, the Championships Committee reviewed the number of berths available to Pool C (nonchampions from automatic-qualifying conferences). The Championships Committee then determined that a 1:7.5 (down from 1:8) ratio would enhance championships opportunities, especially in those sports with a large number of automatic qualifiers and independents.

The Management Council is expected to review the budgetary implications of this and other championships recommendations -- including individual team sport enhancements and overall enhancements for championships participants.

Additional issues

The Management Council is expected to review the provisional-member education program, along with a recommendation from the Division III Membership Committee that provisional institutions' senior woman administrators and faculty athletics representatives attend the orientation sessions.

The Council is also expected to review plans for an active-member educational video conference this fall to educate members of Division III regarding legislative issues.

The Management Council is also expected to:

Review proposed NCAA equestrian rules.

Review proposed Division III committee meeting calendars.

Review recommendations from the Division III Nominating Committee.

Also, the Division III Presidents Council is expected to receive a slate of four candidates recommended by the Presidents Council Nominations Subcommittee. This action is intended to enlarge the Council from 11 to 15 members (effective August 1) in response to the membership's endorsement of Proposal No. 26 at the NCAA Convention. The Presidents Council is expected to forward a ballot to Division III chief executive officers for voting following the Presidents Council meeting.