National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- July 19, 1999

Council ready to review alternative cabinet structure

After two years since the Association restructured, Division I appears ready to tinker with the composition of some of its governance bodies to increase its efficiency.

At its upcoming meeting July 26-27 in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the Division I Management Council is expected to hear recommendations from a subcommittee appointed to review the structure that would propose significant changes at the cabinet level and in the composition of the Council.

The Council's Subcommittee to Review the Division I Governance Structure is expected to recommend that the duties of the Strategic Planning Cabinet and Business/Finance Cabinet be apportioned to other entities.

If approved, the Strategic Planning Cabinet would be eliminated and the six Association-wide committees that previously reported to the cabinet would be assigned to other bodies within the structure.

The current Business/Finance Cabinet also would be eliminated but would be replaced by marketing and public affairs subcommittees to the Championships/Competition Cabinet and Management Council, respectively. The budget duties of the Business/Finance Cabinet already have been assigned to the Division I Budget Subcommittee.

Also up for review are proposed alternatives for the composition of the Management Council. The Council studied three options in April and gave initial approval to two, including one that would expand the Management Council to 49 members, with only two categories of Division I-A conferences (Proposal No. 99-41), and another that would expand the Management Council to 38 members, with only two categories of Division I-A conferences and weighted voting (Proposal No. 99-42).

The Council in April tabled a third option (Proposal No. 99-16), which would expand the Council to 51 members. All three proposals, including membership comment, will be reviewed at the July meeting.

The Council subcommittee is recommending that the Council adopt the 49-member model (Proposal No. 99-41) and that this composition also be applied to the Championships/Competition Cabinet. The Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet would remain at 34 members.

Any revision of the composition of the Council would have to fit the following parameters developed by the subcommittee and approved by the Council in April:

That each conference in each subdivision of Division I be represented by at least one member (person) and at least one vote.

That the voting ratio between Division I-A and Divisions I-AA/AAA, set at 53/47 by the current bylaws be, as nearly as possible, maintained either by membership (seats) on the Management Council or by voting multipliers applied to members of the Management Council.

That the difference in the number of votes between Division I-A and Divisions I-AA/AAA, set at two by the current bylaws, be adjusted proportionately, either by a change in the membership of the Management Council or by a change in the voting multipliers, as the size of the Management Council increases.

That the difference in the values of the voting multipliers of the representatives of each subdivision may be used to achieve the requisite voting ratios and number of votes between Division I-A and Divisions I-AA/AAA and within Division I-A.

That votes in Division I-A be allocated in no more than two categories, as provided by current bylaws.

That limits on the number of members of the Management Council be set, with the number to be not less than 38 or more than 53.

Other cabinet items

The Championships/Competition and the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinets also are expected to provide action items for the Council. Items from the Championships/Competition Cabinet are expected to include a prioritization of funding requests (see story, page 1).

Items from the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet include a recommendation that the Council table Proposal No. 99-18 (recruiting -- telephone calls) in order to allow the Recruiting Subcommittee to consider the ramifications of an amendment made to the proposal by the sponsor that could have unintended consequences for nonrecruited student-athletes who receive multiple phone calls late in the recruiting process.

The cabinet also will request that the Council support efforts to convey information regarding the permissible and nonpermissible uses of technology during recruiting. The cabinet recommends that such information be published in a separate, regular column in The NCAA News and be posted regularly on the NCAA Web site, noting that the continually changing technological environment enhances the need to regularly update the membership with new and existing interpretations.

Christine H. Grant, director of women's athletics at the University of Iowa and chair of the cabinet's Subcommittee on Agents and Amateurism, also will make a presentation to the Council regarding the subcommittee's work on amateurism issues.

Legislation

Among legislative items to be considered by the Council are Proposal No. 98-107 regarding revisions to the current women's basketball recruiting calendar. The proposal received initial approval from the Council in April.

Also up for second approval is Proposal No. 98-37, which would allow prospective and enrolled student-athletes to receive funding to cover actual and necessary developmental training expenses that are approved by the United States Olympic Committee or appropriate national governing body to pay for equipment, room and board, travel and other essential items unrelated to participation in a specific competition.

Proposals up for initial approval include Proposal No. 99-27, which would specify that for Division I basketball, an individual who does not enroll in a college within one year after completing high school shall lose a season of competition for each year the individual competes in organized basketball competition after the one-year time period.

The restriction currently applies only in the sport of tennis (Bylaw 14.2.4.2).