National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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The NCAA News
Division II leaders will take a long look ahead when they conduct their fall meetings in Indianapolis.
The Management Council will meet October 25-26, while the Presidents Council will assemble November 1.
The primary item on both agendas will be whether to approve the concept of several long-range budget initiatives (see the August 28 issue of The NCAA News).
The plan involves identifying appropriate funding for initiatives identified through the Division II strategic plan. Management of the programs would be conducted by Division II conference offices.
To make the plan work effectively, the Presidents Council has discussed developing a set of guiding principles for Division II conferences. Those principles would, among other things, assure greater involvement by Division II CEOs in conference administration.
"The purpose will be to make sure that conferences have sufficient resources to take on these strategic initiatives," said Mike L. Racy, Division II chief of staff. "Then, at the end of the year, the conferences will be held accountable for how the funds are used."
Other business
The governance groups also will hear a report from the Amateurism Project Team, which will conduct a mid-October conference call at which time it is expected to discuss delaying the implementation date (currently August 1, 2001) for the amateurism deregulation package that will be considered at the 2001 Convention in Orlando, Florida.
The amateurism proposals appear to have strong support, but concern has been expressed that implementing the changes too quickly could affect recruiting classes during the transition. Proponents of a delay also believe that the division could benefit from a coaches education program, which could be established if the implementation date is moved to 2002.
The Management and Presidents Councils also will hear their first report from the Membership Review Project Team. That project team will ask the governance groups to consider two proposals:
A recommendation that if the number of independent institutions falls below the number required to form a conference (six), the Management Council and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee seats specified for independent institutions instead would be designated at-large positions. At the moment, eight Division II institutions are classified as independents.
A recommendation that institutions affected by the membership moratorium may petition for a full year of relief as a provisional member if they can demonstrate that they have been meeting the requirements of provisional membership on their own. About 40 institutions had expressed interest in provisional membership before the moratorium took effect this spring. Eight institutions had sought a waiver to be exempted from the moratorium.
In other business:
The Legislation Committee will report on 2001 Convention Proposal No. 2-35, which would permit an institution, at its discretion, to count financial aid awarded to a multiple-sport student-athlete in either sport in which the individual participates, provided the student-athlete legitimately satisfies the requirements set forth in Bylaw 15.5.3.6.1. The proposal is part of the financial aid deregulation package, which is sponsored by the Presidents Council. However, members of both the Management and Presidents Councils have expressed concern that Proposal No. 2-35 could invite abuse by "hiding" athletes for high-profile sports such as basketball and football in other programs. The Legislation Committee was charged with modifying the proposal so that it would be less susceptible to abuse.
The Championships Committee will report on a decision to delay consideration of a plan to implement automatic qualification for all Division II team championships (see related story, below).
The Project Team to Review Issues Related to Diversity will ask the Presidents Council to sponsor a resolution highlighting a problem with the senior woman administrator position in Division II. A recent survey determined that more than 50 percent of SWAs in the division either are coaches or serve in a clerical capacity. The project team is asking for a commitment to enhance the position at the institutional and conference levels.
The Management Council will elect a new chair to replace Clint Bryant of Augusta State University. Elections also will be conducted to replace Bryant and three other Management Council members: Barbara J. Schroeder of Regis University (Colorado); Thomas R. Shirley Jr., Philadelphia University; and James W. Watson, West Liberty State College.