Anticipated changes in the Division III financial aid legislation and proposed changes in the division's understanding of amateurism were among the topics discussed at the Division III Presidents Council meeting November 1 in Indianapolis. The Council also reviewed legislation that the membership will be voting on in January at the 2001 NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida.

The Council agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment (No. 2-49-1) to delay the effective date of legislation previously proposed to simplify and deregulate Bylaw 15.

The proposed legislation, which would eliminate institutional submission of awards of circumstance and nonathletics achievement awards to the NCAA, did not have an enforcement component, but the legislation's rationale indicated that one was expected by 2002.

The Division III Management Council had recommended delaying the effective date of the legislation to August 1, 2002, to provide time for the development of a comprehensive compliance and enforcement process.

The Presidents Council agreed on the direction taken by the Management Council, and it also endorsed in principle a process for institutional compliance, procedures for reporting audit results, and the creation of a policy and procedures for enforcement.

In a related action, the Presidents Council agreed to co-sponsor a resolution from the University Athletic Association asking that any formal compliance process such as that described in the statement of rationale regarding Proposal No. 2-49 be presented to the membership in legislative form for final approval at the 2002 NCAA Convention. The conference expressed concern that the legislation as currently proposed indicates that a compliance component will follow, but it lacked important details about such a compliance component.

The Council agreed that the membership should be presented with a plan for compliance and enforcement and have the chance to discuss that plan and vote on it in a formal way -- with the understanding that many details probably will not be legislatively mandated by the membership, just as they are not with the Institutional Self-Study, for example.

Amateurism

The Council heard a presentation on amateurism by M. Lee Pelton, president of Willamette University and a member of the Council, and Thomas Weingartner, athletics director at the University of Chicago and chair of the Division III Amateurism Task Force. The task force had reached consensus on a number of issues and had forwarded its recommendations to the Management Council. The Management Council had supported the task force recommendations in principle and further recommended that the issues be presented to the membership during the upcoming NCAA Convention discussion sessions.

The Presidents Council declined to support the recommendations in principle, but the Council did recommend them as discussion topics for the Convention. The Presidents Council also noted that similar legislation is under consideration in Divisions I and II.

"We're redefining what amateurism means here, and I don't think we should undertake that lightly," said Ronald L. Applbaum, president of Kean University.

The recommendations were to:

Allow prospective student-athletes (PSAs) to enter professional drafts without jeopardizing their Division III eligibility.

Allow PSAs to sign professional contracts without jeopardizing their Division III eligibility.

Allow PSAs to accept prize money for competition in events that are open to anyone without jeopardizing their Division III eligibility.

Allow PSAs to accept pay for play without jeopardizing their Division III eligibility.

Allow PSAs to compete with professionals without jeopardizing their Division III eligibility.

Adopt an organized competition rule that would charge a PSA with a season of competition for every year they competed in organized athletics competition after high-school graduation but before full-time college enrollment.

Require individuals who compete after high-school graduation to complete an academic year in residence before being eligible for Division III competition.

Other action

The Council expressed concern regarding a proposal from the Men's and Women's Basketball Rules Committee to require institutions in all divisions to have a shot clock and a red indicator light mounted on each basket and a game clock with tenths of a second, all by 2003-04. The Division III Championships Committee recommended that the Management Council and Presidents Council not support the rules committee's recommendation.

NCAA legislation requires that playing rules be common for all divisions of the Association. Differences are not permitted unless the NCAA Executive Committee concludes that the rule has a significant financial impact.

The Presidents Council agreed with the Championships Committee and Management Council and decided to ask the Executive Committee for an exemption from this rule, citing the significant financial impact of compliance.

In other action, the Council supported in principle a resolution from the Executive Committee's Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues that proposes an annual budget allocation to address Association-wide issues of gender and diversity.

The Council noted that the Association should support a multiyear plan to address Association-wide issues and programs proposed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, which have been charged with dealing with these concerns by the NCAA Executive Committee.

"It seems pointless to ask the CWA and MOIC to address such concerns within the Association and not provide any funding to support those proposals," said Bette Landman, president of Beaver College, a member of the Division III Presidents Council and a member of the Executive Committee's Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues. "We also are concerned that having to renew funding on an annual basis does not provide the type of support and planning that is required."

Other highlights

Division III Presidents Council
November 1/Indianapolis

Gave final approval to the Division III Initiatives Task Force's three-year plan to allocate Division III resources to three priority areas: student-athlete welfare, membership education and diversity. The plan includes a three-year budget allocation exceeding $8.6 million.

Endorsed a resolution from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators recommending that the NCAA name a senior executive as a senior woman administrator and designate her as the point person for women's issues in the Association. The Council was informed that Judith M. Sweet, currently a professor at the University of California, San Diego, will fulfill the job, along with her duties as the new NCAA vice-president of championships.