Nontraditional seasons, championships and the work of the Division III Initiatives Task Force were all on the agenda of the Division III Presidents Council at its April 27 meeting in Indianapolis.

The Council also debated the issue of regular-season drug testing in Division III football, discussed the work of the Division III Amateurism Task Force, and recommended to the Association's Executive Committee that the NCAA suspend championship play in South Carolina if the Confederate flag continues to fly over the statehouse.

The Council agreed to sponsor noncontroversial legislation establishing a moratorium on new provisional members for a period of two years, effective immediately through September 1, 2002. The moratorium would not affect current provisional members. The Council approved a moratorium exception for two would-be Division III institutions that met criteria recommended by NCAA legal counsel.

The Council agreed that the moratorium would provide the Division III governance structure with an opportunity to focus on issues strengthening active membership and with time to better prepare for the implementation of legislation that will increase the number of sponsored sports to five for men and five for women, which will go into effect August 1, 2001.

Nontraditional seasons

Regarding nontraditional seasons and playing and practice season issues, the Management Council had forwarded a recommendation that the Presidents Council sponsor legislation to modify Bylaw 17.1.8 to prohibit missed class time and overnight travel for competition in the nontraditional segment. This proposal would have made an exception for golf and tennis, allowing one event annually in each of those sports.

The Presidents Council did not endorse that proposal, expressing concern that the proposal both failed to address significant nontraditional-season issues and that it also introduced new burdens -- such as the requirement to monitor missed class time -- that were overly regulatory.

The presidents also expressed concern that prohibiting overnight travel would unfairly disadvantage schools located in regions where overnight travel was unavoidable for competition, while favoring schools that were located in areas where numerous competitors were within easy travel distance.

After a lengthy discussion, the presidents agreed that the best course of action regarding the nontraditional-seasons issue was to continue to encourage the membership to sponsor relevant proposals dealing with the matter. The Council plans to review these proposals -- and perhaps consider additional proposed legislation -- at its August meeting.

Initiatives task force

The Council heard a report from John S. Biddiscombe, athletics director at Wesleyan University (Connecticut) and chair of the Division III Initiatives Task Force, regarding the task force's work thus far.

The task force was established by the Presidents Council in January to develop programs and proposals addressing three key priorities within the division's strategic plan: student-athlete welfare, diversity and membership education.

Biddiscombe gave a report of the task force's first in-person meeting, held April 26, in which it reviewed and prioritized initiatives, discussed funding implications, established a three-year compilation of initiatives and developed a process for committee referral and membership communication.

"Our charge was to look at the Division III strategic plan and develop initiatives relating to student-athlete welfare, membership education and diversity," Biddiscombe said. "We looked at what were the appropriate amounts for funding, what would be the parameters of the proposals and what were the desired outcomes."

Biddiscombe reviewed the first year of the new initiatives, 2000-01, noting that the first-year proposals generally were ones that involved existing programs or initiatives that were previously in the works and for which extensive research already had been completed on the level of funding required. "In many cases in that first year, we're seeking to piggy-back off of what we know works," he said.

Initiatives tentatively proposed for the first year include Division III-specific sessions at NCAA regional and conference seminars, postgraduate scholarships for Division III women and ethnic minorities and membership professional development grants for Division III women and ethnic minorities (including scholarships to the NACWAA/HERS program and the NACDA Management Institute).

Other year-one proposed initiatives included Division III-specific enhancements to the NCAA Web site, championships enhancements (increasing squad sizes and officials' fees) and an annual meeting with conference commissioners.

Biddiscombe also introduced the Council to the task force's criteria for evaluation of initiatives. The task force has decided that such proposals should:

* Reflect the Division III strategic plan.

* Promote the educational philosophy of Division III.

* Have direct impact on Division III student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campus leadership.

* Be quantifiable and measurable.

* Be sustainable over time.

* Be relatively easy to administer.

The 2000-01 initiatives currently under review by the task force have an estimated cost of $565,700 for the first year. Total costs are expected to exceed $4 million by 2000-03.

The Council noted that approximately 90 percent of the Division III budget currently is allocated to Division III championships. Following the implementation of the initiatives tentatively proposed by the task force, approximately 80 percent of the annual Division III budget would be devoted to championships.

The task force will continue to review initiatives, bringing them before the Division III Management Council and Presidents Council for future formal endorsement.

The task force also will forward more detailed information to the Division III membership in the near future.

The Council declined to endorse recommendations from the Division III Management Council and the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports regarding the possible expansion of the drug-testing program in Division III football.

The committee had recommended pursuit of the issue, and the Management Council had suggested a survey of Division III membership regarding interest in a voluntary drug-testing program in football.

The Council was concerned that the funds required for the drug-testing program would not be a wise expense considering that only one sport was targeted, and that the data gathered from a voluntary testing program would be random and insufficiently representative to establish the scope of the issue. Several presidents expressed a desire to explore other ways to examine the degree to which drugs and supplements are a problem in Division III.

Along those lines, the Council asked that NCAA staff bring data from Division III championships testing for the Council to review at its August meeting.

The Council agreed to a variety of recommendations that would increase Division III championships opportunities for student-athletes. The Council plans to:

* Sponsor legislation for the 2001 Convention permitting the establishment of a Division III championship in an emerging women's team sport if at least 28 institutions sponsor that sport.

* Sponsor legislation for the 2001 Convention to establish a Division III women's rowing championship and sports committee, beginning with the 2001-02 academic year.

* Sponsor legislation for the 2001 Convention to establish a Division III women's ice hockey championship and sports committee, beginning with the 2001-02 academic year.

* Increase championships squad sizes in field hockey, football, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball and women's volleyball, effective with the 2000-01 academic year.

* Increase the number of participants in women's outdoor track and field from 331 to 344, effective with the 2001 Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Other highlights

Division III Presidents Council
April 27/Indianapolis

* Recommended to the Executive Committee that NCAA championship play not take place in South Carolina as long as the Confederate flag continues to fly over the South Carolina statehouse, beginning with the 2001-02 academic year.

* Endorsed core values proposed by the Division III Amateurism Task Force for Division III amateurism rules. Those were: clarity, common sense and consistency of rules; prospective student-athlete welfare; competitive fairness; and consistency with Division III philosophy. The Presidents Council also approved the Management Council's recommendation to endorse the review of amateurism rules for prospective student-athletes with a focus on the Division III philosophy and student-athlete welfare.

* Recommended approval of an Association-wide budget and encouraged the Executive Committee to allocate additional funds to support diversity and student-athlete welfare.

* Supported the elimination of an Association-wide keynote speaker for the 2001 NCAA Convention and the elimination of the Tuesday morning Division III business session, as recommended by the Division III Convention Planning Subcommittee.

* Approved a preliminary Division III operating budget for 2000-01. Also approved a recommendation from the Budget Committee to cap the amount of cash on hand (including reserves and unallocated funds) at 35 percent of the annual Division III budget allocation.

* Supported the Division III Membership Committee's recommendation that provisional member chief executive officers be required to attend the NCAA Convention each year of the provisional membership period. Also supported the development and expansion of educational opportunities for provisional member CEOs at the Convention.

* Supported the Division III Management Council in encouraging all Division III institutions to review and evaluate team travel policies and to consult with their insurance carriers or risk-management consultants regarding team travel policy review.