Planning was at the top of the agenda for the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during its April 8-9 meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee reviewed and revised its operations plan for the next year and set the goal of enhancing communications with Division III student-athletes through the creation of regional e-mail distribution lists.

The committee also reviewed the Division III Initiatives Task Force's priorities and funding initiatives and discussed preliminary plans for enhancing student-athlete welfare. The SAAC plans to continue those discussions at its July meeting.

At the request of the Division III Management Council Convention Planning Subcommittee, the SAAC reviewed suggested topics for the Division III forum at the 2001 NCAA Convention.

The committee agreed that a proposed topic regarding the media and perceptions of college athletics would not be an appropriate topic for Division III for a number of reasons. Among those reasons is the fact that Division III athletics receive much less national and regional media coverage than Division I athletics, making the issue of public perception one that is perhaps less meaningful to Division III than other topics.

The committee did endorse the proposed topics of effective conference SAACs and a review of the championships automatic-qualification process. Additionally, the committee recommended that a session on the coach/student-athlete relationship be developed and added to the forum.

As asked by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, the SAAC considered the issue of hazing and how to address such activities. The SAAC recommended better education of coaches and student-athletes, perhaps through the development of an informational packet on the topic.

The committee also recommended the development of specific guidelines to help coaches and student-athletes determine what is and what is not acceptable with respect to initiation rituals. The committee recommended that more positive team-building activities and retreats be directed by institutional coaching staffs. Committee members also thought that institutions could benefit from hearing speakers on the topic, particularly if the speakers were from institutions that had publicly dealt with the issue on their own campuses.

In another action, the committee reviewed nontraditional-season-survey results from the National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators and discussed a tentative time line for further discussion of legislation regarding nontraditional seasons. The committee also discussed polling student-athletes this fall to gain a broader range of student-athlete perspectives on the topic. The SAAC agreed to pursue conducting such a survey electronically before the October Division III Management Council meeting.

In other action, the committee:

* Heard a presentation by NCAA staff on Division III amateurism deregulation efforts.

* Recommended to the NCAA Division III Championships Committee liaison and the NCAA broadcast services staff that the Division III public service announcement produced in 1998 be shown at every Division III championship banquet during the 2000-01 academic year and that NCAA Hall of Champions television advertisements include mention of the Division III student-athlete experience. The SAAC also recommended that the public service announcement be aired every year on the television broadcast of the Division III Football Championship.

* Discussed recent student-athlete fatalities and injuries during team travel and recommended that the Management Council discuss the issue as it relates to student-athlete health and safety.