Division II conference offices have until February 15 to apply for strategic initiative grants related to the division's long-range financial plan.

For the 2001-02 cycle, conferences will be able to apply for funding for enhancing conference student-athlete advisory committees and for developing the roles of senior woman administrators and faculty athletics representatives at their member institutions. Those programs will be administered through Division II conference offices.

Several other strategic initiatives for 2000-01 will be administered at the national level. Those include degree-completion scholarships, golf and tennis championship play-ins, bracket expansion to equalize men's and women's championships participation, the NCAA Fellows Leadership Development Program, an increase in the Division II enhancement fund, amateurism education and a Division II student-athlete Web site.

The Division II long-range financial plan was approved in concept by the Division II Presidents Council in November, and the membership reviewed the plan at the NCAA Convention in January. A copy of the long-range plan is available on NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org) under the Administration and Governance section. To find the plan, click on "governance," then "Division II" and then "Division Planning Documents."

The application form for the strategic initiatives was mailed to Division II conference commissioners in mid-December. Although each fund has a specified maximum ($5,000 for conference SAACs, $5,000 for senior woman administrator enhancement and $3,000 for faculty athletics representative enhancement), commissioners may request more funds by providing additional documentation to the Division II Budget and Finance Committee.

On the application form, conferences are asked to break down expenses for each request. For instance, under the senior woman administrator program, the form requests estimated costs for travel and lodging, internships, personnel, seminars/workshops, professional development, awards and other costs. It also asks for a brief description of how the funds would be used.

The form also requests general information about the conference making the request. The Presidents Council wants to strengthen Division II conferences as they undertake the responsibility of administering the many programs identified in the long-range plan. Information gleaned from the forms will help build baseline data about Division II conferences from which year-to-year comparisons can be made.

2001 initiatives

Program -- Amount Available

Conference SAAC Enhancement -- $125,000

-- ($5,000/conference*)

Degree-Completion Scholarships -- $100,000

Golf and Tennis Play-In -- $500,000

Gender-Equity Bracket Expansion -- $500,000

Fellows Program -- $50,000

Senior Woman Administrator Enhancement -- $125,000

-- ($5,000/conference*)

Enhancement Fund Increase -- $600,000

Division II Web Site -- $50,000

Faculty Athletics Representatives Enhancement -- $50,000

-- ($3,000/conference*)

Amateurism Education -- $10,000

Division II Student-Athlete Web Site -- $50,000

*Conferences may request more funding; if so, additional documentation must be provided to the Division II Budget and Finance Committee.