Though January might seem far away, October is Convention-preparation time for the Division III Management Council.

From endorsing a significant amendment-to-amendment regarding playing and practice seasons to taking one last look at legislative proposals, the Council's agenda at its October 21-22 meeting in Indianapolis involved looking ahead to the 2003 Convention January 11-13 in Anaheim, California.

Much of the Management Council's work, including its recommendation to endorse the new playing and practice seasons model, will be reviewed by the Division III Presidents Council at its meeting October 31 in Indianapolis.

The Management Council's playing and practice seasons subcommittee, which met October 20, previously had forwarded legislation to the Management Council and Presidents Council to clean up Bylaw 17. (See the September 30 issue of The NCAA News for an article detailing the previous playing and practice seasons proposal.)

But as the subcommittee reviewed membership feedback on the model, it became clear that its work was not done. So based on additional feedback from the membership, the subcommittee modified the model, which now is an amendment-to-amendment of Proposal No. 39 (as listed in the Official Notice), to allow for greater institutional autonomy and discretion while still maintaining its most significant components -- the length of playing seasons and related contest limits.

The new model still provides for a total playing season length of no more than 19 weeks, which still would be a reduction from the current allowance of 21. Fall sports and spring sports still would have a nontraditional segment of five weeks, and the contests (or dates of competition) would average one to two per week, as they did in the previous model. However, the new model provides for less restrictive start dates than the previous proposal, and it also retains the ability of institutions to exclude full weeks that include a vacation, final-examination period or holiday period during which no practice or competition occurs.

The new model provides for a maximum 13-week traditional season with a five-week nontraditional segment for fall sports, a 19-week season for winter sports, and 14-week traditional segment and five-week nontraditional segment for spring sports.

Institutions would have greater latitude over start and end times for the season in many cases, as long as the season fit into the prescribed number of weeks. The intent is to provide greater flexibility for individual institutions while still retaining the commitment to contain the playing and practice seasons in either the 18-week (including nontraditional seasons) or 19-week period.

To provide for areas of the country where weather is a concern, teams in golf and tennis still would have the opportunity to choose whether to conduct their traditional season in the fall. For similar reasons, as well as safety concerns, rowing would be permitted to use more than five weeks in the nontraditional segment.

The new model also still includes the proposed two preseason exempted scrimmages for each sport (except football).

For a chart detailing how the proposed amendment-to-amendment would affect each sport, see the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.org. (Go to "Administration and governance," then "Division III governance," then "Presidents Council, October 31.")

Future of Division III

Another matter expected to generate interest at the 2003 NCAA Convention is the future of Division III. Between now and January, several members of the Division III Management Council will attend conference meetings to get additional feedback on the issue.

The Management Council reviewed the September membership update from the Presidents Council/Management Council Joint Subcommittee on the Future of Division III and also discussed how that document provided a useful framework for these meetings. At this point, there are 53 in-person or conference-call meetings scheduled with Management Council members and the membership through next summer.

In a related matter, the Council reviewed a proposed schedule for the Division III forum at the 2003 Convention, scheduled for Sunday, January 12, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Any proposed legislative changes regarding the future of the division would likely be up for a vote at the 2004 Convention, so this upcoming Convention is an important time for the membership to discuss the matter.

During the forum, there will be time to discuss the subcommittee's charge and composition, with an update from the oversight group and perhaps specific concepts targeted for feedback by the five subgroups: championships, eligibility and recruiting, financial aid, membership and playing and practice seasons. There will be roundtable discussions on the topic as well as the opportunity for questions and answers and large-group feedback.

Budget review and reallocations

When it came to the budget this time, there was good news. The Management Council had the opportunity to reinstate funds to some worthwhile programs and also to review future needs of the division and begin to plan for them.

The Management Council reviewed and approved the preliminary 2001-02 fiscal year financial results of $10,659,000 in revenue and $11,192,465 in expenses, noting that championships and the Division III initiatives were under budget, a significant change from the previous year. The Council further noted that championships travel expenses were reduced due to the implementation of two new travel policies, including hub airport travel and also increasing the mileage requirement from 400 to 500 miles for institutions to be able to take airline travel to a championship.

The Council also reviewed and approved the 2002-03 reallocation recommendations of $101,750 plus $5,000 in overhead from the Division III Initiatives Task Force; the establishment of a championships contingency fund of $500,000 (representing about 4 percent of the championships budget); and the establishment of a Future of Division III contingency fund of $200,000.

The Management Council agreed with the task force recommendation to reallocate $101,750, including $50,000 from planning and development, to women and minority internship grants; $18,000 to senior woman administrator enhancement grants; and $33,750 to fund the attendance of conference members to regional compliance seminars. (Overhead increased by $5,000 because of the $50,000 reallocation to women and minority enhancement grants.)

The Council also noted that the championships contingency fund would be used only if championships expenses exceeded the budgeted amount and that any unused funds would be carried over into the next fiscal year.

The Council further noted that the purpose of the Future of Division III contingency fund was to increase involvement from the membership in the process, including CEOs. This fund also would carry over at $200,000.

The Management Council also reviewed and approved the 2003-04 reallocation recommendations of $670,000 plus $45,000 in overhead from the Division III Initiatives Task Force.

The Council agreed with the task force's recommendation to reallocate the $670,000: reinstating $150,000 to the women and minority internship program; reinstating $300,000 to initiative grant funds; reinstating $200,00 to the conference technology grant; and adding $20,000 to the membership's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee grant. (Overhead will increase by $45,000 because of those reallocations.)

Championships

The Management Council also addressed a number of championships issues. The Council:

Approved a requirement to have outdoor tracks surveyed after initial construction and after each resurfacing, effective immediately.

Approved a recommendation to increase the minimum pole-vault landing pad measurement beyond the vault box to six meters wide by five meters deep. In addition, the front portion of the landing pad will be required to be the same width as the back portion of the pad and suitable padding must be placed around the base of the standards that hold the bar, effective immediately.

Approved a recommendation to reduce the coefficient of restitution (COR) for the softball from a maximum of .50 to a maximum of .47, beginning in January 2005.

Denied a recommendation to mandate rim testing in basketball, effective with the 2004-05 season.

Denied a recommendation to require host institutions to designate an on-site administrator, who is not a member of the coaching staff, to assist umpires with game management for regular-season competition in softball.

Other highlights

Division III Management Council
October 21-22/Indianapolis

Reviewed the Division III strategic-planning priorities and accomplishments.

Reviewed and approved a revised 2003 NCAA Convention composite schedule.

Reviewed membership-sponsored legislative proposals for the 2003 NCAA Convention.

Reviewed legislative proposals sponsored by the Presidents Council for the 2003 NCAA Convention.

Reviewed and approved proposed groupings of proposals for the 2003 NCAA Convention.

Reviewed speaker assignments for Division III legislation at the 2003 NCAA Convention.

Reviewed noncontroversial proposals, modifications based on intent and proposed editorial revisions for the 2003 NCAA Convention.