The Division III membership will be voting on a number of important proposals at the NCAA Convention, not the least of which is the amateurism package consisting of Proposal Nos. 40-44. While these proposals may appear on the surface to be an abandonment of the Principle of Amateurism (Constitution 2.9), as alleged in a comment piece that appeared in the December 17 issue of The NCAA News, the change is needed to better align our current amateurism rules with this principle.

Over the past year and a half, the Division III Amateurism Task Force has examined this issue intensely with an eye toward shaping legislation that would refocus our rules on the Principle of Amateurism by placing a much greater emphasis on student-athlete welfare, competitive equity and the spirit of deregulation. This examination included a careful review of the manner in which amateurism cases have been resolved by the Division III Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee within the parameters of the current rules. The Amateurism Task Force discovered that the principle of amateurism is not being served by our current rules. The task force determined that the focus should be on addressing whether a prospect received a "competitive advantage" through his or her actions, as opposed to attempting to assess the prospect's "intent to professionalize" -- a standard that renders that individual permanently ineligible for collegiate competition.

It is important to understand that the proposed legislation applies only to student-athletes before their initial collegiate enrollment and does not modify amateurism rules as they apply to enrolled student-athletes. Furthermore, prospects who clearly "professionalize" themselves by accepting a salary or agreeing to be represented by an agent still will be ineligible to compete at Division III institutions.

This legislation provides some relief to individuals who make bad decisions at a young age and subsequently "professionalize" themselves, sometimes with little or no understanding of the ramifications of signing a contract, accepting prize money (or any tangible item), entering a professional draft or competing with professionals. Whatever competitive advantage may be gained by an individual who chooses to compete with professionals after high-school graduation and before initial full-time collegiate enrollment is mitigated by the requirement that they forfeit a season of competition for each year of organized competition and fulfill a year of residency before being eligible to compete. Consequently, there is a price to be paid, but it does not necessarily have to result in permanent ineligibility from collegiate competition. It seems that any student-athlete who elects to enroll and compete at the Division III level under these conditions will have demonstrated a commitment to receiving an education and will not likely be auditioning for future professional opportunities.

While the opponents of this legislation have trumpeted that the adoption of these proposals would signal that the "sky is falling," in reality, this deregulation package represents a commitment to student-athlete welfare, competitive equity and common sense. Division II adopted very similar legislation at last year's Convention, and while it may be too early to fully judge the impact, early indications suggest a great deal of continuing support within Division II.

I urge that the Division III membership view these proposals absent the initial anxiety inherent in deregulating amateurism rules as they apply to pre-enrolled student-athletes. In doing so, I am confident that the membership will join the Presidents Council, Management Council, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Division III Amateurism Task Force in supporting this package.

Gary Karner is the commissioner of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.