January

Division III conducts an issues forum at the NCAA Convention on the future of the division. The session attracts more than 630 delegates.

New NCAA President Myles Brand in his inaugural State of the Association address tells the membership that advocacy and reform are the guideposts that will shape his presidency.

The NCAA Executive Committee begins to develop a strategic-planning process that will deliver a blueprint to guide the Association's future direction by April 2004.

February

More than 150 leaders in intercollegiate athletics, higher education, city government, media and law enforcement gather at the Sportsmanship and Fan Behavior Summit in Dallas.

Division II conducts its first Leadership Action Academy that attracts almost 100 student-athletes and athletics administrators.

The federal panel appointed to review Title IX issues its final report. A competing "minority report" also is released by two members of the panel.

March

The NCAA, CBS Sports and ESPN develop contingency plans for the basketball championships in light of the possibility of televised war coverage in Iraq.

Norwich University scores two third-period goals to win the Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship. The rally brings to fruition a guarantee by coach Mike McShane, who told his Cadets during a quarterfinal game in which they trailed that if they won that game they would go on to win the title.

April

The Division III Presidents Council approves an out-of-season practice and conditioning model in football that minimizes health and safety risks for student-athletes.

The Division I working group on incentives/disincentives reviews pilot data that will form the foundation of an Academic Progress Rate to provide term-by-term measurements of student-athlete academic progress in all sports.

The Division I Board of Directors approves an increase in the number of core courses required for prospects to meet initial-eligibility standards from 14 to 16 beginning with the entering class of 2008.

May

Lewis University becomes the first non-Division I institution to win the National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship when it defeats Brigham Young University in five games.

The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announces its plans to reconvene in November to continue its discussion of issues in college sports, particularly financial and academic integrity matters.

NACDA names University of California, Santa Barbara, Athletics Director Gary Cunningham the recipient of the 2003 James J. Corbett Memorial Award.

UCLA pitcher Keira Goerl no-hits California in the championship game of the Women's College World Series.

June

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismisses a lawsuit filed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association against the U.S. Department of Education challenging the regulations governing Title IX.

Olympian Willye White gives an inspirational keynote address to the nearly 300 participants gathered at the seventh annual NCAA Leadership Conference. White tells student-athlete leaders to believe in themselves and never stop striving for excellence.

Information directors from the 22 Division II conferences gather in Indianapolis to discuss ways to promote Division II.

Division III conducts its first drawing in a new provisional membership process that creates classes of provisional members and provides an extensive educational program for institutions to complete.

July

The U.S. Department of Education ends more than a year of speculation about potential changes to Title IX when it announces that it is committed to a policy of "continuing the progress that Title IX has brought toward true equity of opportunity for male and female student-athletes in America."

Member schools from three divisions, including Division I, submit legislative proposals by the July 15 deadline. For Division I, it marks the first time the single annual legislative cycle has been in vogue since restructuring.

The Division II Management Council recommends legislation to require student-athletes to pass six hours of academic credit in the preceding academic term in order to be eligible for athletics competition. The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also discusses time-demands issues during its annual summit.

August

The Division III Presidents Council forwards a nine-proposal reform package for the 2004 Convention.

The NCAA releases a preliminary baseline economic study on Division I athletics operating expenses that refutes some popular myths about the relationship between winning and revenues.

Virginia Union University President Bernard W. Franklin is named NCAA vice-president for governance and membership.

The NCAA releases graduation-rates research for the entering class of 1996 that shows a student-athlete graduation rate three percentage points higher than the student body rate.

September

NCAA President Myles Brand and representatives from 12 Division I universities meet to discuss postseason football issues, including access to the Bowl Championship Series.

The Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet reiterates its support for a proposal that establishes cost of attendance as a student-athlete's financial aid limit.

The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet declines to support a membership proposal that allows conferences with fewer than 12 members to conduct a league football championship.

October

Representatives from NCAA institutions in California attend a meeting with California state legislature representatives to discuss a bill submitted by state Sen. Kevin Murray that essentially would preclude California schools from continuing NCAA membership.

Twenty minority football coaches are selected to attend the first segment of the NCAA Coaches Academy, a year-long training program designed to diversify the head football coaching ranks.

The Black Coaches Association announces a framework for the hiring "report card" it will use to evaluate Division I athletics hiring practices.

More than 300 Division I men's basketball coaches convene in Chicago to discuss ethics and integrity issues in their sport.

November

Kenyon College swimmer Ashley Rowatt becomes the first Division III student-athlete to win the NCAA Woman of the Year award.

The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, president emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, is named the recipient of the inaugural NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award.

Talks continue between among representatives from Bowl Championship Series conferences and Coalition leagues about access to postseason football bowl games. At a November 16 meeting, Division I-A conferences are charged with bringing recommendations back to the table within 60 to 90 days.

December

Alan C. Page, former football student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame and NFL Hall-of-Famer with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, is named the 37th recipient of the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award.

The women's soccer team from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, completes a 27-0 season with a resounding 6-0 win over the University of Connecticut in the championship game of the Women's College Cup.