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NCAA News Archive - 2003
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Board of Directors moves ahead on reform
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The NCAA News
The Division I Board of Directors sent another strong message at its April 24 meeting that it is serious about elevating student-athlete academic performance by approving an increase in core-course requirements that becomes effective for the entering class of 2008.
The Board's action is significant not only because of the result but because of the way it was reached. The Board decided to enact the proposal (No. 03-26) raising the number of core courses required for initial eligibility from 14 to 16 as emergency legislation, which means it will go into effect without going through the normal membership comment period. That is different from action the Division I Management Council took at its meeting two weeks earlier when the Council gave initial approval to the proposal, anticipating that it would go through a 60-day membership comment period beginning next January and return to the Board for action in April 2004.
The vote by which the Management Council passed the measure was one shy of the 75 percent necessary for the proposal to qualify automatically as emergency legislation. But the Board has the authority to consider any piece of legislation as emergency, and it exercised that right during the Indianapolis meeting.
In the end, the Board's decision was one of message over process. The group that has supported the increase to 16 core courses for more than a year appeared to be less interested in considering any amendments to the proposal that might have come from a membership comment period than it was in signaling its intent to move forward quickly and decisively on academic-reform initiatives.
Though the Board bypassed the comment period, however, it did implement the proposal's original effective date (August 1, 2008). The Board could have imposed an August 1, 2007, effective date, but members were concerned that high-school constituents may not have adequate time to prepare for the new rules under such an accelerated time table.
This is the third time in the past decade that the Association has approved an increase in core-course standards in Division I. The first rise from 11 to 13 in the mid-1990s resulted in increased graduation rates for Division I student-athletes. The Board last October approved another rise from 13 to 14 effective this August, but the Board made it clear then through a resolution that it intended to make the jump to 16 sooner rather than later.
That sooner is now. Board members cited data that support the increase, including the fact that most current qualifiers already average 17 core courses, and the vast majority of Division I institutions require more than 14 core courses for admission. Also, Board members believe that given the proper lead time prospects will meet the higher standard as they did when core courses were increased before.
"The increase in core courses is a significant part of the Division I academic-reform effort," said Robert Hemenway, University of Kansas chancellor and Board of Directors chair. "The Board has been committed to increasing the standards for student-athletes to participate in athletics as freshmen, and this action is an indication of the level of importance with which the Board holds this proposal."
GPA certification
There were two other academic issues on which Board members either strengthened or revised actions the Management Council took earlier. One was the matter of how often to require institutions to certify student-athletes' grade-point averages for eligibility purposes. Currently, schools are required to do that annually before the first contest in the fall, but the Board has expressed an interest in increasing that to a term-by-term frequency after the freshman year.
The Management Council defeated a legislative proposal (No. 03-25) that would have done that because it was concerned about the administrative burden the new requirement would place on many institutions, particularly those operating on a quarter system. But Board members were adamant in their belief that the term-by-term checks elevate academic behavior and thus passed Proposal No. 03-25 as emergency legislation that becomes effective for the 2003-04 academic year.
Hemenway said Board members supported the proposal because it alleviates situations in which student-athletes could retain eligibility in midterm without having met academic requirements.
"One of the criticisms of Division I eligibility certification currently is that once a student-athlete is certified at the beginning of the academic year, there is a kind of 'free pass' for the entire year," Hemenway said. "The Board's action eliminates that concern."
The other Management Council-approved issue the Board modified was the out-of-season conditioning model the Council put in place for football beginning with summer workouts this year. While the Board supported the base proposal (No. 02-84) and amendments that establish a 35-day window for 29 practice opportunities and exclude "walk-throughs" as countable activities in Division I-A, members were concerned because the model did not stipulate a specific academic orientation period.
Currently, institutions must provide first-time participants with a full day of academic orientation within a three-day noncontact conditioning period. The revised model increases that noncontact, or "acclimatization" period, from three to five days but does not provide any guidelines for academic orientation within that time frame. Rather than add a 36th day in the model for the sole purpose of academic orientation, the Board decided to amend the proposal to require institutions to provide six hours of academic orientation activities within the five-day acclimatization period. Board members felt that retained the academic integrity of the system without compromising the importance of the five-day acclimatization period from a conditioning standpoint.
In other action, the Board adopted legislation that will allow for the distribution of a $17 million Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund through the broad-based distribution to conferences in August. The new fund, established as part of the bundled-rights agreement with CBS and ESPN, will increase in value by 13 percent annually and is designed to provide direct benefits to any student-athlete without being based on need.
Conferences are being afforded ample flexibility as to potential uses of the fund, with the only prohibited uses being salaries, grants-in-aid (other than summer school or fifth or sixth year), capital improvements and stipends to student-athletes.
With that in mind, Board members wanted to ensure they had an opportunity to monitor the way conferences use the fund. Conferences are required to report annually to the Division I Management Council on the distribution of money from the fund, but the Board added a review process that will provide a more comprehensive report of the fund's use after the first two years.
Other highlights
Division I Board of Directors
April 24/Indianapolis
Adopted a number of proposals (Nos. 02-66 through 02-70) that complete the academic reform package the Board approved last October, the most significant of which requires all currently enrolled student-athletes (not just entering freshmen) to earn six credits per term (Proposal No. 02-70).
Heard an update on the work of the Division I Academic Consultants on academic reform initiatives, as well as from the Division I working group to develop the incentives/disincentives structure. Included was an update on the soon-to-be-developed Annual Academic Progress Rate (AAPR), which will serve as a real-time measure of academic success that will supplement the federally mandated graduation-rates methodology. The plan is for three years of data to be accumulated before any incentives or disincentives would be tied to the historical performance of the AAPR. The Board considered a recommendation that the 2003-04 academic year serve as the first of that three-year compilation, but members agreed instead to use the 2004-05 academic year for that purpose in order to provide institutions with ample notification of how the AAPR will work before it takes effect.
Received an update from the Championships/Competition Cabinet's playing and practice seasons subcommittee regarding student-athlete time demands. The Board asked the subcommittee to survey various stakeholders (faculty athletics representatives, academic counselors, etc.) to obtain data on key issues such as missed class time by sport for the Board to review as it considers length-of-season matters in the near future.
Adopted proposals that had been approved a second time by the Division I Management Council or had been forwarded to the Board as emergency legislation. (See the accompanying list for a complete summary of approved legislation adopted by the Board.)
Tabled Proposal No. 02-93 (penalty for failing to meeting Division I-A membership requirements), pending review next year of Proposal No. 03-12, which would reinstate a "conference waiver" for institutions that fail to meet Division I-A football attendance criteria.
Legislation adopted by the Board of Directors
The Division I Board of Directors adopted the following legislative proposals during its April 24 meeting in Indianapolis:
No. 01-76 (as amended by Proposal No. 01-76-1), specifying that camp brochures are not restricted in content or design, but are restricted to a single two-sided sheet, not to exceed 17 inches x 22 inches when opened in full. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-45 (as amended by Proposal No. 02-45-1), prohibiting institutional women's basketball staff members in attendance at nonscholastic certified events from having any communication with a prospect's coach or any other individual associated with the prospect as a result of the prospect's participation in basketball during the time period in which the prospect is participating in the certified summer event. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-46 (as amended by Proposal No. 02-46-1), permitting an enrolled basketball student-athlete attending a two-year collegiate institution to enter a professional league's draft one time during his or her collegiate career without jeopardizing eligibility in that sport, provided the student-athlete is not drafted by any team in that league. [Effective date: August 1, 2003 (for student-athletes entering a collegiate institution on or after August 1, 2003).]
No. 02-47, specifying that percentage-of-degree requirements apply only to those years in which the student-athlete is enrolled at a national service academy. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-49, specifying that a professional team is one that provides any of its players more than the value of actual and necessary expenses, including other reasonable expenses incidental to participation. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-50, specifying that each member conference shall establish procedures for administering the annual coaches certification exam. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-51, permitting an institution to provide an additional meal to student-athletes during the preseason practice period before the start of the academic year. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-52, permitting a Division I-AA head football coach to make an off-campus contact or evaluation with a prospective student-athlete at any time during a calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) during a permissible contact or evaluation period, provided no more than seven coaches (including the head coach) are engaging in off-campus recruiting activities at any one time during the calendar week. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-53, establishing a term limit of four years for secretary-rules editors serving on sports rules committees, with the ability to be reappointed to a term not to exceed eight years; further, to establish a waiver to allow a secretary-rules editor's eight-year term limit to be extended by a maximum of four additional years. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-54, exempting the Men's Gymnastics Committee from the requirement that no subdivision shall have any more than 50 percent representation on any committee; further, to eliminate the requirement that four members must be from Division I and two members must be selected at large. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-57, eliminating the requirement in basketball that the postseason men's and women's National Invitation Tournaments must be certified in order for institutions to exempt participation from their maximum contest limitations. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-64, permitting a student-athlete to retain frequent flyer points and/or miles earned during team travel. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-65, permitting an institution to pay reasonable entertainment costs associated with required practice during vacation periods (for example, preseason period), provided such entertainment occurs within a 30-mile radius of the institution's campus or practice site and classes are not in session. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-66, specifying that a graduate student who is otherwise eligible for regular-season competition shall successfully complete a minimum of six semester or quarter hours of academic credit the preceding regular academic term in which the student-athlete has been enrolled as a graduate student at any collegiate institution. (Effective date: After the 2003 fall term; thus applicable to hours earned by graduate students during the 2003 fall term.)
No. 02-67, specifying that a student-athlete shall meet the initial-eligibility requirements for a qualifier in effect at the time of the student-athlete's initial full-time enrollment in a collegiate institution. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-68, permitting a two-year college transfer student who was a qualifier to be eligible for competition at Division I institutions during the first academic year in residence, provided the student-athlete spent one full-time semester or quarter at the two-year college, presented a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.000 and satisfactorily completed 12 semester or quarter hours of transferable degree credit for each full-time academic term of attendance at the two-year college. (Effective date: August 1, 2003, for students first entering institutions of a full-time basis on or after August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-69, specifying that a fourth season of intercollegiate competition shall be granted to a student-athlete with a diagnosed learning disability, provided the student-athlete has completed at least 80 percent of his or her designated degree program at the beginning of the fifth academic year after the student-athlete's initial, full-time collegiate enrollment. (Effective date: August 1, 2003, for students first entering institutions of a full-time basis on or after August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-70, specifying that a student-athlete shall be required to successfully complete six semester or quarter hours of academic credit the preceding regular academic term in which the student-athlete has been enrolled at any collegiate institution. (Effective date: After the 2003 fall term; thus applicable to hours earned by graduate students during the 2003 fall term.)
No. 02-73, specifying that the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement has jurisdiction over waivers of the five-year rule for student-athletes of the national service academies. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-74, specifying circumstances in which an institution does not have to declare ineligible and seek reinstatement on behalf of an individual (that is, prospective or enrolled student-athlete) who received an improper benefit, provided the individual repays the value of the improper benefit. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-75 (as amended by Proposal No. 02-75-1), specifying circumstances in which a de minimis violation will not render a prospective or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation. (The Council amended the proposal to indicate that a violation related to the use of an automobile during an official visit will be addressed through the principal of restitution, rather than being considered a de minimis violation.) (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-76, permitting an enrolled basketball student-athlete who has entered a professional league's draft pursuant to Bylaw 12.2.4.2.1 to participate in a predraft camp sponsored by a professional sports organization, provided the student-athlete has received written permission from the institution's director of athletics; further, to specify that the student-athlete may accept actual and necessary travel, and room and board expenses from a professional sports organization to participate in its predraft camp. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-77, specifying that the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet may approve, for a student with a diagnosed learning disability, the use of all core courses completed before initial full-time collegiate enrollment; permitting the use of courses for students with disabilities provided the courses appear on the high-school's list of approved core courses; and specifying that students with disabilities may use test scores achieved during a nonstandard administration of the SAT or ACT. (Effective date: August 1, 2003. Applicable to individuals who enroll full-time at a collegiate institution after the 2003 fall term.)
No. 02-78, permitting a Division I-AA football noncoaching staff member with football-specific responsibilities to initiate and receive telephone calls from a football prospect related to general pre-enrollment administrative issues subsequent to the prospect signing a National Letter of Intent with the institution or, for those institutions not subscribing to the National Letter of Intent, subsequent to the prospect's signed acceptance of the institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-84 (as amended by Proposal No. 02-84-1), amending the out-of-season conditioning and preseason practice legislation in football as follows: (1) In Division I-A only, the legislation establishes a conditioning period between January 1 and the start of the summer conditioning period that requires institutions to provide football student-athletes with a minimum of eight weeks of discretionary time; (2) Establishes a summer conditioning period during which a strength and conditioning coach with department-wide duties may conduct non-mandatory workouts for enrolled student-athletes and prospects who have signed a National Letter of Intent; (3) Establishes a preseason practice period that permits an institution to begin sessions on the day that permits a maximum of 35 practice opportunities before the first scheduled contest, with the caveat that an institution may engage in no more than 29 actual on-field practice sessions. Further, in Division I-A only, during the preseason practice season only and after the five-day acclimatization period, on-field walk-throughs are not considered an on-field activity, provided protective equipment (for example, helmets, shoulder pads) is not worn, equipment related to football (for example, footballs, blocking sleds) is not used and conditioning activities do not occur. (Effective date: May 1, 2003; to be implemented at the beginning of the summer conditioning period.)
No. 02-85, establishing a National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship, effective 2003-04, and establishing a six-person Women's Bowling Committee. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-86, specifying that the six-member Women's Lacrosse Committee consist of two members from each of the three regions (Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and South). Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-90, establishing an NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee comprising nine members, including the secretary-rules editor. (The proposed change involves a common provision and, thus, must be approved by each of the Divisions I, II and III governance structures, acting independently.) (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-91, permitting Division I members to count provisional and reclassifying institutions as Division I opponents at the time those institutions are required to comply with the Division I membership scheduling requirements. (Effective date: July 1, 2004.)
No. 02-92, specifying that the application fee for provisional members shall be refunded, less the expenditure related to educational costs associated with the membership process, should the applicant fail to progress to active membership. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-94, revising the waiver criteria for Division I membership requirements to reflect the current governance structure; further, specifying that such waivers are not available for institutions failing to meet Division I-A membership requirements. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-95, revising the once-every-three-year rules-compliance evaluation to once every four years. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 02-99, establishing a "sunset" period for legislative proposals not forwarded to the Board of Directors within four legislative Management Council meetings unless the Management Council elects to extend the four-meeting time period. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-100, confirming that each subdivision of Division I must meet the requirements of Constitution 4.5.1 when making appointments to the Management Council and the cabinets; further, to specify that the Management Council Subcommittee on Selection Review shall review the prospective appointments and take into account the history of appointments by conference and confirm to the Board of Directors that such appointments comply with the requirement set forth in Constitution 4.5.1. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 02-102, specifying that the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet shall assume responsibility for annually reviewing the compliance forms (for example, student-athlete statement, drug-testing consent form and international student-athlete form). (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-1, permitting an institution to conduct an official visit at an off-campus location within a 30-mile radius of the campus; further, for official and unofficial visits, permitting an institution to provide three complimentary admissions to a prospect for any regular-season home contest that has been scheduled at an off-campus facility, provided the facility is located within a 30-mile radius of the institution. (Effective Date: Immediately.)
No. 03-2, permitting an institution to provide any prospective student-athlete on an unofficial visit three complimentary admissions to any regular-season home contest at an off-campus facility. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-19, adding the Student-Athlete Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Authorization/Buckley Amendment Consent Form -- Disclosure of Protected Health Information to the list of forms or statements to be administered to student-athletes annually by an institution. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 03-21, permitting a conference in sports other than basketball to retain automatic qualification when the conference was eligible for automatic qualification during the 2002-03 academic year as long as the conference composition does not change (unless the change is to add a core institution). (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-25, requiring student-athletes to maintain the required grade-point average each term of enrollment starting in his or her second year of collegiate enrollment. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 03-26, increasing the number of core-courses required for initial eligibility from 14 to 16, including one additional year of math and on additional year in any core area. (Effective date: August 1, 2008; for students first entering institutions of a full-time basis on or after August 1, 2008; for those student-athletes first entering a collegiate institution on or after August 1, 2008.)
No. 03-30, establishing a recruiting calendar in baseball. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 03-37, increasing the composition of Satisfactory-Progress Waiver Committee from five to eight members. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-41, permitting a student-athlete to receive monies from the NCAA Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund and exempt such funds from the individual or team grant-in-aid limitations; further, prohibiting conferences and institutions from using the fund for salaries, grants-in-aid (other than summer school), capital improvements and stipends. (Effective date: Immediately; implementation to begin once funds are distributed to conferences in August.)
No. 03-42, permitting a Division I-A institution under specified conditions to be bowl eligible with a record reflecting a winning percentage of .500 during the 2003-04 season in which an institution is permitted to play 12 regular season contests. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-43, designating the Sun Belt Conference as a Division I-A conference in the Division I governance structure and placing the Big West Conference in the Division I-AAA subdivision; further, specifying that in the event a conference fails to satisfy Division I-A conference membership criteria, the conference shall lose its permanent seat on the Board of Directors, be removed from Division I-A classification in the governance structure and the Board shall be authorized to determine the manner by which any unallocated Division I-A position on the Board is assigned. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-44, amending the Committee on Infractions and enforcement procedures, as specified. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-45, clarifying the requirements for a waiver of the minimum number of intercollegiate contests or the minimum number of participants in a contest for sports sponsorship purposes. (Effective date: August 1, 2003.)
No. 03-46, expanding the duties of the Committee on Women's Athletics to include oversight of the Women of the Year Selection Committee. (Effective date: Immediately.)
No. 03-47, reducing from 90 to 60 days the comment period after the Management Council's initial action on proposed legislation; further, permitting conferences/cabinets to amend any legislative proposals during the 60-day period, provided an amendment does not increase the modification specified in the original proposal. (Effective date: Immediately.)
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