The fate of nine "reform" proposals in Division III now is firmly in the hands of 420 voting member institutions, following one last thorough review by the Division III Presidents Council of its agenda for shaping the future.

The Council, meeting October 30 in Indianapolis, pledged to advocate adoption of all of the proposals at the 2004 Convention. That pledge followed an intensive review of the Council's "Future of Division III" agenda, including in-depth discussions of measures to eliminate the waiver permitting some institutions to grant financial aid for sports classified in another division and to end the practice of "redshirting."

In actions involving those issues, the Council considered, then rejected a request from eight Division III members to withdraw the multidivision financial-aid waiver proposal, and also agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment to the "redshirting" proposal that would permit limited exceptions based on verifiable academic grounds.

"The Presidents Council affirmed its support for the reform agenda and also affirmed its seriousness in moving that agenda forward," said John McCardell, chair of the 15-member Presidents Council and president of Middlebury College. "We are prepared to engage the membership -- whose diversity we reflect -- in discussion and debate, and through that process to shepherd these reforms to passage."

In addition to the two proposals prompting Council actions, the reform agenda includes separate proposals to create an annual financial aid reporting process, eliminate use of academic endowments for financial aid purposes, enact across-the-board reductions in playing and practice seasons and contests, further limit opportunities for coaches to conduct out-of-season workouts, grant a "self-release" opportunity to student-athletes considering transfers, and strengthen philosophical principles pertaining to recruiting practices.

The agenda also features a resolution that would direct consideration during the next two years of membership growth and diversity, and their impact in such areas as sport and program equity, championships and postseason access and funding, access to programs and services, and enhancement of institutional and conference autonomy.

The nine proposals will be debated and voted on separately at the Convention, but together represent the product of a two-year effort -- aided by extensive membership dialogue and input -- to align practices at member institutions more closely with Division III philosophy.

Discussion of the proposals is scheduled during a Sunday-morning Convention session January 11 in Nashville, Tennessee, and is expected to continue that afternoon during conference and independent-school meetings. The membership will reconvene Monday morning, January 12, for final debate and voting on the proposals.

Presidents Council members are urging chief executive officers to conduct meetings on their campuses before the Convention to discuss the proposals with appropriate athletics and administrative personnel, to determine an institutional position on each proposal, then attend the Convention to participate in discussions and voting.

The Official Notice of the Convention -- a key tool for those discussions that will include details of the proposals -- will be published and distributed to Division III members in mid-November.

Multidivision financial aid

The proposal to eliminate the waiver that currently permits eight Division III institutions to offer athletically related aid in Division I sports programs generated significant discussion during the meeting.

"Ultimately, we rejected a motion to withdraw the original proposal, and as a result the multidivisional proposal will go before the membership for a vote in January as part of the reform agenda," McCardell said.

The Council considered the history of the waiver, which was approved by Division III members in 1983 and has been revisited directly or indirectly at four subsequent Conventions (1985, 1987, 1991 and 1994). It also reviewed information provided by the eight institutions regarding the impact that elimination of the waiver 20 years after its adoption will have on established sports programs and their ability to compete, on the institutions and their surrounding communities, and on the development of the sports -- particularly, ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer -- in which those programs compete.

But the Council also noted, as it has during earlier discussions, that the proposal does not prohibit institutions from sponsoring a sport in another division, that a majority of the membership has indicated support for elimination of multidivision classification, and that the proposal is consistent with the fundamental Division III philosophy of offering no athletically related financial aid to student-athletes.

The Presidents Council's discussion focused on a number of issues that also were discussed during the October 20-21 meeting of the Division III Management Council, and ultimately, the Management Council's decision not to endorse withdrawal of the proposal was a key factor of the Presidents Council's rejection of the request.

"We were guided in our deliberations by the recommendation of the Management Council, where these issues received a thorough airing, and also by the responses communicated to us by the membership," McCardell said.

If adopted by the membership, the proposal would require the affected institutions to discontinue granting athletically related financial aid by August 1, 2008. However, in response to the Presidents Council's action, the eight institutions have submitted an amendment-to-amendment to the proposal that seeks to preserve the opportunity to offer aid in those Division I sports.

Redshirting revision

During another detailed discussion, the Presidents Council agreed to support an exception to its proposal to count any practice after the first competition in a season as one of a student-athlete's four seasons of participation.

The proposal, which aims to eliminate the practice referred to as "redshirting" by ensuring that student-athletes are limited to four years of athletics competition and practice, applies to both the traditional and nontraditional playing seasons. The Management Council asked the presidents to consider applying the legislation only to the traditional playing season, noting among other concerns a host of challenging interpretative issues related to practice during the nontraditional segment, as well as concerns about the potentially punitive impact on student-athletes during years when they engage in academic activities that prevent athletics participation.

The Presidents Council declined to amend the proposal to exclude the nontraditional segment, but agreed there could be instances in which student-athletes would be adversely affected by the proposal.

It agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment that would permit a student-athlete who misses a traditional season for a verifiable academic reason (such as study abroad or student teaching) -- and who obtains approval from an appropriate campus academic authority, such as a provost -- to practice but not compete during that year's nontraditional segment without losing a season of eligibility.

"While there may be many reasons for extending a student-athlete's ability to participate, the only plausible one, short of a medical hardship, would be academics," McCardell said. "In no way is this a watering-down of substantive reform. Rather, it is an amendment that reflects the intent of the original proposal while recognizing that there may be solid academic reasons for an exception."

The Council noted that the proposal would have no effect on a currently existing medical hardship waiver opportunity.

Other agenda items

The Presidents Council also reviewed the other seven proposals in the Future of Division III agenda but took no actions, thus ensuring that the Division III membership also will consider them in January.

The entire package, in the order the proposals will be presented at the Convention, includes:

Elimination of the awarding of financial aid from athletics funds or endowments, which has been permitted under an exemption for endowments established for that purpose before 1979.

Establishment of an annual reporting process to examine and compare, on an institutional basis, financial aid awarded to student-athletes with that awarded to nonstudent-athletes (see related information in the accompanying "Other highlights" box).

The proposal to eliminate "redshirting."

Approval of additional language in the Division III philosophy statement to "assure that athletics recruitment complies with the established policies and procedures applicable to the institutional admissions process."

A proposal to permit student-athletes to "self-release" to speak to athletics departments at other Division III institutions regarding a possible transfer, while also strengthening the consequences for coaches or athletics personnel who speak to student-athletes at other institutions without permission.

Limitations on playing seasons of 18 weeks in fall sports and 19 weeks in winter and spring sports. Also, reduction by 10 percent of the number of contests in each Division III sport, including a feature permitting institutions flexibility to achieve those reductions through combined scheduling in the traditional and nontraditional playing seasons, so long as current caps on the number of contests in each of those periods is not exceeded.

Elimination of a current exception that permits out-of-season instruction between coaches and student-athletes in fencing, gymnastics, rifle, rowing, skiing, and swimming and diving.

The proposal to eliminate the multidivision waiver permitting athletically related aid.

The resolution addressing membership growth and diversity.

The Presidents Council has directed roll-call votes for those proposals, as well as for proposals from the membership that address those issues.

Other highlights

Division III Presidents Council
October 30/Indianapolis

Agreed to sponsor an amendment-to-amendment at the 2004 Convention to delay to August 1, 2005, the effective date of Proposal 2-54 in the Second Publication of Proposed Legislation. The Council-sponsored proposal would require member institutions, as a condition and obligation of Association membership, to annually certify the existence of insurance in an amount up to the deductible of the Association's catastrophic-injury policy to cover medical expenses resulting from student-athletes' athletics-related injuries. Council members expressed continuing concern that a significant percentage of Division III members currently do not provide insurance coverage for student-athletes or require that their families do so, but acknowledged that additional time may be needed to assist institutions in planning for and complying with the requirement to certify that coverage exists.

Endorsed the Division III Management Council's recommendation to proceed toward implementation of automatic qualification in selected individual-team sports and toward an increase in championships per diem from $60 to $70, as budgetary conditions permit. Regarding automatic qualification, the Management Council has recommended that priority be given to implementation in tennis, followed by golf and/or cross country. The Presidents Council, reviewing a proposal by the Empire 8 for the 2004 Convention that would authorize automatic qualification for championships in those sports, noted that the league has been asked to withdraw the proposal in order to give the appropriate sports committees an opportunity to submit format recommendations for review by the Division III Championships Committee and the Division III membership.

Received information about current "pre-pilot" testing by 25 institutions of a method for conducting the annual financial aid reporting process that would be required by adoption of proposed legislation included in the "reform" agenda at the 2004 Convention. The testing seeks to determine a method for obtaining financial aid information that would minimize institutional burden while confirming that student-athletes and nonstudent-athletes are receiving equitable financial aid packages. The Division III Financial Aid Review Task Force will present findings from the testing at the Convention.

Approved a recommendation to change the term of service for chief executive officers serving on Division III committees other than the Presidents and Management Councils from four to two years, thus reducing the time commitment and permitting more CEOs to serve.

Elected Phillip Stone, president of Bridgewater College (Virginia), vice-chair of the Presidents Council, effective immediately. Stone fills the position left vacant by the resignation earlier this year of R. Kevin LaGree, president of Simpson College.

Ratified the appointment of Miriam Pride, president of Blackburn College, to an immediate vacancy on the Council. The Council also ratified a slate of nominees to fill four January 2004 vacancies. The nominees will be included on a mail ballot that will be distributed to chief executive officers at all Division III institutions and is due at the national office December 1.