Division I is responsible for 131 proposals (59 last year) that will be considered in the 12-month legislative cycle. Those proposals, generated from within the Division I governance structure or submitted by conferences, will undergo cabinet review this fall, then discussion and initial Management Council review at the NCAA Convention in January. They'll receive final consideration from the Council and Board of Directors in April. Division II members submitted six proposals -- the same total as last year -- and Division III members offered three (compared with eight last year) for consideration during division business sessions at the 2005 Convention in Dallas.

All three divisions' membership proposals were due to the national office by July 15.

Division I proposals

The Division I proposals include the Big 12 Conference's request for a permanent 12th game in football. Current rules allow for a 12th game only in seasons during which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November. That rule was applicable for the 2002 and 2003 seasons, but the 14-Saturday cycle won't happen again until the 2008 season, and then not again until 2013 and 2014.

Thirty-seven proposals come from packages developed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Special committees from both organizations compiled comprehensive packages in response to an invitation from NCAA President Myles Brand to change the recruiting culture. Many of the proposals deal with increased access to prospects and student-athletes, with the goal of creating a better nurturing and mentoring environment from the time the prospect becomes a student-athlete to the time the student-athlete becomes a graduate.

Among measures from the men's coaches are proposals that permit more contact with student-athletes outside the playing season, and reduced contact with prospects (but expanded and more flexible evaluative opportunities). The package also includes two proposals that have prompted media attention -- one that allows a fifth season of eligibility and another that allows institutions to conduct tryouts for prospects. (For an in-depth summary of the NABC proposals, see the July 19 issue of The NCAA News.)

The WBCA package includes a proposal that prohibits coaches from instant-messaging or text-messaging prospects, and another that prohibits institutions from sponsoring nonscholastic events, except for high-school state-qualifying competitions (see story, page 5).

Divisions II and III proposals

Divisions II and III members combined to submit nine proposals for consideration at the 2005 Convention, in accordance with their long-established legislative processes. The total is below the 14 submitted from the membership for the 2004 Convention and the 15 submitted in 2003.

In Division II, the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Northeast-10 Conference have submitted a proposal specifying that a transfer student-athlete from a Division I institution to a Division II institution who has not received a baccalaureate degree may use the one-time transfer exception, provided he or she has at least two seasons of competition remaining in the sport. The exception also would apply to a student-athlete who has one season of competition remaining in the sport, has not received athletically related financial aid from the Division I institution and will not receive athletically related financial aid from the certifying Division II institution.

Sponsors of the proposal believe it addresses the concern about experienced Division I student-athletes transferring to Division II institutions and being immediately eligible for their final season of competition. They believe that requiring Division I transfers to complete a year in residence at the certifying Division II institution before being eligible to compete will lessen the perception that they are being "rented" simply to compete.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference have submitted a proposal to reduce maximum equivalency limits in football from 36 to 24. League members cite 2000-01 data indicating that 50 percent of Division II institutions sponsored football at 24 or fewer scholarships.

Sponsors rationalize that a maximum of 24 "better reflects the current membership's commitment to football and allows for a broader range of institutions to not only have access to championships, but to compete for those championships."

In Division III, a proposal from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference would partially reverse the membership's vote at the 2004 Convention to prohibit coaches from providing safety or skill instruction during voluntary out-of-season workouts.

The adoption of 2004 Convention Proposal No. 64 eliminated that opportunity in six sports, but the conference is seeking to reinstate what has been called the "safety exception" in one of those sports -- gymnastics. The sponsors suggest that gymnastics student-athletes must use specialized equipment (such as rings, beams, bars and the pommel horse) to develop skills in the sport, and that coaches are best equipped to provide competent "spotting" during workouts to maintain safety.

Another proposal addresses out-of-season activity in football. The American Southwest and New Jersey Athletic Conferences are proposing legislation to allow limited skill instruction -- specifically, use of a football in passing-, catching- and kicking-related drills -- during the currently permitted five-week conditioning and strength-training period.

Current legislation permits only pass patterns and position-specific agility drills during the five-week period, prohibits positioning student-athlete in a manner that simulates football formations, and also prohibits the use of any sport-related equipment, including footballs.

The third Division III proposal, sponsored by the Empire 8, would give institutions the option to exempt an alumni game from contest limitations during either the traditional or nontraditional season in six sports -- baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and women's volleyball.

Current legislation permits the exemption only for alumni games during the traditional season, but the conference suggests that flexibility in scheduling the game benefits student-athletes as well as institutions.

All three proposals have been referred to the Division III Management Council Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee for review.

Next steps

Division I proposals have been posted at NCAA Online as part of a Web-based Publication of Proposed Legislation (POPL). Also, the Management Council's administrative committee is referring the proposals either to the two cabinets or other committees for review during their fall meetings.

The first of two amendment periods will last from August 15 to the end of the Management Council's October 18-19 meeting. During this time, the cabinets or any conference (whether it sponsored the proposal or not) may amend a proposal.

At its October meeting, the Management Council will review proposals that have been amended but not agreed to by the original sponsor. In those cases, the Council may choose to support the original proposal or the amendment(s), or develop its own proposal.

A printed Official Notice will be distributed by November 15 and will list all pending legislative proposals sponsored by conferences, cabinets or the Council. The Council will give initial formal consideration to the proposals at its January meeting.

A number of proposals proposed by conferences in previous legislative cycles are being carried forward for consideration during the new legislative cycle. Those proposals also appear in the Web-based POPL, along with proposals originating in the Division I committee/cabinet structure.

In Divisions II and III, proposals have been published by division in PDF format in a Web-based Initial Publication of Proposed Legislation (IPOPL).

All membership-sponsored proposals will be evaluated by an appropriate Association-wide or Division II or III committee before they are included on the agenda for the 2005 Convention. The designated committee will report to sponsors the results of its review of a proposal by October 7. A committee may indicate support for or opposition to a proposal or suggest an alternative proposal as a result of its review.

The Second Publication of Proposed Legislation (which includes amendments submitted by the Presidents Councils and those properly modified by sponsors) will be provided online for each division not later than September 23, and the Official Notice for each division will be provided not later than November 15.