The Indianapolis firms of Sport Graphics and Dean Johnson Design have been awarded responsibility for almost all NCAA publishing and graphic-design work.

The decision, announced May 20, is in keeping with the previously stated position of President Myles Brand to reallocate staff resources so that they support the NCAA strategic plan.

The decision means that the NCAA's publishing, book production and graphic-design areas will be discontinued. Sport Graphics and Dean Johnson Design will work with the national office staff to provide the necessary editorial and technical support to ensure the smoothest possible transition.

The NCAA News will be the only NCAA publishing function that will remain as a staff operation.

As a result of the decision, the NCAA has restructured staff assignments for playing-rules administration, previously the responsibility of the publishing staff. Ty Halpin and Heather Perry, formerly assistant directors of publishing, have been reassigned to the championships staff and will be responsible for the 15 sports in which the Association maintains playing rules. Halpin and Perry will be responsible for the rules within each sport and also for maintaining and for overseeing the approval process. Staff assistant Nicole Boles will move to championships with Halpin and Perry.

The positions of 10 other staff members were terminated through the action. A decision to reallocate positions in the operations unit of the national office's administrative services staff was announced in April.

The NCAA's arrangement with Sport Graphics and Dean Johnson Design became effective June 1.