The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct moved forward with plans to develop strategies that encourage a more "collegial environment" on campus during its November 7-9 meeting in Tampa, Florida.

The committee had been focusing on creating legislation that would establish bylaws governing misconduct during the regular season, similar to those bylaws currently in effect during championships competition. That proposal was withdrawn earlier this year in favor of creating strategies that promote an environment conducive to sportsmanship.

Committee members chose a three-fold approach that includes making a presentation during the upcoming Convention on encouraging a collegial atmosphere. Committee representatives also will meet with the Association for Collegiate Administration Professionals, a group that includes deans and provosts, in late February to discuss sportsmanship and fan behavior.

In addition, the committee is planning to update its tool kit and distribute it to the membership. Although still under development, the tool kit, which was first issued two years ago, could include a revised CD-ROM, public service announcements, brochures and sportsmanship posters.

"We are focusing on accountability and creating a positive environment. Fan behavior, student-athlete conduct and coaching behavior is a local issue. We need to make sure we are addressing it at the local level by providing individual institutions with what they need to do that," said Ron Stratten, NCAA vice-president for education services.

In other actions, the group began to solicit conferences at which to implement a pilot program designed to track misconduct in Divisions I and II. The initiative, voted on during the committee's June meeting, is directly linked to Objective 2.3 in the NCAA's strategic plan. The pilot was modeled after the system developed and currently overseen by the Empire 8, which monitors and tracks misconduct in a variety of sports in Division III.

The committee believes tracking and compiling misconduct statistics will provide a national perspective commissioners will find helpful.

"When we spoke with various conference commissioners, they said they could benefit from a national context for their local conference sportsmanship issues. In other words, if one conference averaged 12 yellow cards per game in soccer, they might not know whether that's a large number, but if we can tell them the national or regional average for yellow cards, they can get a feel for whether their league is out of line. It also allows us to make recommendations for sports committees to consider," Stratten said.

In addition, tracking misconduct will give the committee a way of establishing guidelines and measuring progress on decreasing unsportsmanlike behavior.

The group also received a report from the NCAA Sports Wagering Task Force and responded to a request to review current suggestions and generate additional strategies in the areas of gambling education, awareness, treatment, compliance and policy.