The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee spent much of its November 19-21 meeting in Indianapolis reviewing legislative proposals in the Division I Official Notice, including a series of proposals that address the length of the playing and practice seasons in all sports.

Proposal Nos. 04-40-A, 04-40-B and 04-40-C, which would limit the time demands on student-athletes by amending the maximum number of contests in certain sports through elimination of the event certification process and certain annual exemptions, did not earn SAAC support.

While SAAC members said they appreciated the time and effort it took to put the proposals together, they believe all three take away competition opportunities for student-athletes. They believe the proposals should address championship and non-championship segments separately rather than look at athletics over the course of an entire year. SAAC also believes that student-athletes traditionally do well academically while in season due to the structured nature of athletics (see guest editorial, page 4).

"The way we see it, it's a reduction in our competitive seasons and that's not something we want," said SAAC Vice-Chair Ian Gray of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

"We as a SAAC have come out strongly against proposals over the last several years that would increase time demands. But we are not in support of reducing those demands by reducing the competitions themselves.''

Much of the sentiment from the Division I SAAC stems from the fact that some sports have their championship season in one semester. For example, the championship segment in women's soccer occurs in the fall, but institutions also have spring workouts.

"We're allowed five weekends of competition (in the spring),'' said Katie Groke, SAAC chair and a former soccer player at the University of Wyoming. "We would go down to Colorado Springs and play Air Force, Colorado College, Colorado, Denver and Metro State. We could play three or four games in a weekend.''

If Proposal No. 04-40-A is approved, those games would have to count toward the maximum number of contests allowed. Therefore, those competitions would likely cease since there would be more emphasis to compete in the championship segment.

"I've heard discussions from soccer teams, softball teams and golf teams that are immersed in this debate,'' said Gray, who will become the chair of the Division I SAAC in January. "The individuals we've spoken with come from the campus, conference and national levels. They feel if this rule passes, then coaches have to make up their mind on how to allocate the number of set competitions. They are going to put most, if not all, of that focus on the championship segment because they want to position themselves for a bid to the NCAA tournament.''

SAAC composition

Another proposal -- No. 04-46 -- also drew a strong response from the Division I SAAC. The proposal specifies that a student-athlete may serve on the Division I SAAC up to one year after the completion of his or her intercollegiate athletics eligibility, provided that he or she is still enrolled or employed at the institution at which the student-athlete participated in intercollegiate athletics.

The rationale is that if a student-athlete is no longer enrolled or employed at the institution, he or she may not represent the institution or conference effectively because they are detached from what current student-athletes deem as important.

Gray, who already has graduated from Nebraska, said he and other SAAC members believe their contributions should not be discounted. They believe SAAC members who have graduated offer a valuable perspective since they've completed their education while competing in intercollegiate athletics.

"As a representative, you don't have to be on a campus to represent,'' Gray said. "I could use an example of being in the U.S. Congress. How often do they really stay within their state and go door to door asking what is it that I can do for you in Washington? No, they maintain their existence in Washington. They pass laws and represent from afar. As representatives within this governance structure, we feel the way we do it now works best.''

Proposals that earned the most support from SAAC members were Nos. 03-23-A and 03-23-B, which concern the countable financial aid on team limits. If a player is receiving academic aid from a source outside of an athletics scholarship, these proposals say that shouldn't count against team limits. SAAC strongly supports this idea.

Members also discussed the legislative packages from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association that focus on recruiting and access, but did not complete their review enough to develop positions.

Other items on the Division I SAAC agenda included a re-emphasis on exit interviews being conducted at the end of a student-athlete's eligibility. SAAC members believe the legislation specifies that exit interviews should be done in person rather than through impersonal surveys.