A second phase of "Future of Division III" deliberations now is fully under way after review by the Division III Management Council of initial efforts to implement a 2004 Convention resolution directing a review of membership growth and diversity.

The Management Council, meeting April 19-20 in Indianapolis, reviewed the charge given to a 17-member Oversight Group to Implement Proposal No. 66 and discussed that group's preliminary plans for engaging the membership in discussion and gathering information.

The oversight group's members, drawn from the Management Council and Division III Presidents Council, will gather for their first formal meeting April 28 as a two-year effort to address a variety of issues raised in the resolution gains speed. Phillip Stone, president of Bridgewater College (Virginia), will chair the group.

Efforts to implement the resolution initially will focus on enhancing a process initiated during the past two years in which members of the Councils attend and participate in meetings of conferences and other groups and otherwise solicit input from the membership, and also focus on surveys and research initiatives.

Those efforts will seek membership feedback and data relating not only to growth and diversity, but also to topics ranging from those of a philosophical nature -- such as the impact of broad-based athletics programs and autonomy of institutions and conferences -- to such practical matters as championships and postseason access.

The Management Council gave particular attention to enhancing interaction with the membership, agreeing not only to continue attending conference meetings but also to serve as moderators for "virtual focus groups," through which feedback will be sought on a regular basis from a variety of sources via Internet-based discussion groups.

A group will be assembled within each conference and among independent institutions, and will include a chief executive officer, conference commissioner, athletics director, senior woman administrator, faculty athletics representative and student-athletes.

Council members also reviewed plans to gather data from the membership in the coming months, including an effort recently initiated by the Division III Membership Committee to compile an "inventory" of conference legislative policies that exceed NCAA requirements.

A major data-gathering effort is anticipated later this year through a "feedback" survey of the membership focusing on issues raised in Proposal No. 66. The oversight group will coordinate discussions by the Management and Presidents Councils and various Division III committees though the summer regarding information that will be sought from the survey, which probably will be sent to institutional chief executive officers in early September.

Budget and strategic plan

In addition to focusing on the future via Proposal No. 66, the Management Council addressed more immediate matters that will influence the shape of that future.

Specifically, the Council reviewed proposed Division III budgets for coming years and also reviewed the Division III strategic plan, ensuring that it is supportive of the Association-wide strategic plan that the NCAA Executive Committee is expected to approve at its April 29 meeting.

The Management Council approved proposed budgets for 2004-05 and, anticipating enhancement of automatic qualification for championships in all team sports, 2005-06.

Council members also considered and approved recommendations from the Division III Budget Committee designed to maintain a reserve fund to cover any shortfall in the division's year-to-year operating budget, while establishing a plan for dealing with less likely, but possible, catastrophic events, such as loss of revenue due to forced cancellation of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

The Council approved a recommendation to maintain an annual minimum $1.5 million reserve fund, effective with the 2004-05 budget. Division III currently maintains a reserve equal to 15 percent of annual revenues, but Council members agreed that the percentage amount is producing a larger reserve than needed as revenues increase, and that $1.5 million is adequate to cover shortfalls resulting from such occurrences as unanticipated championships expenses.

The Management Council also endorsed an accompanying proposal to establish a "disaster recovery plan" for dealing with a major loss of revenue due to a catastrophe.

The Budget Committee suggested that such a plan should give priority to maintaining a viable championships program, and the Management Council responded by directing the Division III Championships Committee to formulate a plan for conducting championships under such conditions.

The budget also will continue to include a variety of initiatives to support the Division III strategic plan, and the Management Council devoted a portion of its meeting to reviewing how well that plan, as well as the existing initiatives, serve the Association-wide priorities listed in the pending NCAA strategic plan.

The Management Council endorsed a revision of the Division III plan recently produced by the joint Division III Presidents Council/Management Council Strategic Planning Subcommittee. The draft plan details how existing Division III strategic planning objectives relate to objectives of the Association-wide plan, and lists specific programs and initiatives serving each of those objectives.

The strategic plan also will be reviewed by the Presidents Council at its April 29 meeting in Indianapolis.

Financial aid reporting

The Management Council also devoted significant time to discussing implementation of reform legislation adopted at the 2004 Convention, especially the financial aid reporting process approved with the adoption of Proposal No. 56.

Council members reviewed objectives listed by the Division III Financial Aid and Awards Committee for a division-wide test of the reporting process later this year. The "pilot" effort seeks to involve as many Division III institutions as possible in testing of the electronic reporting system before implementation of the mandatory process in 2005-06.

Among the objectives for the pilot are the establishment of consistent data-collection procedures and of acceptable reporting variances, and the discovery and resolution of as many problems as possible before full implementation.

In order to encourage membership participation in the pilot, the Management Council approved a one-time grant of $1,000 to each participating institution, provided the school submits the requested data by an established deadline and specifically requests the funds during the electronic data-submission process.

The grant can be used in any manner to support the data collection and submission, including reimbursement for time devoted to the effort by institutional personnel or expenses for computer hardware or software.

Council members also reviewed plans for providing detailed information to the membership about the program, including planned educational sessions at regional rules seminars and meetings of financial aid administrators, as well as through Webcast training sessions.

The pilot is scheduled to begin during mid- to late-summer 2004 and conclude by October 15.

Other highlights

Division III Management Council
April 19-20/Indianapolis

Approved a recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to sponsor proposed legislation at the 2005 Convention to establish automatic qualification for teams in the Division III men's and women's golf and tennis championships, effective in 2006-07. The Council endorsed proposals calling for selection of 34 teams (including automatic qualifiers from 19 conferences) for men's golf and 18 teams (including 11 automatic qualifiers) for women's golf, and for 40 teams (including 24 automatic qualifiers) for men's tennis and 47 teams (including 32 automatic qualifiers) for women's tennis. The golf championships would be conducted at a single site. The men's and women's tennis championships each would be conducted at eight preliminary sites, with one champion advancing from each site to a finals site. Individuals who are not members of the participating teams also would be selected to participate in the championships.

Defeated a recommendation from the Championships Committee to sponsor proposed legislation to establish automatic qualification for teams in men's and women's cross country. The Management Council cited a projected cost of more than $900,000 to implement automatic qualification for the championships among reasons for its decision, and asked the Championships Committee to explore other means of supporting improvement of access to the championships through the existing regional-meet format.

Approved a modification of wording of 2004 Convention Proposal No. 59 based on intent, to establish a 30-day period during which an institution that receives a student-athlete's "self-release" to discuss a transfer shall not inform that student-athlete's institution about receipt of the form. The purpose of the modification is to ensure the student-athlete may initiate discussions about a transfer without fear of interference or retaliation at the institution where that student-athlete currently is enrolled. The student-athlete has the option to waive the 30-day period, and the institution receiving the "self-release" will be required to notify the student-athlete's institution of the contact within one week of expiration of the 30-day period. The Council also reviewed and approved the Web-based form student-athletes will use to enact the "self-release" opportunity, effective August 1, 2004, and directed that copies of the form be provided to athletics directors with a cover memo emphasizing that the 30-day period is now mandated by legislation.

Voted to require that the Division III Nominating Committee review any request by a committee to extend the term of a current member for special circumstances.

Approved a recommendation from the Management Council's Playing and Practice Subcommittee to permit administrative activities that do not impact student-athlete health and safety (specifically, distribution of equipment) to occur before the five-day preseason acclimatization period in Division III football.

Agreed to recommend that the Division III Presidents Council sponsor legislation to require member institutions, as a condition and obligation of membership, to use mandatory binding arbitration to resolve legal disputes with the Association.

Reversed a prior official interpretation that required any practice in preparation for a foreign tour to occur during the 10 consecutive days immediately before departure. The Council noted significant academic and financial concerns related to the interpretation, and directed the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee to consider a more flexible approach.