The Division III Membership Committee devoted much of its winter in-person meeting to a review of the processes that institutions follow when they seek division membership.

The committee, meeting January 29-30 in San Antonio, reviewed programs for exploratory and provisional members and also reviewed expectations during the four-year period for reclassification from another NCAA membership division into Division III.

Non-NCAA institutions interested in joining Division III are required to participate in a one-year exploratory period and attend an information meeting before applying for provisional membership. The exploratory year gives the institution an opportunity to determine whether Division III membership is appropriate and also helps ensure that it is fully informed about expectations and requirements of membership.

Provisional membership extends for at least four years, during which institutions advance through a four-phase educational process: orientation, rules and compliance awareness, compliance assessment, and compliance verification. Institutions become active Division III members after successful completion of provisional membership.

The committee recommended no major changes in requirements or expectations for exploratory or provisional membership, but recommended changes in the timing and content of programs presented during the exploratory period.

The primary recommendation calls for scheduling the mandatory information meeting during the fall at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, rather than during the NCAA Convention. The committee believes schools may benefit more from such sessions being presented in a less-busy environment than the Convention.

Also, the committee recommended opening the information session to institutions that have completed the exploratory period but still are awaiting the beginning of provisional membership. The purpose is to enable those institutions to send new staff members to a session or permit those who already have attended a session to return for a refresher.

The committee also asked the national office staff to consider creating videotapes of the sessions for individuals who are unable to attend.

On a related matter, the committee proposed requiring institutions that have completed the exploratory period to pay a $225 correspondence fee annually until they begin provisional membership. That fee, which covers the cost of NCAA publications provided to the institution, ultimately would be deducted from an institution's $12,000 provisional-membership fee.

Committee members also reviewed programming for provisional members, focusing on sessions at the NCAA Convention for athletics directors and chief executive officers.

The committee recommended that those sessions focus more on non-legislative issues and that participants be provided more opportunity to talk and share information with each other.

Reclassification

The committee, noting a recent application by a Division II institution for reclassification into Division III, also reviewed the reclassification process.

It reconfirmed that all reclassifying institutions will be required to complete a four-year reclassification period. Institutions will participate in an education program similar to the program for provisional members.

That program, year-by-year, will feature:

Year 1: Reclassification orientation, Convention and regional seminar attendance, and completion of annual report and Institutional Self-Study Guide (ISSG).

Year 2: Campus visit by Membership Committee or national office staff member (focusing on adapting existing compliance systems to meet Division III requirements), administration of rules test, Convention and regional seminar attendance, and completion of annual report.

Year 3: Visit to national office, possible review by Membership Committee, review of key components, Convention attendance, and completion of annual report.

Year 4: Convention and regional seminar attendance, and completion of annual report.

Other highlights

Division III Membership Committee
January 29-30/San Antonio

Discussed 2004 Convention Proposal No. 66, a resolution to address Division III membership diversity and growth. The Membership Committee is one of several Division III committees expected to play a role in implementation of the resolution and review of the issues.

Discussed the final draft of the NCAA strategic plan and how it relates to the Division III strategic plan, and identified objectives listed in the Association-wide plan that are linked to the committee's areas of responsibility.

Discussed establishing an NCAA Web site devoted to exploratory and provisional member institutions, to provide a central source for information and required forms.

Reviewed a list of institutions that did not meet sport-sponsorship requirements in 2002-03, and asked the national office staff to take various steps to verify the information and advise the institutions of their status.

Reviewed the format of the annual regional rules seminars, and agreed to survey the Division III membership regarding possible scheduling of seminars at more convenient or accessible locations and dates. The committee also agreed, for the purpose of emphasizing the seminar's importance, to ask institutions to indicate in the Institutional Self-Study Guide (ISSG) whether a staff member has attended a seminar within the past five years.

Agreed to grant a three-year waiver of sport-sponsorship requirements to Hood College and specified that the waiver is retroactive to 2003-04, when Hood began its transition into a coeducational institution.

Reviewed, but declined to recommend, legislation to revise the current two-year reclassification period requirement for Division III institutions that reclassify a sport from another division. The committee, which also agreed to oppose waivers of the reclassification period, reviewed the legislation at the request of Hartwick College, and determined that a transition period (and adherence during that period to all Division III rules) is appropriate in reclassifying a sport from Division I to Division III.