DALLAS -- In addition to dealing with contemporaneous penalties, the Division I Board of Directors also advanced the issue of Division I-A membership criteria.

At issue is a requirement for Division I-A institutions to average 15,000 fans at football home games to maintain membership in the subdivision. The attendance requirement is part of a package of Division I-A membership criteria that as of last August also holds institutions to new scholarship and sports-sponsorship minimums.

The attendance criterion, however, has met resistance from institutions that believe it to be an unfair measure, since circumstances beyond institutional control (for example, weather) can be the cause for not meeting the attendance standard.

Opponents say 15,000 is an arbitrary benchmark. Supporters, though, cite the need for some level of public support that sets Division I-A apart. The attendance standard was a recommendation from the Football Study Oversight Committee, a presidential group that spent the better part of two years developing standards to provide a clear distinction between I-A and I-AA. Division I-AA members also have supported the 15,000 attendance demarcation as a way of protecting I-AA membership.

While the Board did not vote on the attendance criterion at its January meeting, members did ask NCAA staff, in conjunction with appropriate Division I Management Council and Collegiate Commissioners Association representatives, to draft legislation for the Board's final consideration in April that would modify or eliminate the requirement for I-A membership.

Board members emphasized, though, that such action would be taken only as part of a package of more strategic legislative proposals that enhance Division I-AA membership. Those measures also would be decided in April.

Among Division I-AA enhancements being discussed is the use of one win each year against a I-AA opponent for I-A bowl eligibility, the use of one game each year against a I-AA opponent to satisfy the five home-game scheduling requirement for I-A membership, and appropriate budget requests for the 06-07 and 07-08 budget cycle.

On a broader scale, discussions also have begun about the possibility of distinguishing Division I football programs without the use of the I-A and I-AA labels. One concept under consideration would be to distinguish Division I programs by scholarship and other qualifying criteria for competitive purposes only, and without imposing any changes on the voting balance in the current governance structure.

Other possible initiatives include a postseason event for nonscholarship programs, or perhaps even competition among Division I and Division II institutions.