Legislative actions taken January 10 at the Division II business session of the 2004 NCAA Convention in Dallas.

The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee opposed Proposal Nos. 26, 27 and 28, all of which were defeated. The SAAC spoke in support of Proposal No. 25, which was defeated, and No. 35, which was adopted.

Effective dates are August 1, 2005, unless otherwise noted.

Consent package

• No. 1 Membership -- Provisional or Reclassifying Member -- Financial Aid Minimums

Intent: To specify the minimum financial aid requirements for an institution seeking provisional or change of division membership; further, to amend the effective date of Bylaws 20.10.1.2, 20.10.1.2.1, 20.10.1.2.3, 20.10.1.2.4.1 and 20.10.1.2.4.2 from "August 1, 2005 for those institutions that are Division II active or provisional members as of August 1, 2001; immediately for any institution applying for provisional membership after January 14, 2002," to "August 1, 2005, for those institutions that are Division II active members as of August 1, 2001."

Effective date: For Parts A and B, August 1, 2005, for any institution entering the provisional or reclassifying process as of August 1, 2005. For Part C, August 1, 2005, for those institutions that are Division II active members as of August 1, 2001.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 2 Recruiting -- Offers and Inducements -- Life-Threatening Injury or Illness

Intent: To permit an institution to present a prospective student-athlete with a donation to a charity on behalf of a prospective student-athlete or provide other reasonable tokens of support to a prospective student-athlete when a prospect's family member dies or suffers a life-threatening injury or illness, provided the prospect has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with the institution, or for those institutions that do not subscribe to the NLI program, a written offer of admission and/or financial aid.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 3 Recruiting -- Tryouts -- Two-Year College Students

Intent: To permit an institution to conduct a permissible tryout of a two-year college student in a sport at any time, provided the student has exhausted his or her two-year college eligibility in that sport.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 4 Eligibility -- Practice Waiver -- United States Olympic Committee/National Governing Body

Intent: To permit student-athletes with eligibility remaining, who are not enrolled or who are enrolled in less than a minimum full-time program of studies, to participate on a regular basis in organized practice sessions that involve a team sport under specified conditions.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 5 Eligibility -- Hardship Waivers and Season-of-Competition Waivers -- Scheduled or Completed Contests/Dates of Competition

Intent: To permit scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition to be used in the calculation of the hardship waiver, the season-of-competition waiver for competition while ineligible and the season-of-competition waiver for competition while eligible.

Effective date: Immediately; for any competition occurring on or after August 1, 2004.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 6 Eligibility -- Season-of-Competition Waiver -- Competition While Eligible

Intent: For the season-of-competition waiver for eligible participation, to remove the requirement that the circumstances must occur at an NCAA institution, the requirement that the student-athlete officially withdraw from the institution and the penalty of withholding a student-athlete who meets all of the conditions and administrative criteria for the waiver.

Effective date: Immediately; for any competition occurring on or after August 1, 2003.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 7 Eligibility -- Determination of Freshman Eligibility -- GED Test/Equivalency Diploma

Intent: To specify that, for the purpose of satisfying the graduation component of the initial-eligibility requirements, a prospective student-athlete may use scores from a General Educational Development (GED) test that is not taken earlier than the date the prospective student-athlete's high-school class would normally have graduated from high school.

Effective date: August 1, 2005; for entering freshman whose initial-collegiate enrollment occurs during the 2005-06 academic year and thereafter.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 8 Eligibility -- Management Council Waivers -- Residence Requirement

Intent: To specify that any member institution may initiate the request for a waiver of the residence requirement related to a student-athlete's health; further, to specify that the request must be supported by contemporaneous medical documentation.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 9 Playing and Practice Seasons -- Coaching Activities Outside the Playing Season

Intent: To permit an institutional coaching staff member to engage in coaching activities when a student-athlete participates in established national championship events or Olympic, Pan American, World Cup and World University games qualifying competition.

Convention action: Adopted.

Presidents Council grouping

• No. 10 Membership -- Active Membership -- Conditions and Obligations of Membership -- Academic Success Rate

Intent: To include as a condition and obligation of Division II active membership, that an institution submit on an annual basis data for the academic success rate (ASR) in a form prescribed by the Management Council; further, to establish a penalty for failing to submit the ASR.

Convention action: Adopted, 240-5-1.

• No. 11 Membership -- Conditions and Obligations of Membership -- Mandatory Binding Arbitration

Intent: To require members, member conferences, provisional members and affiliate members, as a condition of membership, to be subject to mandatory binding arbitration of claims arising under federal law against the NCAA, its officers, employees and agents; further, to require all conferences and affiliated members also to be subject to mandatory binding arbitration of claims arising under state law.

Convention action: Not moved.

• No. 12 Legislative Process -- Amendment Process -- Noncontroversial Amendment

Intent: To permit the NCAA Division II Presidents Council to adopt noncontroversial legislation relating to recruiting and eligibility.

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted, 243-2-2.

• No. 13 Recruiting -- Four-Year College Prospects -- Nonathletically Related Financial Aid

Intent: To permit an institution to provide nonathletically related financial aid during the first academic year to a transfer student-athlete for whom the institution did not receive written permission to contact from the previous four-year institution's athletics director (or designee).

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 14 Recruiting -- Recruiting Materials -- NCAA or Conference Championship Promotional Materials

Intent: To permit the NCAA or member conference (or a third party acting on behalf of the NCAA or member conference) to produce and send championship promotional materials to groups or individuals (including prospective student-athletes), under specified conditions.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 15 Eligibility--Progress-Toward-Degree Requirements --Hours Earned or Accepted for Degree Credit--Six-Hour Requirement

Intent: To permit a student-athlete in the final academic year of his or her designated degree program to use credits acceptable toward any of the institution's degree programs to satisfy the six-hour requirement.

Effective date: Immediately subsequent to the institution's 2005 fall term; thus, applicable to hours earned during the 2005 fall term and thereafter.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 16 Eligibility--Progress-Toward-Degree Requirements --Six-Hour Requirement--Cooperative Education and
  Study Abroad Programs--Exception

Intent: To specify that a student-athlete shall not be required to complete six-semester or six-quarter hours of academic credit the preceding regular academic term of full-time enrollment during any term or terms of enrollment in a cooperative education program or an institutionally approved study-abroad program.

Effective date: Immediately subsequent to the 2005 fall term; thus, applicable to hours earned in the 2005 fall term and thereafter.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 17 Eligibility -- Exceptions to Progress-Toward-Degree Rule -- Two-Year Nonparticipation Exception

Intent: To create an exception to the progress-toward-degree regulations to permit a student-athlete who has not participated in countable athletically related activities for a consecutive two-year period to be immediately eligible for competition.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 18 Playing and Practice Seasons -- Time Limits for Athletically Related Activities -- Outside the Playing Season

Intent: To specify that outside the playing season during the academic year, a student-athlete's participation in countable athletically related activities is prohibited during two days per week; further, to permit an institution to require a student-athlete to participate in individual skill instruction while limiting such instruction to two hours within the limit of eight hours of countable athletically related activities per week.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 19 Eligibility for Championships -- Institution Eligibility -- General Institutional Requirements -- Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field

Intent: In cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field, to require that to be eligible to compete at the NCAA championship, an institution must meet the minimum contest and participant requirements for sports sponsorship.

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 20 Division Membership -- Minimum Contests and Participant Requirements -- Indoor Track

Intent: In indoor track and field, to decrease the number of participants required for indoor track and field sports sponsorship from 14 to 10 participants.

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted.

Amateurism

• No. 21 Amateurism -- Financial Donations from Outside Organizations -- Reciprocal Contractual Marketing Relationship

Intent: To permit an institution's marketing department to enter into a reciprocal contractual relationship with a professional sports organization for the specific purpose of marketing and promoting an institutionally sponsored sport.

Convention action: Adopted.

Recruiting

• No. 22 Recruiting -- Telephone Calls Subsequent to National Letter of Intent Signing or Other Written Commitment

Intent: To permit an institution to make unlimited calls to a prospect who is not eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent (e.g., four-year college transfer) provided the prospect has signed an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid.

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 23 Recruiting -- Transportation on Unofficial Visit -- 30-Mile Radius

Intent: To eliminate the 30-mile radius restriction for transportation to view off-campus practice and competition sites in the prospect's sport or other institutional facilities.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 24 Recruiting -- Tryouts -- Competition -- Soccer

Intent: In soccer, to permit an institution to conduct a tryout of a prospect that includes competition.

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted.

Eligibility

• No. 25 Eligibility -- Seasons of Competition -- Scrimmages and Exhibition Contests

Intent: To specify that a student-athlete may compete in scrimmage(s) and/or exhibition contest(s) against outside competition without using a season of competition.

Convention action: Defeated.

• No. 26 Eligibility -- Seasons of Competition -- Scrimmages and Exhibition Contests -- Men's and Women's Basketball

Intent: In men's and women's basketball, to specify that a student-athlete may compete in scrimmage(s) and/or exhibition contest(s) against outside competition without using a season of competition.

Convention action: Defeated.

• No. 27 Eligibility -- Four-Year College Transfers -- One-Time Transfer Exception

Intent: To specify that a transfer student-athlete from a Division I institution to a Division II institution and who has not received a baccalaureate degree may use the one-time transfer exception, provided he or she has at least two seasons of competition remaining in the sport; or for a student-athlete that has one season of competition remaining in the sport, has not received athletically related financial aid from the Division I institution and will not receive athletically related financial aid from the certifying Division II institution.

Convention action: Defeated, 216-36-1.

Financial aid

• No. 28 Financial Aid -- Maximum Equivalency Limits -- Football

Intent: In football, to reduce the maximum limit on the value (equivalency) of financial aid awards from 36 to 24.

Convention action: Defeated, 97-46-0 (football only).

Awards and benefits

• No. 29 Awards and Benefits -- Types of Awards, Awarding Agencies, Maximum Value and Number of Awards -- Senior Scholar-Athlete Award

Intent: To permit an institution to provide a maximum of two senior scholar-athlete awards annually to graduating seniors under the following conditions: (a) The award may include a tangible item valued at not more than $150 and a postgraduate scholarship valued at not more than $5,000; (b) Any postgraduate scholarship must be used for graduate studies at the recipient's choice of institutions; (c) The recipient of the postgraduate scholarship shall be no longer eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics, except that a recipient may complete the remainder of any season in progress at the time of the award (e.g., postseason competition in a spring sport which occurs after graduation).

Effective date: Immediately.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 30 Awards and Benefits -- Maximum Value of Awards

Intent: To increase the value of awards, as specified.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 31 Awards and Benefits -- Housing and Meals -- Meals Incidental to Participation

Intent: To specify that for both home and away-from-home competition, all student-athletes are permitted to receive a pre-game meal and all student-athletes are permitted to receive meals or snacks (or cash in the amount equal to the cost of a meal or snack) at the institution's discretion from the time the student-athlete reports on call (at the direction of the student-athlete's coach or comparable authority) and becomes involved in competition-related activities to the end of competition and the release by the appropriate institutional authority.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 32 Awards and Benefits -- Housing and Meals -- Permissible -- Vacation Period Expenses

Intent: To permit an institution to provide an additional meal (or cash in an amount equal to the cost of an additional meal) to a student-athlete during each day of any vacation period that occurs within the academic year, provided the student-athlete is required to remain on-campus for practice or competition.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 33 Awards and Benefits -- Benefits, Gifts and Services -- Use of a Telephone

Intent: To permit a student-athlete to use a telephone for personal reasons without charge or at a reduced rate, provided such use is also generally available to the institution's students and their friends and relatives.

Convention action: Adopted.

Playing and Practice Seasons

• No. 34 Playing and Practice Seasons -- Women's Rugby

Intent: In women's rugby, to establish the playing and practice season, as specified.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 35 Playing and Practice Seasons -- Annual Exemptions -- Automatic Exemptions -- Independents Championship

Intent: In those sports that conduct a Division II national championship, to permit competition in one championship meet or tournament among independent member institutions that is conducted at the end of the championship segment and prior to the NCAA Championship to be exempt from the institution's maximum number of contests or dates of competition.

Convention action: Adopted.

Eligibility for championships

• No. 36 Eligibility for Championships -- Duration of Ineligibility for Use of Banned Drugs -- Appeals

Intent: To specify that the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (or designated subcommittee) shall have the authority in all sports to reduce the legislated penalty to withholding the student-athlete from the next 50 percent of the season of competition or provide complete relief from the legislated penalty.

Convention action: Adopted.

• No. 37 Eligibility for Championships -- Positive Drug Test -- Non-NCAA Athletics Organization

Intent: To specify that a student-athlete under a drug-testing suspension from a national or international sports governing body that has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency code shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competition for the duration of the suspension.

Convention action: Adopted.

Committees

• No. 38 Committees -- Sports Committees with Only Division II Championships Administration Responsibilities -- Term of Appointment

Intent: To specify that members appointed to fill vacancies on a sports committee with only Division II championships administration responsibilities shall be appointed to a four-year term, regardless of the number of years remaining on the unfulfilled term.

Convention action: Defeated.