The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee used its November 18-20 meeting in San Antonio to review surveys that evaluate communication efforts between the conference SAACs and the national committee.

"For the most part, the results were good," said Division III SAAC Chair Sameer Khan. "Committee members are doing a good job of getting the information to commissioners. They're having constant communication with the commissioners and are regularly attending both their own conference and their partner-conference meetings. We want to make sure we're targeting this area, and that no one feels as if they aren't being treated fairly."

"For the most part, the results were good," said Division III SAAC Chair Sameer Khan. "Committee members are doing a good job of getting the information to commissioners. They're having constant communication with the commissioners and are regularly attending both their own conference and their partner-conference meetings. We want to make sure we're targeting this area, and that no one feels as if they aren't being treated fairly."

SAAC members believe communication is vital at the institutional, conference and national levels simply because of the size and scope of Division III. The Division III SAAC has 24 members who try to adequately represent 43 conferences. Since every league cannot be represented at the national meeting, it is up to partner-conference representatives to accurately relay information.

"In my opinion, the partner approach is the best way to do it," Khan said. "You want to make sure no one is left out, but at the same time when we go over the issues, it would difficult to manage a group larger than the one we have now."

An essential component of the national SAAC has been outreach and education from the conference level to the institutional level. The committee believes the Division III SAAC manual will help. The manual, which should be ready by the Convention in January, contains information on topics such as how the national SAAC fits into the governance structure and how to effectively create a SAAC on campus.

"We've been working on this for the last year or so," Khan said. "It is our responsibility to distribute this information to institutions."

Legislative review

The committee also reviewed legislative proposals for the Convention, including one that would cap the Division III membership.

The SAAC has not taken an official position on the controversial piece of legislation because members need more time to discuss matters with their peers.

"We're concerned that capping the membership might exclude certain student-athletes from getting an opportunity to play," Khan said. "If we cap the membership, some of the independent schools that want to become part of a conference will have a difficult time participating within the NCAA format. The flipside is that if you cap the membership, you control some of the growth issues that a lot of people are talking about."

SAAC members support Proposal No. 3, which essentially would reinstate the practice of redshirting. Under this proposal, a student-athlete would only use a season of eligibility if he or she participates in any regular-season or postseason games or in a scrimmage after the first contest date.

The committee believes student-athletes should choose whether to remain at their college or university for a fifth year, since that choice is consistent for all students who participate in extracurricular activities.

"If an institution has a five-year program, like mine (Fairleigh Dickinson) does, this can benefit the athletics program," said Khan, a golf student-athlete. "It really doesn't hinder academics in any way. Division III is about academics. If you add this component to it, it allows the student-athlete to not only get his or her degree in complete form, but also compete for four years at the highest level."

The committee took no position on Proposal No. 18, which adds four days of athletically related activity and two dates of competition to the nontraditional segment in baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and women's volleyball.

"We are in favor of maximizing opportunities," Khan said. "If you take this extra time, you can use it for team-building and preparation for competition. But after receiving some feedback on this, it doesn't seem most of the student-athletes believe this will enhance their well-being."

Many felt a burden to academics could result in increasing the amount of time a student-athlete is required to practice in the nontraditional segment.

The committee discussed all 29 proposals and will revisit each at its January meeting.