GARDEN GROVE, California -- Division III's agenda for the 2006 NCAA Convention began to take shape July 18-19 when the division's Management Council forwarded a variety of legislative proposals to the Division III Presidents Council for possible sponsorship.

They include proposals stemming directly from the Future of Division III -- Phase II initiative and shaped by membership discussion at the 2005 Convention and through recent Virtual Focus Group (VFG) feedback.

Among the proposals are two recommendations from the Division III Membership Committee that respond directly to that input. The Council endorsed a committee proposal to increase the number of sports member schools are required to sponsor in order to maintain membership, and another ensuring that schools play a minimum number of contests in each sport they sponsor.

The sport-sponsorship proposal calls for an increase from 10 to 12 sports (six for men, six for women), with a delayed effective date and an exemption for schools with undergraduate enrollments of fewer than 1,000. The minimum-contests proposal would require teams to complete the equivalent of at least 70 percent of the membership's average number of contests completed by teams over a three-year period.

Both proposals seek to increase institutions' commitment to broad-based athletics programs -- one of the major themes of recent Future of Division III -- Phase II discussions.

The Council also reviewed 13 proposals that have been submitted by member schools and conferences for consideration at the Convention, including one that also seeks an increase in the number of required sports, but in a manner that differs from the Membership Committee's proposal.

The North Coast Athletic Conference proposes increasing the minimum by one sport for every 100 students beyond an enrollment of 1,100, up to a minimum of 14 sports for institutions with 1,400 or more students.

Under that proposal, schools with an undergraduate enrollment between 1,100 and 1,199 would be required to sponsor a total of 11 sports; between 1,200 and 1,299 enrollment, 12 sports; between 1,300 and 1,399 enrollment, 13 sports; and 1,400 enrollment and above, 14 sports.

It is one of two NCAC proposals that the Council referred to the Membership Committee for review and comment.

The Council also referred a proposed cap on Division III membership, which seeks to address another Future of Division III -- Phase II issue -- recent rapid growth in the division's size, which is approaching 450 schools.

The NCAC proposes a maximum size for Division III based on the June 1, 2006, total of active, provisional and reclassifying institutions. That total would include all provisional members and exploratory institutions as of September 1, 2005, and any Divisions I and II institutions initiating reclassification by June 1, 2006.

The Council took no position on either NCAC proposal, forwarding them along with seven other proposals to a variety of Division III committees for review and comment. The other membership proposals include two addressing student-athlete eligibility, two that would affect championships selection criteria (including one to revise the Division III philosophy statement), and two seeking changes in executive regulations governing automatic qualification for championships.

Also included is a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference proposal that would permit scouting a future opponent during exhibition contests. It was forwarded to the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee for review.

Eligibility

The eligibility proposals include:

• A proposal from the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference and four other institutions to reinstate the "season of eligibility" standard. The standard, which would replace the "season of participation" standard adopted at the 2004 Convention as part of the initial Future of Division III legislative reform agenda, in essence would permit "redshirting."

The proposal specifies that a student-athlete shall use a season of eligibility only by participating in any regular-season competition (including scrimmages occurring after the first contest or date of competition, and competition in the nontraditional segment), or postseason intercollegiate competition. The current legislation charges a student-athlete who practices with a team after the first contest or date of competition with a season of participation.

• A proposal from the Midwest Conference that would broaden the current legislation by specifying that "participation" at any collegiate institution -- not only a Division III institution -- shall constitute the use of a season of eligibility.

Both proposals were forwarded to the Interpretations and Legislation Committee for further review.

Championships

The proposals affecting championships selection criteria include:

• A proposal by three conferences -- the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, the Northwest Conference and the University Athletic Association -- to eliminate the current emphasis on in-region competition in the Division III philosophy statement and championships selection criteria.

The conferences believe current criteria prevent institutions from seeking opponents outside the region and thus inhibit institutions in choosing who they will play and where.

• A proposal by the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, the Ohio Athletic Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to include a strength-of-conference index among primary selection criteria for Pools B and C selection.

The sponsors believe the additional criterion, which could help teams playing in arguably more difficult leagues, would give sports committees more information to use in the selection process.

Both proposals were forwarded to the Division III Championships Committee, and the proposal to eliminate the emphasis on in-region competition also was forwarded to the Membership Committee.

The proposals addressing automatic qualification include:

• A Commonwealth Coast Conference proposal to permit a new conference to be eligible for a limited time to receive automatic qualification.

The conference believes adoption of the proposal would permit institutions to evaluate current conference membership on the basis of institutional mission, academic philosophies and commitment to athletics, and to choose to join with similar institutions in creating a new conference without losing the opportunity for automatic qualification.

• An Empire 8 proposal granting conferences that fall below the minimum of seven teams required for AQ a two-year grace period to regain compliance (so long as the institution maintains at least four members during that period).

The proposal seeks to protect institutions from losing the opportunity for automatic qualification during any realignment that may result from institutions' re-evaluation of conference membership.

Both proposals were forwarded to the Championships Committee.

Playing and practice seasons

Although the Management Council took no actions on the nine membership proposals assigned to committees for review, it did act on four that already have been reviewed by the Council's playing and practice seasons subcommittee.

Council members supported the subcommittee's recommendations on three of the proposals, agreeing to recommend to the Presidents Council that the governance structure support proposals to permit an institution to play its first football contest on the Thursday before Labor Day when the first permissible contest date falls on that holiday weekend, and to restore a 17th date of competition in lacrosse during the traditional segment that inadvertently was eliminated by recent adoption of playing- and practice-seasons legislation.

The football proposal is sponsored by the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the lacrosse proposal is sponsored by the Empire 8.

The Council also joined the subcommittee in opposing a proposal that would permit four additional days of athletically related activity -- as well as a second and third day of competition -- during the nontraditional segment in baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and women's volleyball. That proposal is sponsored by the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference and four other institutions.

However, the Council agreed to wait until its October meeting to take a position on a proposal by three conferences -- the Allegheny Mountain College and New Jersey Athletic Conferences and the Empire 8 -- to exclude from the playing season and exempt from maximum-contest limitations one postseason championship event in every sport. The provision would include events such as Eastern College Athletic Conference championships for teams that are not selected for NCAA championship competition.

Governance-structure proposals

Counting the two Membership Committee proposals, the Council endorsed a total of eight proposals from committees within the Division III governance structure.

With additional proposals possibly forthcoming from the Future of Division III -- Phase II Oversight Group, which meets August 3 -- and also counting earlier proposals from the governance structure and the membership's proposals -- 2006 Convention delegates could be asked to vote on more than 30 pieces of legislation.

In addition to the Membership Committee proposals, the Council:

• Forwarded a proposal to the Presidents Council to revise Bylaw 14.1.9 to allow a student-athlete who previously earned an undergraduate degree to transfer into a Division III institution and be immediately eligible for participation, so long as the student-athlete meets requirements of the one-time transfer exception and has at least two semesters or three quarters remaining on the 10-semester/15-quarter clock.

The Council also rescinded an October 2002 Division III Administrative Review Subcommittee (ARS) directive to the NCAA staff to deny all waiver requests involving the graduate transfer legislation, thus permitting flexibility to consider such requests on a case-by-case basis. Both actions resulted from an ARS report noting that 15 waiver requests have been received and denied since the directive. The subcommittee, also noting that more Division III institutions are offering graduate programs, asked the Management Council to consider whether legislation permitting such transfers is appropriate under the Association's recent "student-athlete friendly" initiative.

• Endorsed three proposals recommended by the Interpretations and Legislation Committee to permit a coach meeting specific criteria to provide private lessons to prospective student-athletes, to permit institutions to donate used athletics equipment to youth groups (including high schools), and to prohibit a transfer student-athlete's participation in any NCAA championship during the required academic year in residence (including vacation periods immediately after one of the terms of that year).

• Endorsed two proposals recommended by the Division III Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement (SAR) to eliminate an unused bylaw authorizing the designation of the faculty athletics representative at the host institution for a championship as a temporary SAR representative, and to permit a student-athlete seeking a waiver of the five-year/10-semester rule to remain enrolled in school if physically able to do so.

The Council forwarded all of the legislative proposals received from Division III committees to the Presidents Council, which will consider during its August 4 meeting in Indianapolis whether to sponsor the proposals at the Convention.

Other highlights

Division III Management Council
July 18-19/Garden Grove, California

• Endorsed the purchase of a $10 million insurance policy as protection against loss of Division III's share of the NCAA budget, which could result from a catastrophic financial event such as cancellation of the Division I Men's and Women's Final Fours.

• Reviewed and noted progress toward achieving goals of the Division III strategic plan during 2004-05; also, endorsed and forwarded to the Division III Presidents Council an updated summary of initiatives for 2005-06, including the allocation of $11,000 for a division-wide program to collect data on conduct fouls in football and men's and women's basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer.

• Approved the proposed schedule for the 2006 Convention. Highlights include Association-wide programming celebrating the Centennial on Friday, January 6; the Association-wide opening business session and NCAA Honors Program on Saturday, January 7; a Division III Forum on Sunday morning, January 8; and the Division III business session on Monday, January 9, which will feature a "Celebration of the Division III Student-Athlete" as part of the program.

• Agreed to require Division III institutions that sponsor Division I sports but do not award athletics aid to include student-athletes in those sports in the financial aid reporting process.

• Approved a Division III Championships Committee recommendation to provide per diem in selected individual-team championships for student-athletes on days when they are present at the event site but not competing in the championship, and authorized a membership survey to determine interest in scheduling golf and tennis championships during the fall.

• Endorsed a Division III Nominating Committee recommendation to permit members of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to be selected by the SAAC from a slate of nominees, subject to review by the Nominating Committee and ratification by the Management Council.

• Approved a Division III Membership Committee recommendation to accelerate the four-year provisional membership process for institutions that can demonstrate readiness for active membership in a shorter period of time, based on established criteria.

• Denied appeals of Membership Committee recommendations to require five institutions to repeat a year of provisional membership. As a result, the University of Maine, Presque Isle, and Pennsylvania State University Berks, Lehigh Valley College, will be required to repeat the second year of provisional membership; Presentation College and Mitchell College will be required to repeat the first year of provisional membership; and the University of Minnesota, Morris, will be required to repeat the second year of reclassification. All of the actions were based on the institutions' failure to fully comply with five-sport/three-season requirements.

• Agreed to recommend sponsorship of a proposal by the staff Endorsements/Promotions Task Force that would further clarify appropriate use of the names and likenesses of current student-athletes in permissible promotional activities.

• Endorsed and forwarded to the Presidents Council an amendment to Bylaw 10.1 to clarify that the act of providing impermissible substances (for example, prescription drugs) that affect athletics performance is a violation of the NCAA's Code of Ethical Conduct.