The least-debated proposal at last year's Convention will generate what is expected to be the most significant discussions during this year's Division III meetings in Dallas.

Delegates will devote a Sunday-morning forum to review of the "Future of Division III -- Phase II" initiative, which resulted from last year's near-unanimous adoption of a resolution directing a study of membership growth and diversity.

That's not to suggest that this year's meetings will be all talk and no action: Division III delegates also will consider 12 legislative proposals -- including six designated by the Division III Presidents Council for roll-call votes -- during a Monday-morning business session. Those proposals include a measure to extend automatic qualification for the first time to selected individual-team sports, as well as a pair of conference-sponsored proposals that will be opposed by the Council.

But members of the Presidents Council and the Division III Management Council have devoted most of their recent efforts to preparing for the Future of Division III forum, which will seek direction from delegates for next steps in the initiative.

The forum, which begins at 9 a.m. January 9, is the first major milestone in an effort that began with adoption of 2004 Convention Proposal No. 66.

That resolution, which was part of the landmark reform package adopted at last year's Convention, directed a study of membership growth and diversity, but also listed various other areas for review. The adoption of Proposal No. 66 prompted Division III governance groups to seek membership input in determining an agenda for responding that best reflects the division's priorities.

That input has begun, with the recent completion of a membership survey soliciting feedback in seven subject areas: management of Division III growth, access to championships and other postseason opportunities, sports sponsorship and broad-based programs, sport and program equity, academic success of student-athletes, cultural and campus integration, and conference affiliation.

Management Council members have sought further feedback through recently established virtual focus groups -- conference-based e-mail discussion groups including chief executive officers, athletics administrators, faculty athletics representatives, student-athletes, coaches and conference commissioners.

Now, the effort continues with the forum, which will provide the first opportunity for the membership to gather and discuss next steps in the initiative.

The forum was planned by a group of Presidents and Management Council members, known as the Future of Division III -- Phase II Oversight Group, to gather feedback on whether survey results suggest any specific future actions. Those actions could include proposed legislation for the 2006 Convention, although Presidents and Management Council leaders strongly emphasize that no legislation currently is being considered.

Other possible approaches include pursuing actions at the conference level to address Future of Division III issues, or encouraging institutions to review those issues on their own campuses.

Phillip Stone, chair of the Presidents Council and of the Future of Division III -- Phase II Oversight Group, will open the forum with a description of the initiative. Suzanne Coffey, chair of the Management Council, will describe the recent efforts to obtain feedback, not only through the virtual focus groups but also through Council members' ongoing participation in conference meetings.

After a brief summary of the survey results by Eric Hartung, NCAA associate director of research, forum participants then will undertake the main business of the session -- round-table discussions of issues suggested in the survey.

Three Presidents Council members will introduce the subject areas that will be addressed during the round-table discussions -- management of growth and championships issues (Dale Knobel of Denison University), sports sponsorship and program equity issues [Ivory Nelson of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)], and academics and cultural issues (Deborah Stanley of State University of New York at Oswego).

The discussion at each table will be led by a member of the Presidents or Management Council or by other individuals -- including former Council members and Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members -- who have been involved in the Future of Division III -- Phase II initiative. Those discussion leaders will ask participants to respond to specific questions identified by the oversight group in response to the survey results.

Time also will be provided after the round-table discussions for a general question-and-answer period.

The oversight group plans during coming weeks to review the discussion -- including notes collected from each table -- in deciding what steps to take next toward completing a final report for the 2006 Convention.

Legislative agenda

The Division III business session January 10 already is seeing its agenda shrink a bit, because the Presidents Council has decided to withdraw 2005 Convention Proposal No. 1 -- a measure to implement mandatory binding arbitration as a condition of NCAA membership. The presidents are taking the action because the proposal must be considered in all three divisions, and Division I has not included the proposal in this year's legislative agenda.

However, five other proposals remain designated for roll-call voting by the Presidents Council, including its proposal to establish automatic qualification in golf and tennis.

The proposal seeks to broaden access to the championships and further support Division III's emphasis on conference competition by awarding berths to teams that win conference golf and tennis titles. However, the proposal also preserves access for individual student-athletes who are not members of qualifying teams, maintaining an existing feature of those championships.

As in other team championships, team access in golf and tennis will be determined using an access ratio. In those sports, one team will qualify for every 7.5 institutions sponsoring the sport, in addition to access afforded to individual qualifiers. The team access ratio in other team sports, effective August 1, 2005, will be 1:6.5.

The golf and tennis proposal has a delayed effective date of August 1, 2006, to permit the Division III Championships Committee to address any administrative issues that arise.

Also included in the Presidents Council grouping are three proposals sponsored by member conferences -- including two proposals opposed by the Council.

The presidents are opposing 2005 Convention Proposal No. 3, a gymnastics-related proposal by the New England Men's and Women's Athletics Conference to reinstate the "out-of-season exception," or what previously was known as the "safety exception," to permit coaches to be present during a voluntary workout. The exception was eliminated in six sports, including gymnastics, as part of last year's legislative reform agenda.

The Council also is opposing Proposal No. 5, a football-related proposal by the American Southwest and New Jersey Athletic Conferences that would permit limited skill instruction -- specifically, use of a football in passing-, catching- and kicking-related drills -- during the currently permitted five-week conditioning and strength-training period.

Council members oppose both proposals on grounds they would reverse reforms previously advocated by the Council and adopted by the membership.

Two other proposals are included in the Presidents Council grouping and six proposals are slated for paddle votes during the business session. A complete listing of Division III proposals can be found below.

Other discussion

The business session also will feature presentations on three topics deemed to be of interest to the Division III membership:

• A new "active member education and communication" program (see story on page A11), which will be introduced by Tim Downes, director of athletics at Franklin & Marshall College and chair of the Division III Membership Committee; Chris Martin, commissioner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; and Cathie Schweitzer, director of athletics at Springfield College, representing the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA).

• An update from the NCAA Sports Wagering Task Force, featuring task force members Douglas Hastad, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and Brady Barke, a member of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from Webster University.

• A report of results from the Division III Financial Aid Reporting Process pilot, presented by Travis Feezel, director of athletics at Whitman College, and Dan Preston, dean of enrollment management at Linfield College, both members of the Division III Financial Aid and Awards Committee.

Current plans call for the business session to adjourn at about 1 p.m.