DIVISION III

Proposed membership cap prompts look at alternatives

A proposed Division III membership cap has prompted the Division III Management Council to recommend exploration of alternatives that could give the NCAA Executive Committee an opportunity to address the issue in the context of Association-wide concerns.

The Division III cap, proposed for a vote at the 2006 Convention by the North Coast Athletic Conference, would set a maximum size for Division III based on its June 1, 2006, total of active, provisional and reclassifying institutions.

The Management Council defeated a motion to support the NCAC proposal. The Council, however, also asked the Division III Presidents Council to discuss alternatives for slowing or temporarily stopping the recent rapid increase in the division's size that would aid a longer-term and more comprehensive review of the issue by the Executive Committee -- including a moratorium on membership growth.

Council members expressed hopes that the Executive Committee might form a working group with representation from all three NCAA divisions to consider possible responses to Division III's growth and other division-specific and Association-wide membership issues.

The Management Council also expressed its intent to review the cap proposal and related governance structure discussions during its January pre-Convention meeting.

Staff contact: Dan Dutcher.

DIVISION I

Financial aid options forwarded to Board of Directors for review

The Division I Management Council has recommended options for the Division I Board of Directors to consider regarding legislation that liberalizes financial aid limitations for student-athletes.

Council members discussed how to exempt institutional nonathletics aid from team limits in a way that preserves competitive equity. In the end, they recommended that the Board consider imposing residency and academic parameters on exempted aid.

Current rules count institutional nonathletics aid in team limits. Members of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee say those rules most harshly affect student-athletes who do not receive athletically related financial aid, or who receive very little, and must forgo receiving financial aid from legitimate institutional sources to play the sports they love.

Some administrators, however, worry that providing such flexibility could lead to instances in which schools "create" various nonathletics aid resources and thus abuse the intent of the legislation.

The Council forwarded two options employing year-in-residence and academic profile requirements to the Board.

For more information, see page 12.

Staff contact: David Berst.

DIVISION II

Research seeks data on how public perceives Division II

The Division II Management Council discussed a research effort planned over the next 10 months to determine how Division II fans and the public in general regard Division II.

Results of two studies should be available in April 2006, with a final "branding plan" provided to the Division II Presidents Council in August.

At its October 17-18 meeting, the Council discussed branding issues with Jeff Jacobs of the Trilix Group.

For more information, see page 14.

Staff contact: Mike Racy.

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