The NCAA Regional Rules Seminars usually are well-attended by personnel from Divisions I and II institutions, but this year’s sessions saw a marked increase in attendance from Division III schools.

More than 200 Division III registrants attended the Dallas seminar, and another nearly 100 administrators were present for sessions in San Diego during May — a good turnout considering the distance of most Division III institutions from the West Coast.

"We’ve had some sessions that were standing room only, and had a lot of people saying, ‘Hey, I’ve been coming to these for years, and there are a lot of people here I’ve never seen in my life,’ " said Matt Banker, NCAA assistant director of membership services.

The increased attendance is partly attributable to the recent creation of programming specifically addressing Division III legislation and programs. Both the San Diego and Dallas seminars offered a menu of Division III-specific sessions, beginning with a review of recently adopted legislation and progressing through a question-and-answer session that permitted registrants to ask about anything from specific applications of rules to administration of the recently revamped Strategic Initiatives Grant Program.

In Dallas, attendance also was helped by the first National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators summer forum, a Tuesday-afternoon/Wednesday-morning gathering featuring panel and roundtable discussions that was scheduled after the Division III segment of the regional seminar. The forum attracted about 80 administrators.

The increased presence of Division III administrators at the Dallas gathering was noticeable to NCAA staff members as well as returning seminar participants.

"At the first seminar I went to, the same people were up asking questions — the same people as at the Convention," said Mindy Mangels, associate director of athletics at Wellesley College. "But this year a whole new group of people were asking questions."

It made attendance even more worthwhile for Mangels, who was attending her third seminar.

"It makes it even better," she said "It’s just more people to learn from, and more stories to hear."