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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Association gets down to business - Division II clears way for community link
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By Gary Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
ORLANDO, Florida — Division II delegates displayed the trust often lacking in a legislative decision regarding competitive equity when they overwhelmingly approved a community-engagement initiative that lifts recruiting and student-athlete benefit rules when institutions engage in activities designed to benefit their communities more than themselves.
Division II Presidents Council Chair and Pfeiffer University President Charles Ambrose called the 255-3-2 landslide decision at the January 8 business session “a historic vote for Division II” that represents both an end and a beginning. The measure’s adoption in one way puts an exclamation point on the Council’s strategic-positioning platform developed over the last 18 months and in another starts a new paragraph on how Division II schools implement the plan.
“This is the first division-wide and official endorsement of the strategic-positioning initiative,” Ambrose said. “It’s more than a consensus of trust. It represents our membership’s strong desire for outcomes to be generated by the characteristics and attributes embedded in the strategic-positioning platform. By this action today, members have indicated their readiness to move forward under our agreed-upon identity umbrella.”
The good-news glow from Proposal No. 5 outshined some of the presidents’ disappointment over a failed proposal to provide a second postseason championship opportunity in football. While the Council had supported Proposal No. 7 with the intention of unifying the division over a debate on equivalency limits, delegates weren’t ready — by a 117-29-1 margin — to accept a two-championship model based on the level at which schools fund their programs. The Presidents Council does believe, however, that it fulfilled its promise to the Division II membership by providing through Proposal No. 7 another option for addressing football issues without reducing financial aid equivalencies.
The Council may have recouped some of the unity they were looking for when delegates approved a measure that makes any future proposal to modify equivalency limits in any sport a division-dominant provision. The proposal was expected to be controversial, and the 130-125-1 vote didn’t disappoint.
Valdosta State University Athletics Director Herb Reinhard, who moved the proposal on the Convention floor, said, “Adopting this proposal makes it clear that any change to financial aid equivalencies should not be taken lightly by our members, and that access to higher education and scholarships provided to our student-athletes is a priority in Division II.”
Opponents, though, believed the super majority wasn’t necessary, and that requiring one implied that the membership couldn’t be trusted to put the greater good ahead of personal agendas when considering financial aid legislation.
In addition, South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Doug Echols said the proposal could lead to situations in which the will of the majority could be undermined by a numerical minority. “Our membership always takes financial aid legislation seriously,” he said. “The super majority is an unnecessary safeguard.”
Similarly, Tony Capon, the faculty athletics representative at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, challenged sponsors to cite a case in which Division II passed a proposal “so clearly contrary to student-athlete well-being” that a super majority was suddenly needed.
Those arguments did not carry the day, however, and though the crowd anticipated a move to reconsider, the post-session window to do so closed without a request.
Despite the narrow margin, Ambrose said it was important for Division II to reach a stated comfort level with its funding, particularly in light of the strategic-positioning platform. He believes the two-thirds vote accomplishes that goal, at least for now, since the legislation could be rescinded by the same simple majority that approved it.
“The Presidents Council knew coming into this Convention that we had set an ambitious agenda to move the division forward,” he said. “We understood the football-championship proposal would be contentious, but we wanted at least for members to make a commitment to our equivalency limits as a way of assuring our student-athletes that they will not see dramatic shifts in scholarships from year to year.”
Graduate-transfer rule passed
Division II also approved a rule that allows graduates with remaining eligibility to transfer and be immediately eligible. Division I adopted a similar proposal last year before overriding the decision in its January 6 business session. The concern in Division I is that the provision could create another recruiting period for graduate students. Basketball and football coaches in particular lobbied against the legislation, and the vote to override it was 70 percent in favor.
Division II voters felt differently, though. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Faculty Athletics Representative John Meisel in moving the proposal on the Convention floor said current rules encourage some student-athletes to postpone fulfilling the requirements of obtaining a degree just to complete their last season of competition. “A student-athlete should never postpone obtaining his or her degree for intercollegiate athletics, and we should not promote that postponement,” Meisel said.
The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee spoke to the proposal as well. Lauren Brown from Presbyterian College said, “This recognizes student-athletes who work hard to complete their undergraduate degrees.”
Most delegates agreed, approving the measure, 233-24.
The business session also produced the first tie vote in recent memory. The deadlock came on Proposal No. 15, which sought to require all coaches at any game, practice or strength and conditioning session to be certified in first aid and CPR. Proponents couched it as a student-athlete well-being initiative, and while opponents agreed with that premise, they cited prohibitive costs and the notion that the legislation turned a health and safety issue into a compliance matter.
The crowded ballroom gasped when the large video screens displayed the 127-127-1 result. The tie was not good news for supporters, though, since it meant the proposal failed.
Division II Presidents Council Chair and Pfeiffer University President Charles Ambrose called the 255-3-2 landslide decision at the January 8 business session “a historic vote for Division II” that represents both an end and a beginning. The measure’s adoption in one way puts an exclamation point on the Council’s strategic-positioning platform developed over the last 18 months and in another starts a new paragraph on how Division II schools implement the plan.
“This is the first division-wide and official endorsement of the strategic-positioning initiative,” Ambrose said. “It’s more than a consensus of trust. It represents our membership’s strong desire for outcomes to be generated by the characteristics and attributes embedded in the strategic-positioning platform. By this action today, members have indicated their readiness to move forward under our agreed-upon identity umbrella.”
The good-news glow from Proposal No. 5 outshined some of the presidents’ disappointment over a failed proposal to provide a second postseason championship opportunity in football. While the Council had supported Proposal No. 7 with the intention of unifying the division over a debate on equivalency limits, delegates weren’t ready — by a 117-29-1 margin — to accept a two-championship model based on the level at which schools fund their programs. The Presidents Council does believe, however, that it fulfilled its promise to the Division II membership by providing through Proposal No. 7 another option for addressing football issues without reducing financial aid equivalencies.
The Council may have recouped some of the unity they were looking for when delegates approved a measure that makes any future proposal to modify equivalency limits in any sport a division-dominant provision. The proposal was expected to be controversial, and the 130-125-1 vote didn’t disappoint.
Valdosta State University Athletics Director Herb Reinhard, who moved the proposal on the Convention floor, said, “Adopting this proposal makes it clear that any change to financial aid equivalencies should not be taken lightly by our members, and that access to higher education and scholarships provided to our student-athletes is a priority in Division II.”
Opponents, though, believed the super majority wasn’t necessary, and that requiring one implied that the membership couldn’t be trusted to put the greater good ahead of personal agendas when considering financial aid legislation.
In addition, South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Doug Echols said the proposal could lead to situations in which the will of the majority could be undermined by a numerical minority. “Our membership always takes financial aid legislation seriously,” he said. “The super majority is an unnecessary safeguard.”
Similarly, Tony Capon, the faculty athletics representative at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, challenged sponsors to cite a case in which Division II passed a proposal “so clearly contrary to student-athlete well-being” that a super majority was suddenly needed.
Those arguments did not carry the day, however, and though the crowd anticipated a move to reconsider, the post-session window to do so closed without a request.
Despite the narrow margin, Ambrose said it was important for Division II to reach a stated comfort level with its funding, particularly in light of the strategic-positioning platform. He believes the two-thirds vote accomplishes that goal, at least for now, since the legislation could be rescinded by the same simple majority that approved it.
“The Presidents Council knew coming into this Convention that we had set an ambitious agenda to move the division forward,” he said. “We understood the football-championship proposal would be contentious, but we wanted at least for members to make a commitment to our equivalency limits as a way of assuring our student-athletes that they will not see dramatic shifts in scholarships from year to year.”
Graduate-transfer rule passed
Division II also approved a rule that allows graduates with remaining eligibility to transfer and be immediately eligible. Division I adopted a similar proposal last year before overriding the decision in its January 6 business session. The concern in Division I is that the provision could create another recruiting period for graduate students. Basketball and football coaches in particular lobbied against the legislation, and the vote to override it was 70 percent in favor.
Division II voters felt differently, though. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Faculty Athletics Representative John Meisel in moving the proposal on the Convention floor said current rules encourage some student-athletes to postpone fulfilling the requirements of obtaining a degree just to complete their last season of competition. “A student-athlete should never postpone obtaining his or her degree for intercollegiate athletics, and we should not promote that postponement,” Meisel said.
The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee spoke to the proposal as well. Lauren Brown from Presbyterian College said, “This recognizes student-athletes who work hard to complete their undergraduate degrees.”
Most delegates agreed, approving the measure, 233-24.
The business session also produced the first tie vote in recent memory. The deadlock came on Proposal No. 15, which sought to require all coaches at any game, practice or strength and conditioning session to be certified in first aid and CPR. Proponents couched it as a student-athlete well-being initiative, and while opponents agreed with that premise, they cited prohibitive costs and the notion that the legislation turned a health and safety issue into a compliance matter.
The crowded ballroom gasped when the large video screens displayed the 127-127-1 result. The tie was not good news for supporters, though, since it meant the proposal failed.
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