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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Division III Convention notes
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By Jack Copeland
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
The closest vote during the Division III business session came on a successful Presidents Council effort (by a 240-177 vote, with five abstentions) to increase the number of institutions or conferences required to sponsor a proposal at the annual Convention — but it appeared much of the opposition was generated by concern over the impact the provision will have on institutions that wish to amend proposals placed on the agenda by the Division III governance structure. Following the vote, Dick Rasmussen, executive secretary of the University Athletic Association, asked the Presidents and Management Councils to review the September 1 deadline for placing governance structure proposals on the Convention agenda — which leaves conferences and institution five weeks to review the proposals and generate support for a proposed amendment-to-amendment.
Delegates elected four new members to the Management Council near the end of the business session: Susan Chapman, director of athletics at Worcester State College; Dan Fulks, faculty athletics representative at Transylvania University; Stuart Gulley, president of LaGrange College; and Lynn Oberbillig, director of athletics at Smith College. Also, two new Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives joined the Council at its January 8 post-Convention meeting: Kayla Hinkley of the University of New England, and Steven Suggs of Stevens Institute of Technology.
Early in the business session, as outgoing Presidents Council Chair Ivory Nelson was thanking other departing Presidents and Management Council members for their service to Division III, the stage backdrop behind the dais partially collapsed, prompting a ripple of warnings from delegates and efforts by those sitting underneath the structure to catch the falling display. “I guess this is how they wanted to tell us goodbye,” Nelson joked as workers put the backdrop back in place.
One of the few objections to Proposal No. 9, the legislation that will increase requirements for achieving provisional or reclassifying membership in Division III, was voiced in unique fashion by Jim Nelson, director of athletics at Suffolk University, who frequently has spoken against Presidents Council proposals at recent Conventions. After introducing himself for the record, Nelson sang the first verse of “The Impossible Dream,” acknowledging his reputation for regularly supporting the minority position on Convention proposals. Nelson explained that he opposes the effort to slow down Division III’s growth on grounds that it could delay expanding the size of the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship to 64 teams.
Division III’s pilot drug-education and testing program, scheduled to begin later this year, will involve 115 institutions, all of which agreed to implement model education programs as part of the effort to learn whether education alone can deter drug use by student-athletes, or whether testing is needed too. Drug testing will be conducted in addition to education at approximately 80 percent of the participating institutions.
The Division III Commissioners Association awarded its Meritorious Achievement Award to a college president for the first time, tabbing Stanley Caine of Adrian College for the honor. The award is awarded annually to an individual who has made significant and substantial contributions over time to Division III athletics. Caine, who retired from Adrian in 2005, was one of the first presidents to serve as a member of the Division III Management Council. He also served on the Presidents Council.
Delegates elected four new members to the Management Council near the end of the business session: Susan Chapman, director of athletics at Worcester State College; Dan Fulks, faculty athletics representative at Transylvania University; Stuart Gulley, president of LaGrange College; and Lynn Oberbillig, director of athletics at Smith College. Also, two new Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives joined the Council at its January 8 post-Convention meeting: Kayla Hinkley of the University of New England, and Steven Suggs of Stevens Institute of Technology.
Early in the business session, as outgoing Presidents Council Chair Ivory Nelson was thanking other departing Presidents and Management Council members for their service to Division III, the stage backdrop behind the dais partially collapsed, prompting a ripple of warnings from delegates and efforts by those sitting underneath the structure to catch the falling display. “I guess this is how they wanted to tell us goodbye,” Nelson joked as workers put the backdrop back in place.
One of the few objections to Proposal No. 9, the legislation that will increase requirements for achieving provisional or reclassifying membership in Division III, was voiced in unique fashion by Jim Nelson, director of athletics at Suffolk University, who frequently has spoken against Presidents Council proposals at recent Conventions. After introducing himself for the record, Nelson sang the first verse of “The Impossible Dream,” acknowledging his reputation for regularly supporting the minority position on Convention proposals. Nelson explained that he opposes the effort to slow down Division III’s growth on grounds that it could delay expanding the size of the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship to 64 teams.
Division III’s pilot drug-education and testing program, scheduled to begin later this year, will involve 115 institutions, all of which agreed to implement model education programs as part of the effort to learn whether education alone can deter drug use by student-athletes, or whether testing is needed too. Drug testing will be conducted in addition to education at approximately 80 percent of the participating institutions.
The Division III Commissioners Association awarded its Meritorious Achievement Award to a college president for the first time, tabbing Stanley Caine of Adrian College for the honor. The award is awarded annually to an individual who has made significant and substantial contributions over time to Division III athletics. Caine, who retired from Adrian in 2005, was one of the first presidents to serve as a member of the Division III Management Council. He also served on the Presidents Council.
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