Following is the final installment of a series that previews Division I proposals for the 2008-09 legislative cycle. This article focuses on proposal related to membership requirements and other administrative regulations.

Several proposals that would change requirements for membership will be considered in the 2008-09 legislative cycle, including one setting academic standards for new Division I members and another requiring members to submit financial data to be eligible for NCAA-sponsored championships.

Proposal No. 2008-60, sponsored by the Management Council, would slow the advancement to active Division I membership for any institution that sponsors sport programs that are subject to penalties under the Academic Performance Program.

The Committee on Academic Performance, which oversees the APP, set a policy requiring institutions moving into Division I to submit APP data in the first year for reclassifying members and second year for provisional members. If the proposal were to pass, that data could be used to deny an institution active member status if any of its teams would be subject to a penalty in the program. Advocates believe academic success is an appropriate tool for determining whether or not an institution is prepared to be a full member of Division I.

A proposal require institutions seeking Division I membership to submit financial information, including operating revenues, expenses and capital related to athletics, will also be considered. Proposal No. 2008-09 would require the information to be submitted annually and, if the data is not submitted, could prevent championship participation.

The proposal is the result of recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics, which pointed to the need for financial integrity in intercollegiate athletics. The new rule would assist with the dashboard-indicators project, a data-management tool that provides campus leaders with a system to compare athletics spending with peer groups.

The Board sponsored the proposal at its August meeting.

Other proposals of note include:

• 2008-58, which would reduce the required number of institutions sponsoring a women’s sport from 50 to 40 to establish a championship in that sport.

• 2008-64, which would allow Administration Cabinet members representing Football Bowl Subdivision members to grant waivers of FBS membership requirements with a two-thirds majority.

• 2008-62, which would give members of the Presidential Advisory Group the authority to act on behalf of Football Championship Subdivision members of the Board of Directors on legislative issues related to championship subdivision football, subject to review by the full Board.

• 2008-70, 2008-71 and 2008-72, which would change automatic-qualification requirements for multi-sport conferences in sports other than men’s basketball.

• 2008-73, which would charge the Championships/Sports Management Cabinet with oversight of the national statistics program.

Previous articles in this series:

Prize-money proposal on Division I docket

Proposal seeks aid expansion in baseball, women’s volleyball

Proposals address baseball season length

Electronic communication, recruiting rules top docket

Electronic coursework a legislative focus