The Division I Management Council approved legislation at its April 14 meeting in Indianapolis that sets minimum English and math requirements for transfers from two-year colleges who are nonqualifiers, sending the measure to the Board of Directors for final approval. The Council met April 14 in Indianapolis.

The measure, which goes to the Board of Directors for possible adoption next week, would require two-year transfers who do not meet minimum academic standards for financial aid, practice and competition to have six semester or eight quarter hours of English and three semester or four quarter hours of math that transfer toward a degree at the accepting four-year institution. The effective date was delayed until August 1, 2009.

In other legislative items, the Council approved and sent to the Board a proposal allowing walk-on student-athletes in baseball to use the one-time transfer exception. The Council also advanced proposals that:

•         Allow institutions to provide meals or cash in conjunction with competition within a certain time frame

•         Eliminate time limits on athletically related activities for student-athletes with exhausted eligibility

•         Allow service academies to make in-person, off-campus contact with prospects during the spring evaluation period of the prospect’s junior year in high school.

Council members defeated a proposal that would have required two-year college transfers to take any distance or correspondence courses from the two-year college.

In other business, the Council sponsored as noncontroversial legislation a measure reorganizing the football committee structure. The reshuffling includes a reduction in the number of members of the Football Issues Committee from 24 to 16 and a reconfiguration of the Division I Football Championship Committee to include 12 individuals representing each of the FCS conferences. The Football Issues Committee would consider issues related to the FBS and bowl licensing, while the Football Championship Committee would oversee FCS issues. These changes are in line with all sports committees in the new governance structure examining issues within their particular sports.

The Council also submitted legislation for the 2008-09 cycle that would prohibit institutions from becoming active Division I members if any sports team in its athletics department is subject to penalties under the Academic Performance Plan.

The April meeting was the last scheduled for the Management Council before restructuring takes effect in September. However, the Council remains in place until the reorganization.