The NCAA completed its 103rd annual Convention last week at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

The Convention was highlighted by the opening business session, where Billie Jean King received the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award and the annual State of the Association address urged NCAA members to balance commercial interests between raising revenues to support intercollegiate athletics without compromising the values of higher education.

Divisions II and III conducted their business sessions January 17, and the Division I Board of Directors also met that day, passing a “coach’s Academic Progress Rate” as another step in the academic-reform progression.

Session Highlights:

• Incoming international student-athletes face challenges transitioning into college life.
• NCAA prepares for shifting demographics in intercollegiate athletics.
• Panel emphasizes key areas when thinking about work-life balance.
• The difficulty of achieving diversity not only in the coaching ranks.

• NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel a reviewed its two-year rules-making process.
• Billie Jean King accepted the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award.
• Nutrition choices can have a profound effect on how well student-athletes perform.
• Brand calls for increased focus on commercialism.

• Creating a model for athletics departments to be environmentally conscious.
• The NCAA has selected Wilson Sporting Goods Co. as its official soccer ball supplier beginning in 2009.
• Female athletics administrators who have advanced to leadership roles during their tenure.
• Higher travel costs are forcing colleges and universities to re-evaluate travel agendas.
• CNN’s Soledad O’Brien shared her experiences as an NCAA student-athlete influenced her life.
• Twenty Student-athlete artists  displaying their work at a special show at Convention.
• Columnist: Media have done “a terrible job” of reporting abuse of performance drugs in athletics.
• The NCAA announced an Association-wide sportsmanship effort that will address negative fan behavior.

Division I News:

• The attempt to override a proposal prohibiting men’s basketball coaches from observing nonscholastic events in April was unsuccessful, with nearly 55 percent of delegates voting to keep the new rule in place.

• The Board of Directors directed the Committee on Academic Performance to construct a Web site that will provide the Academic Progress Rate “lifetime batting average” of head coaches in a publicly searchable format.

• The Leadership Council continued to discuss membership standards and diversity within the governance structure.

• The Legislative Council approved a variety of proposals, including one defining a men’s basketball prospect as anyone who has begun classes for the seventh grade for tryout and camp/clinic purposes. The Council will seek further comment on other proposals, including one changing the window of time during which a men’s basketball student-athlete can declare for the NBA draft and others seeking data on early qualifiers and transfers.

Division II News:

• Delegates voted on 13 proposals at the Division II business session January 17, passing a more flexible calculation for hardship waivers and approving sand volleyball as an emerging sport for women (effective in August 2010). Among proposals defeated was a measure to declare the second Friday in November as the first date of competition for basketball.

• The Division II Presidents Council approved a plan to extend the Division II national television initiative for at least two more years.

• The application process for a newly created annual membership fund designed to retain current members and attract new ones is now available. Requests for funds must be submitted by April 10.

• Division II chancellors and presidents are interested in a division-wide review of playing and practice seasons and the maximum number of contests in various sports.

• Data from surveys on the Division II strategic-positioning platform indicate that most institutions and conferences have used it to communicate their organizational mission.

• Consultants say Division II’s focus on community engagement can be an advantage in a challenged economic climate.

Division III News:

• The 110 presidents of Division III institutions who attended the Convention showed support for the Division III Presidents Council’s “white papers” initiative, which is establishing as priorities steps to reshape presidents’ leadership role and to renew support for the division’s philosophy statement and promote its identity. Council officers discussed the papers with the presidents during a luncheon/issues forum, then reported on the project during the Division III business session.

• Delegates made quick work of this year’s legislative agenda at the Convention, taking only about an hour to dispose of 12 legislative proposals. They adopted eight proposals – including six that were approved with more than 400 votes – but defeated a proposal to establish a uniform start date for preseason practice in fall sports other than football.

• Panelists responded to a New York Times series about the value and availability of athletics scholarships by pitching Division III’s nonscholarship approach as an enticing alternative.

• Another panel discussion focused on the growing influence of athletics recruiting in Division III, noting it has become a year-round activity that plays an important role in increasing enrollment and contributing to an institution’s diversity.

• About 50 institutional vice presidents and other senior administrators who oversee athletics attended the Convention, calling more attention to the importance of “direct reports”  in Division III athletics.