The Division II Management and Presidents Councils will finish preparing for the Division II business session during meetings at the upcoming NCAA Convention, but both groups also have agendas packed with items that will affect Division II initiatives in 2009.

The Management Council, meeting January 14, will review application parameters and a timeline for a new membership fund designed to enhance Division II membership by stabilizing current membership, discouraging attrition and attracting prospective institutions. Applications for the $250,000 annual budget item will be determined by the Division II Membership Fund Selection Committee, and all proposals must be structured to advance the division as a whole.

The first application deadline is April 10; a second application period ends September 16. Successful applicants will be notified in May and October.

Click here for more NCAA News coverage on the fund. Click here for more administrative information.

The Management Council also is expected to approve another iteration of the Division II Purchasing Web site, in which member schools will receive $1,000 seed money to purchase Division II strategic-positioning banners, decals, field logos and other promotional items that advance the Division II identity. The site was available last year, and while many institutions used their allotment, the Management Council believes more should be encouraged to take advantage of the marketing opportunity.

Other agenda items for the Management Council:

•         An update on the 2009 Division II National Championships Festival for winter sports (men’s and women’s indoor track, wrestling, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving) March 10-14 in Houston.

•         Review the process for the second annual Division II Community Engagement Award of Excellence. Schools and conferences are encouraged to submit their best community-engagement activities by January 30. Twenty-two conference winners, one independent winner and one national winner will be announced in April at the community-engagement workshop in Philadelphia. The conference and independent winners receive $500.

•         Review Academic Success Rate data by conference (1999-2001 freshmen cohorts).

Both the Management and Presidents Councils also will discuss travel issues as they relate to cost effectiveness.

In addition, the Presidents Council is expected to release details on the future of the broadcast agreement with CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV). Division II is in the final year of its three-year agreement with the network to broadcast regular-season football and basketball games and a plethora of championship events in those and other sports. More than 60 different schools and all 22 conferences will have had at least one regular-season football or basketball game televised during the three years of the current agreement.

The Division II business session is Saturday, January 17. Delegates will vote on 13 legislative proposals, many of which are summarized in a four-part Q&A series in The NCAA News.

•         Part 1

•         Part 2

•         Part 3

•         Part 4

The NCAA News will provide coverage of the Management Council and Presidents Council meetings as part of the NCAA Convention coverage on www.NCAA.org.

The Convention also offers a slate of eight educational sessions over two days (January 15-16) that cover items ranging from tactical to philosophical. Included are updates of Division II’s ongoing review of the organized-competition rule and a look at data from Division II’s Academic Performance Census.

Pfeiffer University President and former Division II Presidents Council Chair Charles Ambrose will moderate a session on how Division II schools should go about engaging the media in their areas. The session will remind participants that the Division II community-engagement effort should include those who cover and give broader exposure to the events.

Longtime USA Today college sports reporter Steve Wieberg and former New York Times and USA Today writer Malcolm Moran are scheduled as panelists, along with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Commissioner Butch Raymond and Central Missouri Associate Athletics Director Shawn Jones.

Also on the docket is a session devoted to integrating the athletics department and the campus student affairs wing. West Florida Vice President of Student Affairs Debbie Ford and Maryville (Tennessee) athletics development staffer Heather Mathis will share examples of how athletics and student affairs can partner to enhance student success.

Click here for the Division II Convention schedule.