Division II chancellors and presidents rallied behind an effort to modify the division’s playing and practice seasons during sessions Wednesday and Thursday in Indianapolis.

In a gathering of presidents and conference board officers Wednesday and then again at Thursday’s Division II Presidents Council meeting, the Division II leadership became energized over a review they are now calling the “Life in the Balance” initiative, since it aims to align the division’s competition rules with the “Life in the Balance” theme embedded in the strategic-positioning platform.

Presidents during their meetings reviewed preliminary suggestions that are designed to reduce time demands on student-athletes, coaches and administrators and that seek better business practices to help reduce the financial pressures inundating all of higher education. But they also called for the review to not stop with solutions that might only “nibble at the edges” of greater concerns.

For starters, though, the presidents considered three “consensus” areas that might be acted on in the shorter term:

•         Delaying the reporting date for fall-sport student-athletes to reduce the housing and meal costs for institutions (and then subsequently considering season and contest reductions in fall sports other than football or championship delays to accommodate the later reporting date).

•         Adopting a seven-day “dead period” for practice and competition during the winter break.

•         Moving the start date for spring-sports competition to later in February and reducing the number of games in baseball and softball (in the latter by eliminating the tournament exception for contest dates).

Those items emerged from the Division II Management Council’s meeting two weeks ago, and while presidents agreed that they could have an immediate effect if approved, many felt they were not comprehensive enough to address the broader concerns.

The attitude of the presidents in fact posed an interesting juxtaposition with the AD- and commissioner-dominated Management Council: The presidents want a quicker and broader resolution, while the practitioners worry that the review is going too fast and doesn’t address details.

Where the two groups appear to agree, though, is that the Life in the Balance initiative is much more than a one-year exercise. In that way, both presidents and practitioners may get what they want. Elements of the three consensus items (and any other legislative ideas that emerge in the next three months) are set to move through the governance structure in time for a membership vote at the 2010 Convention, while items from the broader review the presidents advocate could emerge in 2011 and beyond.

What that broader review might entail could include more sweeping reductions and efficiencies in sports other than just baseball and softball, and an examination of exempted contests, nontraditional segments, squad sizes and number of officials for Division II contests. In addition, sports committees and the Division II Championships Committee will consider regionalized championship-selection formats and other championships policy changes this summer.

The Management Council favors the broader approach, too, noting that the consensus areas are sensible, immediate-impact items that the membership could manage without being overwhelmed by a more comprehensive review all at once. The Management Council also has asked the Division II Athletics Directors Association and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association to react to the consensus areas and to offer other “Life in the Balance” suggestions. Both groups will be represented at a joint committee session in June with the Division II Championships and Legislation Committees.

“It’s notable to point out that the new Life in the Balance initiative was originated by presidents, so it stands to reason that presidents would be most interested in swift action,” said Presidents Council Chair Stephen Jordan, president at Metropolitan State. “The areas offered as ‘consensus’ might not have appeased presidents if that was all to have emerged from the review, but as long as we all understand that a more comprehensive study of gaining alignment in playing and practice seasons and championships policies – and greater efficiencies for our athletics department budgets – is ongoing, then I think we can move the process along.”

The presidents will have a chance to air those broader concerns more collectively during the third Chancellors and Presidents Summit recently announced for June 18-19, 2010, in Indianapolis. Presidents Council members in fact noted that a continuation of the Life in the Balance initiative will be on the summit agenda.

They also reiterated the reasons for conducting the review. While no constituency of higher education is more aware of the current economic pressures than presidents are, to a person they agree that the playing and practice season issue is not derived from a spiraling economy.

“What makes this so compelling is not the reaction to economic concerns – though we always want to gain efficiencies in the way we operate athletics – but that we’re trying to figure out the meaning of the balance we advocate in our strategic platform,” said Winona State President Judith Ramaley. “This is about reviewing the entire competitive context in light of needing to balance the Division II student experience and manage the work/life balance for our coaches and staff.”

Ramaley urged her Presidents Council colleagues to consider the consensus areas as only the first step in a larger review. “We need to consider this as an integrated package that has not been approached before, and while we don’t want to overlook some of the more important details, we should understand that this effort is much more than just about details,” she said.

The next step for the review is to deliver Management and Presidents Council feedback on the consensus areas (and other constituency group comments or recommendations) to the Legislation and Championships Committees for their joint meeting in June. Those two groups plan to formulate more specific recommendations and submit them back to the Councils this summer. Proposals that emerge after Council review will enter the 2010 Convention cycle.

In other action at the Division II Presidents Council’s meeting Thursday, members:

•         Amended a legislative proposal the Management Council had forwarded for the 2010 Convention regarding sport-safety training to require all head coaches and all full-time coaches to be certified in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator use. The original proposal included only head coaches, but the Presidents Council felt it was important to have all full-time coaches (including assistants) required to be certified.

Elected Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts to a second one-year term as vice chair of the Presidents Council. Pitts’ duties as vice chair include chairing the Division II Planning and Finance Committee.