Division II delegates at the 2009 NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C. will vote on a 13-proposal legislative package during the Division II business session January 17.

To help delegates better understand the ramifications of the legislative proposals, the national office staff has provided a question-and-answer document for all 13 items. While the document has yet to receive final approval from the Management and Presidents Councils (those bodies are expected to do so at their Convention meetings), the following excerpts provide guidelines and context to the way the proposals would be applied upon adoption. The full document will be available at the Convention.

Following is Part 4 of a four-part series in The NCAA News that highlights:

•         Proposal No. 2009-12 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Basketball – First Contest), and

•         Proposal No. 2009-13 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Basketball – Number of Contests – Once-in-Three Years Exemption – Conference Challenge Event)

Proposal No. 2009-12 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Basketball – First Contest). Intent: To establish the second Friday of November as the first date of competition in basketball.

Q:  What is the earliest date under Proposal No. 2009-12 that an institution would be permitted to play its first contest?

A:  The earliest date that an institution would be permitted to play its first contest with outside competition, depending on the given year, would be November 8 (which occurs in 2013, 2019 and 2024).

Q:  What is the latest date under Proposal No. 2009-12 that that an institution would be permitted to play its first contest?

A:  The latest date that an institution would be permitted to play its first contest with outside competition, depending on the given year, would be November 14 (which occurs in 2014 and 2025).

Q:  If Proposal No. 2009-12 is adopted, will it increase or decrease the number of weekends in the college basketball season?

A:  It may potentially increase one weekend from the current schedule depending on when the second Friday in November falls.

Proposal No. 2009-13 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Basketball – Number of Contests – Once-in-Three Years Exemption – Conference Challenge Event). Intent: To allow institutions, once every three years, to exempt from the maximum contest limits no more than two contests as part of a conference challenge event.

Q:  For purposes of Proposal No. 2009-13, what is the first weekend after the first permissible contest date?

A:  Under current legislation related to the first basketball contest, a conference challenge event would have to be played on the first weekend (Friday and/or Saturday) after November 15 in order to exempt the contests. If November 15 is a Friday or Saturday, the first day of the conference challenge event must be November 15 for institutions to exempt a maximum of two contests in the event. If November 15 is a Sunday, the first day of the conference challenge event must be on the Friday after November 15.

Q:  If Proposal No. 2009-12 is adopted, when would the conference challenge event have to occur?

A:  On the second Friday in November for institutions to exempt a maximum of two contests in the event. If November 15falls on a Sunday, the conference challenge even can occur the following weekend.

Q:  Can a conference challenge event be conducted after the first weekend of the season?

A:  Yes. A conference challenge event can be conducted at any time after the first permissible contest date, but if Proposal No. 2009-13 is adopted, it must be conducted on the weekend immediately after the first permissible contest date to exempt a maximum of two contests.

Q:  For purposes of Proposal No. 2009-13, what is a region?

A:  A region refers to the regions established for purposes of championships qualification and selection, and not to the geographical regions specified in Constitution 4.13 for the purpose of representation on the NCAA Division II Presidents Council or the geographical districts defined in Bylaw 21.02.4 for purposes of the Division II committee each region are as follows:

•         Atlantic Region (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association; Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference; and West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)

•         Central Region (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference)

•         East Region (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference; East Coast Conference; and Northeast-10 Conference)

•         Midwest Region (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Great Lakes Valley Conference)

•         South Region (Gulf South Conference; Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; and Sunshine State Conference)

•         South Central Region (Heartland Conference; Lone Star Conference; and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association)

•         Southeast Region (Conference Carolinas; Peach Belt Athletic Conference; and South Atlantic Conference)

•         West Region (California Collegiate Athletic Association; Great Northwest Athletic Conference; and Pacific West Conference)

Q:  Is there a minimum number of teams from a conference that must participate in a conference challenge event?

A:  No.

Q:  Is it permissible for institutions that are not a member of a conference to participate in a conference challenge event (for example, independent institutions)?

A:  No. Proposal 2009-13 specifies that contests must occur between institutions that are members of conferences.

Q:  What if a conference does not have enough members to sponsor basketball at the conference level?

A:  Institutions in a conference that does not have enough member institutions sponsor the sport are considered independent institutions and would not be eligible to participate in a conference challenge event.

Q:  Can the conference challenge event be conducted at more than one site?

A:  Yes.

Q:  Do contests exempted under this proposal count for eligibility for the NCAA championship?

A:  Yes.

Q:  Do contests exempted under this proposal count for purposes of hardship waiver calculations?

A:  Yes, but only when the scheduled or completed contests calculation is used for the denominator in the percent computation for the hardship waiver. Only discretionary exemptions for the applicable sport are excluded from the calculation.

Q:  What entity is responsible for monitoring the use of the exempted contests?

A:  Each institution is responsible for verifying compliance with NCAA legislation, including the maximum contest limitations and exempted contests.

Q:  Is the conference office required to organize a conference challenge event, or may individual institutions?

A:  The proposal does not preclude institutions from organizing a conference challenge event; however, the intent is for conferences to organize in-region competition between the member institutions of each conference.

Part 1 of the series covered:

•         Proposal No. 2009-5 (Division Membership – Definitions and Applications – Emerging Sports for Women – Archery, Badminton, Synchronized Swimming, Team Handball and Sand Volleyball), and

•         Proposal No. 2009-6 (Division Membership and Committees – Audit of Membership Requirements)

Part 2 of the series covered:

•         Proposal No. 2009-7 (Recruiting – Letter-of-Intent Programs, Financial Aid Agreements – Transcript Prior to National Letter of Intent or Written Offer of Athletically Related Financial Aid), and

•         Proposal No. 2009-8 (Eligibility – Hardship Waiver – Percentage Calculation)

Part 3 of the series covered:

•        Proposal No. 2009-10 (Playing and Practice Seasons – General Playing-Season Regulations – Time Limits for Athletically Related Activities – Weekly Hour Limitations – Outside of Playing Season – Exception – Alternate Playing Season – Golf and Tennis), and

•        Proposal No. 2009-11 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Time Limits for Athletically Related Activities – Institutional Vacation Period – Strength and Conditioning Personnel Designing and Conducting Workout Programs)