The Division II Management Council will be poised to accelerate discussions about possible changes to playing and practice season legislation when it convenes April 20-21 in Indianapolis.

Council members will participate in breakout sessions to review several models from the Division II Legislation Committee, which along with the Championships Committee has been charged by the Division II Presidents Council to lead the playing and practice season review.

The Legislation Committee models were developed with an eye toward reducing the length of seasons and the maximum number of contests in various sports so that the on-field behavior of Division II student-athletes aligns more closely with the off-field expectations within the division’s strategic-positioning platform. The review also seeks better business practices for member schools in choppy economic waters.

Several of the models propose a one-week reduction in the length of the regular season and an accompanying reduction by the average number of contests in a week for the particular sport. Fall-sport models also propose a later reporting date for student-athletes (to reduce the housing and meal burden on institutions), along with the one-week reduction in the regular season. One of the fall-sport models is more sport-specific, treating football differently in that the length-of-season and maximum-contest limits would remain static while the championship would be moved back one week.

The Legislation Committee also proposed several models for winter and spring sports with similar season and contest reductions.

While the Management Council will not give final recommendations on these proposals, members will offer feedback to the Legislation Committee, which is expected to develop more formal proposals for the Management Council’s July meeting.  The Legislation Committee and the Championships Committee also are seeking input from the Division II Athletics Directors Association, the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and various coaches associations in preparation for their June in-person meeting.

Proposals that emerge from the Management and Presidents Council summer meetings would enter the 2010 Convention legislative cycle.

The Championships Committee also is working on the issue and will meet jointly with the Legislation Committee in June. The championships group is reviewing bracket sizes, travel parties and current formats (for example, how regions are determined, length of the event, time between selections and first round) to see whether changes are necessary.

The Management Council at its April meeting also will receive updates on Presidents Council-sponsored legislation for the 2010 Convention, and on the Division II year-round, drug-testing program and pilot program related to Web-based alcohol and other drug prevention strategies.