Division III delegates to the 2010 Convention will be asked to vote on only two of seven legislative proposals that member conferences submitted earlier this summer.

One of the proposals would authorize a “walkthrough” session during the early days of preseason football practice. The other would ease a current requirement that a student-athlete who transfers to another school two years after a suspension must attend the new school for a calendar year before regaining athletics eligibility.

The two membership-sponsored proposals will join seven proposals sponsored by the Division III Presidents Council on the agenda for the Atlanta Convention. The total of nine proposals is the fewest sponsored in Division III since 1998, when the membership considered seven proposals.

The two membership-sponsored proposals set for consideration during the January 16 business session would:

• Permit a daily, one-hour “walkthrough” session in football during the preseason five-day acclimatization period. The proposal by the American Southwest Conference, Empire 8 and New Jersey Athletic Conference would prohibit wearing protective equipment (such as a helmet or shoulder pads), use of football equipment (such as a football or blocking sled) or conditioning activities during the period, which is intended only for instruction. The proposal also specifies that student-athletes must be provided at least three hours of continuous recovery time between the end of an on-field practice session and the start of the walkthrough session.

• Permit a student who was disqualified or suspended from a previously attended school but who meets requirements of the two-year nonparticipation exception to be immediately eligible for athletics participation upon transfer to another institution. The proposal, sponsored by the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference and Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, seeks to eliminate the current requirement that such a student serve a calendar year in residency at the institution to become eligible.

Division III permits a single conference or 10 member institutions to submit a proposal for the Convention by July 15, but the proposal must be sponsored by a second conference or 10 additional institutions by September 1 to be placed on the Convention agenda.

Four other proposals submitted in July failed to gain required additional sponsorship, while a fifth proposal was withdrawn.

The Centennial Conference had proposed legislation permitting use of media such as social-networking sites and text messaging to transmit information to a general audience that includes student-athletes. The Division III Management Council adopted legislation in July accomplishing the same objective, prompting the conference to withdraw its proposal.

The two properly sponsored membership proposals currently are being reviewed by various Division III committees, which will make recommendations to the Division III Management Council on whether to support, oppose or take no position on those proposals. The Management Council then will make recommendations to the Presidents Council, which will decide its positions on the proposals during its October 29 meeting in Indianapolis.