National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jan 19, 2010 10:22:45 AM

Division I checked several items off its to-do list at the 2010 NCAA Convention.

The membership had the final word on sand volleyball: It will be an emerging sport for women in Division I. Delegates also solidified the addition of an extra week to the beginning of the baseball season. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee supported both decisions.

The Leadership Council put the finishing touches on a series of recommendations regarding standards for new Division I members, including a new reclassification process that includes time as an active Division II member, a requirement that new members have a conference home before beginning reclassification and an application fee that equals the value of an average annual distribution.

Council members also recommended a change to diversity requirements on Division I governance bodies: The minimums of 20 percent ethnic minorities and 35 percent of either gender will be applied to each body individually, instead of at two levels collectively. Additionally, the Council added new positional requirements (also to be applied to each group individually) of 20 percent faculty athletics representatives and 20 percent athletics directors.

The Football Bowl Subdivision (which must replace all its appointments in the coming months) must meet the requirements at its level, and the Football Championship Subdivision and Division I members together must meet the requirements as their appointments expire over the next several years.

While the Legislative Council sent a number of proposals for further membership comment, several important measures were adopted during the Convention, including a proposal prohibiting institutions from hiring people associated with a prospect for two years before or two years after that prospect's enrollment at the institution, and another piece allowing most prospects to compete on professional teams before matriculation if they don't accept more than expenses. The Council also approved a plan limiting the number of recruits a football coach can sign to a National Letter of Intent.

At the Division I issues forum, members had the opportunity to hear the details of a plan designed to improve the academic performance of men's basketball student-athletes. Called the "retention model-summer school," the concept would require institutions to assess the risk level of all incoming men's basketball players and require those who need it to attend summer school. Coaches would then have access to those student-athletes in the summer time through additional practice opportunities.

The Division I Board of Directors delayed the effective date of the sand volleyball measure to August 1, 2011, to give the division time to shape the sport's financial aid, playing and practice season, recruiting, and coaching-limits regulations.