National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jan 27, 2010 7:35:21 AM

Now that the dust has settled from the 2010 Convention, I want to share a few thoughts from this past year during my term as chair of the Division II Management Council.

This year was a busy one, yet for me personally and professionally it was an absolutely wonderful experience, culminating in a historic vote on the four-proposal "Life in the Balance" initiative at the Division II business session January 16.

Although we rarely have 100 percent agreement on legislation in our division, it was important that we took action on the Life in the Balance proposals. In a sense, it was a different kind of balance that allowed us to take that action. We balanced a healthy discussion with our competitive spirit.

Indeed, as administrators working in an enterprise that involves winning on the fields and courts, we do bring a competitive spirit that is much needed on our campuses. At times, this competitive drive gets the best of us, but our governance structure – and in particular the leadership we derive from our Division II Presidents Council – keeps us grounded in our mission to help student-athletes live a balanced higher education experience.

The balance we need as administrators to achieve that purpose is similar to the balance student-athletes need to learn how to compete. They need to learn how to do that when the situation isn't perfect because it almost never is in the real world. Well, our legislation isn't always perfect, either. But our governance structure – using input from our membership – invariably gets it as right as we possibly can for most people.

While the initial proposals from the Life in the Balance package have been adopted, I believe we have to continue to look at Bylaw 17 in the years ahead to ensure it aligns with our strategic plan.

Don't get me wrong. I like to win as much as the next person, and we try to win as much as possible here at Grand Valley State. But even though I work at an institution that has been fortunate enough to have had some success in competition and thereby wouldn't resist playing more contests, I actually think it's healthier to play fewer in some sports.

I believe this in part because most of our student-athletes come to us today having played many more contests in their K-12 lifetimes than our generation ever did. Most of the sports in which we reduced contests or shortened seasons in Phase I of the Life in the Balance initiative have student-athletes who play 50 or more contests throughout their competitive experience, and that's beyond the contests they play in high school.

The number of AAU, club, or Junior Olympic contests is out of hand. And what suffers along the way – and most of our coaches would agree – is the coaching, or lack of it, that our young people receive in those nonscholastic activities.

Perhaps this is another reason why our review of the nonchampionship segment in various sports in Phase II of Life in the Balance this year is so important. After all, that is the time during which student-athletes receive the skill development, the teaching of the sport and the individual work they did not get in their nonscholastic activities. Let's structure that period appropriately.

Phase II also will involve a review of annual and discretionary exemptions in applicable sports, as well as a review of the hourly limits on athletically related activities in and out of season. As was the case in Phase I, it will be critically important for the Division II membership to stay engaged in this effort.

Our governance process is a good one. We all have the opportunity to provide feedback, but it is important, due to our governance calendar, to provide that feedback between now and July when the Phase II proposals are being developed, not from August through December when it's too late to practically vet alternatives.

The NCAA staff already is surveying coaches associations and other groups about these areas under review. Speak to your coaches and student-athletes now and offer feedback to your Management Council rep or to the NCAA staff. Encourage your coaches to engage with their coaches associations to provide feedback.

We have a one-school, one-vote system, and in the end, the majority rules. It works best when everyone stays engaged and provides input.

I cannot begin to thank all of the people associated with the Division II governance structure and beyond for all of the many efforts on behalf of our division. We all have full plates on our own campuses, and for those who unselfishly give of their time and talents for the betterment of Division II, please know that it is greatly appreciated. Good things take time and are never easy to accomplish. Division II is a better organization because of the giving nature of our membership.

Two groups deserve special acknowledgement. As chair this past year, I had the privilege of meeting often with the Division II Presidents Council. Our presidents are engaged, they care about our student-athletes, and they give up a lot of their precious time to ensure that we stay true to our ideals in intercollegiate athletics and in Division II.

Stephen Jordan, immediate past chair of the Council, and current chair Drew Bogner have provided outstanding leadership for our division. I believe our division is better off with more presidents engaged in intercollegiate athletics, and I would encourage our Presidents Council to continue the excellent leadership that I have witnessed this past year.

I also was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the Division II staff at the national office. Their work ethic and organization is off the charts. Their commitment to student-athletes is second to none. Without question, they are here to serve us, and they do so unselfishly. Thank you, NCAA DII staff, for being the first-class professionals you are.

Thanks again to all of you who work hard to make sure our division is the best it can possibly be. I am proud to say "I Chose Division II."

Tim Selgo is the athletics director at Grand Valley State University and immediate past chair of the Division II Management Council, a group of which he remains a member through the 2011 Convention.