Jul 19, 2010 7:44:37 AM

Division III could consider as many as seven legislative proposals submitted by member conferences at the 2011 Convention, though five of those proposals still must gain additional sponsorship before being placed on the agenda in January.

Two of the proposals submitted by the July 15 legislation deadline are sponsored by at least two voting conferences, as required for consideration at the Convention. The other five proposals will require another conference to join as co-sponsors by September 1 to be considered.

The legislative process Division III adopted a few years ago allows a conference or 10 institutions that submitted a Convention proposal by July 15 to continue to seek co-sponsorship from an additional conference or 10 more institutions (for an institution-based proposal, 20 institutions must agrees to sponsor) until September 1.

One of the two proposals already eligible for consideration at the 2011 Convention comes from the Colonial States Athletic Conference (with co-sponsorship from the Little East, New Jersey Athletic and Presidents' Athletic Conferences). It would allow student-athletes to apply money they earn from team fundraising efforts toward necessary and actual expenses for the specific item (such as uniforms or trips, for example). Any additional dollars would go to the institution, athletics department or team.

The proposal resembles a concept the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee suggested earlier this year that would permit institutions to "earmark" funds "earned" by an individual student-athlete toward his or her fundraising obligation, based on a desire to recognize that some student-athletes may devote more time to team fundraising activities and should be credited for their effort.

That concept stirred debate during governance meetings at the 2010 Convention in Atlanta, but the Presidents Council decided to take no action and instead let member conferences propose legislation this year in that regard.

The other fully sponsored proposal is from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (with co-sponsorship from the Little East Conference) and would permit voluntary workouts conducted by a certified strength and conditioning coach at any time during the calendar year because they would not be considered athletically related activities.

Of the five additional proposals that still need further sponsorship, three are from the Empire 8. One of those would permit student-athletes to participate in triathlons without affecting eligibility for their sport (cross country, track or swimming). Those student-athletes would still be required to adhere to amateurism rules.

The other two Empire 8 proposals relate to the number of student-athletes permitted in the bench area during NCAA championships. Both state that in applicable sports, an institution could determine how many student-athletes from its current active roster it desires to have dressed, participate in warm-ups and seated on the bench or in the bench area for an NCAA championship contest while still adhering to the maximum number of student-athletes eligible to compete in a particular championship (as determined by that sports championship policy and while maintaining the current per diem policies in all sports). One of the proposals is for sports other than football, while the other includes football, with a cap of 100 student-athletes on the sideline.

The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference is looking for a co-sponsor for its proposal to reduce the maximum contests or dates of competition in all Division III championship sports that have 11 or more contests or dates of competition. The conference is basing its proposal on financial reasons.

The City University of New York Athletic Conference also has submitted a much-anticipated proposal that would establish a Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. The CUNYAC has indicated that it expects to gain co-sponsorship from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

In addition to the Division III proposals, Division II also maintains a July 15 deadline for legislative proposals from member conferences. Those proposals will be announced after the Division II Management Council refers them to various governance committees at its meetings Monday and Tuesday.