Jan 6, 2010 9:49:41 AM

One of the lightest legislative agendas in recent years gives Division III delegates to the 2010 NCAA Convention an opportunity to focus on the future.

However, while much of that focus will be on a strategic-positioning platform resulting from the ongoing "identity initiative," Division III also will initiate discussion of ways institutional presidents can become more strategically involved in oversight of intercollegiate athletics and of a possible academic-reporting initiative.

Presidential leadership in athletics will be the headline item at Division III's general business session January 16 in Atlanta, and that discussion is expected to benefit from the presence of more than 100 institutional presidents who have preregistered to attend this year's Convention.

The business session's only scheduled roll-call vote touches directly on the topic. Delegates will vote on a proposed amendment to the Division III philosophy statement that would express for the first time the division's expectation that institutional presidents and chancellors have "ultimate responsibility and final authority for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics programs at the institutional, conference and national governance levels."

The Division III Presidents Council decided last fall to include only that proposal – one of nine scheduled for consideration at the Convention – in a legislative grouping intended to call attention to proposals regarded as strategic in focus and highly important to presidents.

Time also is scheduled during the business session for a report on future activities that will seek to further support presidential leadership. That report will be presented by Presidents Council chair-elect James Harris of Widener. In addition, the initiative will be a primary topic of the annual presidents and chancellors luncheon January 15, as well as a luncheon that day for senior institutional administrators (such as vice presidents) who have responsibility for athletics oversight.

The other eight proposals include two sponsored by member conferences and supported by the Presidents Council. Those proposals would permit "walk-through" sessions during the early days of preseason football practice and eliminate the distinction in transfer rules between students suspended for disciplinary reasons and those with academic or other issues.

Six other proposals sponsored by the Council are led by a proposal to set the end date for both the fall and spring nontraditional segments five weekdays before the beginning of an institution's final exams.

All nine of this year's proposals can be found in the Division III Official Notice. Delegates also will receive the most recent version of a question-and-answer document covering all of the proposals as part of the packet they receive upon checking in at the Convention registration desk. Time also is scheduled to briefly review the proposals during the Division III issues forum January 15.

Another future-focused topic will be addressed during a session scheduled as part of the Convention's annual menu of educational programming.

That session focusing on the idea of implementing an academic-reporting program in Division III is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. January 14. It will review plans for a pilot program recently approved by the Presidents Council to explore the possibility of calculating graduation and academic success rates for Division III student-athletes and features a panel that also will discuss philosophical, practical and policy issues that might arise from the initiative.

The panelists are Dennis Leighton, faculty athletics representative at the University of New England; Tim Millerick, vice president of student affairs and athletics at Austin College; Michael Miranda, NCAA associate director for research; Debra Townsley, president of Nichols College; and Richard H. Wells, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.

Another session of particular interest to Division III delegates, presented by the National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators, will focus on the role that athletics departments play in building community relationships. It is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. January 14 and will feature administrators representing six Division III member institutions.

The NCAA News will publish a daily hard-copy edition for delegates covering Convention actions from the previous day's business, including from pre-Convention meetings of the Division III Management and Presidents Councils. It will provide additional coverage online at www.ncaa.org.

For a complete Convention schedule, click here.