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Convention participants will have the opportunity to hear from the NCAA enforcement staff, including new Vice President Julie Roe Lach, in an educational session Jan. 14.

The session replaces the traditional Division I Issues Forum and is meant to provide for an open discussion between administrators and the enforcement staff.

Lach, who replaced former enforcement head David Price in December, said the Convention is a great chance for her and her staff to meet with an audience that might not attend other conferences or events such as the Regional Rules Seminars that enforcement personnel frequent.

The session will highlight each branch of the enforcement staff: major infractions; secondary infractions; agents, gambling and amateurism; and the basketball focus group. Each group will give a brief presentation about its work, trends the staff is seeing and what issues administrators should  be aware of on their campuses. The staff will take questions throughout the presentation.

Lach said she will also talk about the recent focus on issues in football as well as other enforcement trends.

The goal, she said, is to provide an overview of the department and focus on current trends while providing a dialogue with the membership.

“We want to hear the membership’s perspective relative to enforcement priorities areas of focus,” Lach said. In addition to the Convention session, Lach has visited several campuses and conference offices in her short tenure as vice president. She has more such visits planned.

“We need the help of the membership,” she said. “We need their expertise. I want to make sure our department understands what issues our membership believes pose the most pressing threat to college sports.  As we set our priorities for the enforcement program, we want to do so with the knowledge, understanding and support of the membership.”

The traditional Division I issues forum and Division I business session are not scheduled for the 2011 Convention since there is no override vote. Division I attendees will have the opportunity to attend a session on the athletics certification program on the afternoon of Jan. 14 with the opportunity for a private session with certification staff members.

To register for Convention or for more information about the annual meeting, click here.