National Collegiate Athletic Association
2013 NCAA Convention
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Management Council vice chair Karen Stromme of Minnesota Duluth addresses members during a Wednesday morning session.
DII membership mixed on ending 48-hour restriction
By David Pickle
NCAA.org
As Saturday’s Division II business session approaches, concerns could be emerging with an element of Proposal No. 2013-7.
Notes
LipmanHearn, a promotions and marketing firm, will interview a range of Division II constituents throughout the Convention as part of a brand audit expected to be complete by the end of March. Josh Looney, associate director of Division II, said the firm will evaluate membership consumption of Division II information, how the members receive information and also the emotional impact of Division II as it conducts a comprehensive review of the Division II Strategic Positioning Platform … Looney also told the Management Council that a review of the annual Community Engagement Award of Excellence is under way. Although the award comes with a $500 prizes, not all conferences have entered the annual competition. Community engagement is one of the pillars of the Division II Strategic Positioning Platform … The Management Council recommended Wednesday that the Presidents Council approve emergency legislation that would permit institutions, conferences or the NCAA to purchase health insurance and cover other medical expenses deemed necessary for student-athletes, even if the benefit is not available to all students. The Presidents Council will consider the proposal Thursday … The Management Council’s outgoing class is unusually large, with eight members leaving. Wednesday’s meeting was the final one for Rick Cole (former chair), Barb Hannum, Dan Kenney, Leonza Loftin, Ann Martin (chair), Sandy Michael, Bren Stevens (vice chair) and Kathy Turner.
That proposal would modify and generally simplify rules governing official and unofficial campus visits. The overall proposal is rather large, consuming 19 pages in the Official Notice. However, the concern appears to relate primarily to a single section that would eliminate the portion restricting official visits to 48 hours.
The Division II Manual currently devotes about one-half page to describing how to count the 48 hours and how to deal with variables such as illness. That complexity leads to a large number of annual waiver requests, which the Legislation Committee is seeking to address through eliminating the restriction. The committee also believes that few institutions have the financial ability (or desire) to extend official visits indefinitely.
The Legislation Committee has developed a “talking points” document that seeks to address some of the concerns that have been addressed. That document was distributed to the Management Council, the Conference Commissioners Association and the compliance association.
Stephanie Quigg Smith, director of academic and membership affairs, said some members have expressed an interest in dividing the vote on Proposal No. 2013-7, and she said the Convention parliamentarian has ruled that a divided vote is possible.
However, she said the Legislation Committee recommends that if a majority of delegates are concerned about deregulating the 48-hour restriction, they should vote down the entire proposal.
“It can be divided,” she told Division II Management Council members Wednesday morning, “but if a motion to divide is made, it must be proper and very specific. If it’s not, it will be ruled out of order.
“Ultimately, if the membership doesn’t want to eliminate the 48-hour restriction, the Legislation Committee would prefer for them to vote No. 2013-7 in its entirety. They’ll address the concern and bring it back for another vote in the future.”
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