News and Features

August 5, 1996

Council to consider Convention proposals

Primary attention will be devoted to the final phase of restructuring legislation, most of which will be addressed on a division-by-division basis.

At the 1996 Convention, delegates in all three divisions approved the framework for a restructured NCAA and left the details until the 1997 event.

At this meeting, the Council and the division steering committees will propose legislation designed to fill in those details. The principal emphasis will involve establishment of a committee substructure for the Association and for each division.

The Transition Oversight Committee has recommended 10 general committee functions that it believes should be designated as Association-wide in the new structure. It also recommends that sports committees with rules-making responsibilities should span the Association.

Beyond those functions, however, each division will be on its own in determining how it wants to address many major issues, including such vital matters as academic requirements and financial aid.

The Division II transition team is recommending a traditional approach, proposing high-level administrative and budget/finance committees, eight general committees and committees for all sports in which championships are conducted. Division III has recommended something similar, except it would have only seven general committees.

The Division I transition team, however, has recommended a "cabinet" approach, in which most division-specific committee functions will be dealt with through four cabinets, each containing either 26 or 34 people, depending on the function.

Regardless of the approach, all of the division substructures will have to be determined through legislation, as will the overall Association committee structure.

Other Division II issues

One major topic in Division II that relates indirectly to restructuring is the enhancement of the institutional self-study process for that division. At the 1996 Convention, the Division II membership decisively defeated an athletics certification program, but it was advised that general Association funds still could be used to finance a related initiative if it were approved at the 1997 Convention. Since January, Division II members of the NCAA Presidents Commission have concluded that the best approach for the division is to strengthen the Institutional Self-Study Guide, rather than implementing a certification plan.

The presidents also are recommending greater emphasis on Division II rules-compliance efforts, which would be paid for from the funds that were going to be used to finance Division II certification. In the new approach, expenses could involve additional staffing or travel for compliance reviews and seminars. However, the financial outlay would be substantially smaller than an athletics certification program would have been.

Committee reports

Major issues for discussion for the full Council include reports from the June meeting of the Presidents Commission, the Transition Oversight Committee, the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, and the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism (see story, page 1).

Other reports will be provided by the NCAA Special Events, Recruiting, Professional Sports Liaison, Olympic Sports Liaison, National Youth Sports Program, Minority Opportunities and Interests, Legislative Review, Eligibility, Communications and Academic Requirements Committees; the Committees on Women's Athletics and Infractions; the Special Committee to Oversee Implementation of NCAA the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse; and the Administrative Review Panel.

Besides restructuring issues and division-specific legislative proposals, the Division I Steering Committee will review recommendations from the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification, including that committee's proposal for including sportsmanship and ethical conduct as a component in the certification program.

The Division III Steering Committee will receive reports from the three subcommittees of the Division III Task Force to Review the NCAA Membership Structure: membership, governance and championships.

Highlights of the Council's August meeting will be reported in the September 2 issue of The NCAA News.