National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

December 15, 1997

Division II to consider 19 proposals in Atlanta

Following is a summary of proposed legislation that will be considered January 12 by the Division II membership during the NCAA Convention in Atlanta. A summary of proposed legislation in Division III will appear in the December 22 issue of The NCAA News.

Division II will consider 19 proposals -- including seven designated by the Division II Presidents Council for roll-call votes -- when it convenes its first legislative business session in the new governance structure.

Four of the seven roll-call proposals -- all included in the Presidents Council grouping of proposals -- and a total of 11 proposals are sponsored by the Presidents Council, acting on recommendations from the Division II Management Council and the Association's committee structure.

The remaining eight proposals are sponsored by Division II conferences and institutions.

The Presidents Council's grouping of roll-call proposals includes measures that are regarded as being of particular interest to Division II chief executive officers. The grouping includes these proposals sponsored by the Presidents Council:

  • A proposal to require every Division II conference to form a conference student-athlete advisory committee as a condition of Division II membership. The purpose of the proposal is to promote the involvement of student-athletes in the administration of intercollegiate athletics at the regional and national levels.

  • A proposal to include conference staff members in legislation that currently prohibits student-athletes and institutional athletics staff members from participating in gambling activities.

  • A proposal to reduce the number of equivalency scholarships for cross country and track at schools that sponsor only cross country. The proposal would limit such institutions to six cross country scholarships for women and five for men (a similar proposal sponsored by two Division II conferences and also included in the Presidents Council grouping would set the limit at five for each gender).

  • A proposal placing limits on contact practices in spring football. The proposal resulted from discussions involving the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and the American Football Coaches Association.

    The Presidents Council also has scheduled roll-call votes on membership proposals that would:

  • Exclude a Pell Grant from counting as part of a grant-in-aid, as was done in Division I at the 1996 Convention.

  • Decrease the permissible number of football scholarships in Division II from the equivalent of 36 financial aid awards to 30.

    The Presidents Council has taken no position to date on the membership proposals but also regards them as important to institutional presidents.

    Other topics

    Votes also are scheduled in Division II on proposals dealing with amateurism, eligibility, and playing-and-practice-seasons legislation.

    The one proposal involving amateurism legislation would permit national governing bodies in Olympic sports to provide educational expenses to qualified current and prospective student-athletes. The Presidents Council is sponsoring the proposal on the recommendation of the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee.

    Three of four proposals dealing with eligibility matters also are sponsored by the Presidents Council. The three proposals would:

  • Specify additional instances in which a violation of NCAA legislation would be classified as de minimus and would not render a prospective or enrolled student-athlete ineligible.

  • Specify circumstances in which institutions will not be required to declare a student-athlete who receives an improper benefit ineligible, provided the student-athlete repays the value of the benefit.

  • Permit a student-athlete who enrolls in a joint college/high-school program to participate in extracurricular activities (other than intercollegiate athletics) without starting the student's "eligibility clock."

    Division II institutions also are sponsoring a proposal dealing with eligibility legislation.

    The proposal would permit a student-athlete who has transferred to a second four-year institution but did not receive athletically related financial aid or participate in intercollegiate athletics to transfer to a third four-year institution and use the one-time transfer exception.

    The playing-and-practice seasons proposals include one Presidents Council proposal and two measures sponsored by the membership.

    The Presidents Council is sponsoring a proposal to permit student-athletes in the sport of diving to practice beyond the end of the swimming practice season, provided those students engage in no more than a 144-day playing season.

    In addition, two Division II conferences are sponsoring companion proposals that would permit institutions to exempt annually up to two basketball contests against either foreign teams or "club" members of USA Basketball from limits on the permissible number of contests.

    'General' grouping

    Division II members also will consider four measures grouped under the heading of "general" proposals.

    Two are sponsored by the Presidents Council. They would:

  • Establish a Divisions I and II core-course review committee. Adoption is contingent on approval of the proposal in the Division I governance structure, where the Division I Board of Presidents recently tabled the measure for further study.

  • Add two members of the Men's and Women's Tennis Committee to ensure that all Division II regions are guaranteed representation on the committee.

    The grouping of legislation is rounded out by two membership proposals. They would:

  • Permit institutions to conduct tryouts of currently enrolled students prior to the beginning of the playing and practice season.

  • Give conferences authority to impose disciplinary or corrective actions in selected secondary infractions cases, as prescribed by the Division II Committee on Infractions. The sponsors are seeking a more expeditious review of such cases and greater uniformity in penalties imposed.

    Summary

    Following is a summary of proposals that will be considered by Division II in Atlanta, including the sponsor of each proposal, any positions taken on the proposal by NCAA committees, and the proposed effective date. Proposals adopted by the membership will become effective in August 1998 unless noted otherwise; an immediate effective date must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership in order for a proposal to become effective upon adjournment of the Convention.

    Presidents Council grouping

    No. 1: Require each Division II conference to establish a conference student-athlete advisory committee as a condition and obligation of Division II membership. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council. Roll-call vote.

    No. 2: Specify that the provisions of Bylaw 10.3 (Gambling Activities) are applicable to staff members of member conferences. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the former NCAA Eligibility Committee. Roll-call vote.

    No. 3: Specify that a Pell Grant shall not be included when determining the permissible amount of a full grant-in-aid for a student-athlete. Sponsored by the Lone Star Conference and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Division II Legislation Committee position: Support. Roll-call vote.

    No. 4: Limit, to the equivalent of five awards for men and six awards for women, the value of financial aid awards that an institution that sponsors cross country but not indoor or outdoor track may provide student-athletes in the sport of cross country. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council. Effective August 1, 2000. Roll-call vote.

    No. 5: Limit, to the equivalent of five awards for men and five awards for women, the value of financial aid awards that an institution that sponsors cross country but not indoor or outdoor track may provide student-athletes in the sport of cross country. Sponsored by the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferences. Division II Legislation Committee position: None, but the committee noted a preference for 1998 Convention Proposal No. 4. Roll-call vote.

    No. 6: Decrease the limit on the value of financial aid awards that an institution may provide in any academic year to counters in Division II football from the equivalent of 36 awards to 30. Sponsored by 15 institutions. Division II Legislation Committee position: None. Effective August 1, 2001. Roll-call vote.

    No. 7: In football, specify that 12 of the spring practice sessions may involve contact, provided contact does not occur prior to the third practice session; specify that full-contact, 11-on-11 sessions are limited to three of the 12 practice sessions; and further, reduce the number of spring football contact sessions that may involve tackling to eight. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. Immediate effective date sought. Roll-call vote.

    Amateurism grouping

    No. 8: Permit U.S. national governing bodies to award educational expenses to individuals (prospective or enrolled student-athletes) under conditions set forth in Bylaw 15.2.5.5. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee.

    Eligibility grouping

    No. 9: Specify additional instances in which a de minimus violation will not render a prospective or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the former NCAA Eligibility Committee. Immediate effective date sought.

    No. 10: Specify circumstances in which an institution does not have to declare ineligible and seek restoration on behalf of an individual (prospective or enrolled student-athlete) who received an improper benefit while a prospect, provided the individual repays the value of the improper benefit. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the former NCAA Eligibility Committee. Immediate effective date sought.

    No. 11: Specify that a student-athlete who is enrolled in a joint college/high-school program for outstanding high-school students may participate in extracurricular activities (other than intercollegiate athletics), without using a term or terms of eligibility, provided the student is classified as a special student and is not considered by the college to be regularly matriculated. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the former NCAA Academic Requirements Committee. Immediate effective date sought.

    No. 12: Permit a student-athlete who attended a four-year institution, did not receive athletically related financial aid and did not participate in intercollegiate athletics (other than in limited preseason tryouts) to exclude attendance at that institution for purposes of applying the one-time transfer exception. Sponsored by 15 institutions.

    Playing and practice seasons grouping

    No. 13: Permit Division II institutions to exempt annually not more than two exhibition contests against a foreign team in the United States from the maximum number of permissible basketball contests during any year in which it does not utilize an exempted contest against a "club" member of USA Basketball. Sponsored by the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferences. Division II Legislation Committee position: Support.

    No. 14: Permit Division II institutions to exempt annually not more than two exhibition contests against a "club" member of USA Basketball from the maximum number of permissible basketball contests during any year in which it does not utilize an exempted contest against a foreign team in the United States. Sponsored by the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferences. Division II Legislation Committee position: Support.

    No. 15: Permit a Division II student-athlete who is a diver to engage in diving practice sessions beyond the conclusion of the institution's swimming and diving playing season, provided any student-athlete does not engage in more than a 144-day playing season. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council on recommendation from the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee.

    'General' grouping

    No. 16: Permit Division II institutions to conduct tryouts of currently enrolled students prior to the beginning of the playing and practice season under specified circumstances. Sponsored by 15 institutions. Division II Legislation Committee position: None.

    No. 17: Permit selected secondary violations that have occurred for the first time in a particular sport, and for which the Division II Committee on Infractions has prescribed appropriate disciplinary or corrective actions, to be processed at the conference level. Sponsored by 15 institutions.

    No. 18: Establish a standing common core-course review committee to assist in the development of policies related to the identification of core courses, and to review courses in the various academic disciplines (English, mathematics, natural/physical science, social studies and additional courses) that have been denied by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse for use in meeting the initial-eligibility core-curriculum standards. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council. Immediate effective date sought. Legislation also must be approved in Division I governance structure to create common committee.

    No. 19: Increase the Division II Men's and Women's Tennis Committee from six to eight members; further, specify that four members of the committee shall represent men's tennis interests and four members shall represent women's tennis interests, including three positions allocated for men, three allocated for women and two unallocated. Sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council; recommended by the Division II Management Council. Immediate effective date sought.