National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

January 12, 1998

Division II discussions to set future course

The Division II business session at this year's Convention will look much like past years' meetings, but like everything else in the newly restructured Association, it will be different.

In fact, Division II leaders believe this year's session will be a good picture of what future Conventions will look like -- a blend of the old and the new.

The old: Division II members will vote on 19 legislative proposals, using the traditional one-school, one-vote approach that gives each institution direct input into decision-making. (A review of proposed legislation in Division II appears on page C-6 of this issue of The NCAA News.)

The new: Much more time will be spent this year reviewing issues and discussing topics that don't require a formal vote of the membership but are important just the same.

Members will spend most of the business session discussing matters ranging from revenue distribution to championships policies and procedures to deregulation and rules simplification.

The Division II Presidents Council and Division II Management Council are seeking membership input in areas where the governing bodies have ultimate decision-making responsibility -- areas such as the Division II budget and championships management.

The annual Convention business session offers the best opportunity for the membership to provide such input and for the governing bodies to "take a pulse."

Enhancement-fund distribution

The discussion of most immediate importance at this year's Convention will center on whether to modify the formula that currently is used to distribute the Division II Enhancement Fund to the membership.

The Division II Budget/Finance Committee will consider in March whether to proceed with a recommendation regarding the formula. First, however, the committee will seek membership reaction on the topic in Atlanta.

Last summer, a transition subcommittee that included nearly all of the current members of the Budget/Finance Committee recommended distributing one-half ($1.5 million) of the $3 million enhancement fund equally to each active member institution in good standing and the other half to Division II conferences based on the number of active member institutions in each conference.

The subcommittee based its recommendation on a membership survey that did not show overwhelming support for any of several enhancement-fund alternatives, but did indicate majority support (55 percent of 212 responding institutions) for equal distribution among Division II institutions.

The subcommittee agreed that equal distribution is a fairer method than is currently employed in Division II. The membership survey showed only 44 percent of responding institutions in support of the status quo, in which distribution is based partially on participation in the Division II Men's Basketball Championship.

The subcommittee also recommended that Division II conferences should be included in an equal distribution method. The membership survey revealed significant support for such an approach.

Responding to specific enhancement-fund alternatives, nearly half of the respondents (48 percent) responded positively to a proposal suggested by Division II conference commissioners to base distribution of half of the enhancement fund on conference size and championship sponsorship.

Such an approach attracted significantly more support than a proposal to base distribution solely on sports sponsorship; only 38 percent of respondents indicated support for a sports-sponsorship approach. The commissioners' model also gained slightly more support than a proposal to distribute the fund in part equally and in part based on sports sponsorship; 47 percent indicated support for the latter approach, but a smaller percentage (26 percent) indicated strong support for the sports-sponsorship approach than indicated strong support for the commissioners' model (35 percent).

Because adoption of a distribution model that includes conferences may result in a few of those conferences receiving less money than under the current method, the subcommittee recommended that the change become effective in 1999-2000 -- giving the conferences time to plan and adjust budgets.

Members of the Budget/Finance Committee are planning to conduct an approximately one-hour-long discussion of the enhancement fund at the Convention.

Division II institutions have the opportunity during that period to express concerns about the recommendations, indicate support for other distribution models that were included in the membership survey or even suggest new alternatives.

Other topics

The business session also will feature a discussion of Division II championships and offer institutions an opportunity to respond to various committee reports.

  • Representatives of the Division II Championships Committee will lead a discussion focusing on a document sent last fall to member institutions that provides an overview of the Division II championships program and describes current championships policies and procedures.

    The discussion will give Division II institutions an opportunity to comment generally on those policies and procedures and specifically address current championship policies like team-selection criteria and site-selection criteria, which are being reviewed by the Championships Committee.

  • Representatives of the Division II Academic Requirements Committee will report on possible changes in the methods used to certify initial eligibility and the procedures followed by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse in evaluating core courses, including a recommendation to involve high schools more significantly in the core-course review process.

    Committee representatives also will offer additional ideas and suggestions regarding initial eligibility and solicit membership comment.

  • Representatives of the Division II Legislation Committee will conduct the Division II membership's first discussion of an anticipated review of deregulation and rules-simplification opportunities.

    After soliciting ideas from the membership in Atlanta, the committee hopes to begin considering deregulation proposals for the 1999 Convention.

  • A project team that considered whether Division II should adopt age-based participation legislation for student-athletes will report its findings and conclusions.

    The Proposal No. 150 Project Team, which was created at last year's Convention, does not support the introduction of legislation limiting Division II student-athletes' eligibility for NCAA competition after the 21st birthday.

    However, the project team noted that further study may be appropriate regarding concerns about determining the amateur status of foreign student-athletes and about the amount of financial aid provided by institutions to foreign student-athletes compared to that provided to domestic student-athletes.

    The Division II business session begins at 8 a.m. January 12 in the Imperial Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Atlanta.

    Division II

    Forums are scheduled during the afternoon of January 11 for chief executive officers and athletics administrators from Division II institutions.

    The Division II Chief Executive Officers Forum will be at 1 p.m. in the Consulate Room of the Marriott Marquis.

    CEOs will be welcomed to Atlanta by Adam W. Herbert, chair of the Division II Presidents Council, and hear a report from NCAA Executive Director Cedric W. Dempsey.

    Topical discussions also are planned during the three-hour session, including the following:

  • Institutional compliance with Title IX and gender equity.

  • Problems at colleges and universities involving sports wagering.

  • Division II financial affairs.

    CEOs also will be provided an opportunity to discuss proposed legislation that will be considered during the Convention's January 12 Division II business session and any other issues of presidential interest.

    The Division II Athletics Administrators Forum also is scheduled for three hours beginning at 1 p.m. in Imperial Ballroom A of the Marriott Marquis.

    Administrators will be welcomed by Lynn L. Dorn, chair of the Division II Management Council.

    Topics for discussion during the forum include:

  • Using the Division II Institutional Self-Study Guide as a compliance tool.

  • Tips on establishing or maintaining effective student-athlete advisory committees at the institutional and conference level.

  • An overview of the NCAA committee nomination process.

  • Enhancing the role of the senior woman administrator at Division II institutions.

    The administrators' forum also will offer an opportunity to discuss proposed legislation and any other issues of interest to administrators.