National Collegiate Athletic Association

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The NCAA News -- June 7, 1999

Presidents Council minutes

Following are the minutes of the April 20, 1999, meeting of the Division III Presidents Council at the Washington Monarch Hotel in Washington, D.C. All actions taken by the Presidents Council are included. Highlights of the meeting were reported in the May 10, 1999, issue of The NCAA News.

1. Announcements. Ann H. Die welcomed guests and introduced new members. The Council agreed to alter the distribution of its meetings materials to give greater emphasis to summary materials. The Council also requested an August Presidents Council orientation session for all new members.

2. Review roster, committee assignments and future meeting schedules. The Presidents Council reviewed all information as distributed.

3. Previous Minutes. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes of the following meetings: January 9, 1999; joint Management Council/Presidents Council meeting; January 10, 1999, Presidents Council meeting; February 11, 1999, Administrative Committee teleconference; and January 8-9, 1999, Management Council meeting.

It was voted that the minutes of the January 9, 1999, meeting; joint Management Council/Presidents Council meeting; the January 10, 1999, Presidents Council meeting; and the February 11, 1999, Administrative Committee teleconference be approved as distributed.

4. Report of the NCAA Executive Committee meetings and teleconferences. The Presidents Council reviewed the minutes of the January 12, 1999, Executive Committee meeting and the February 19, 24 and 26, 1999, telephone conferences and discussed four key issues and their impact on the Association:

a. Restricted-earnings settlement.

b. Initial-eligibility standards (Cureton case).

c. Baseball bats and blue ribbon panel update.

d. Budget process (Association-wide and 1999-00 divisional allocations).

5. Report of the April 12-13, 1999, Division III Management Council Meeting.

a. Review of Division III strategic plan. The Presidents Council reviewed the background and development of the plan and the status regarding the accomplishment of objectives. The Presidents Council also noted that funding of initiatives will continue to be based on the objectives in the plan.

b. Committee reports.

(1) Association-wide committees.

(a) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The Presidents Council endorsed the actions of the Management Council.

(b) Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council recommendations and forwarded to the Executive Committee the prioritized preliminary budget requests from the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.

i. Priority No. 1 -- enhance ethnic minority and female participation in nontraditional sports YES clinics ($100,000).

ii. Priority No. 2 -- Enhance opportunities for ethnic minority women in athletics administration. ($10,000)

iii. Priority No. 3 -- Video and workshop regarding minority enhancement in athletics ($20,000).

(c) Olympic Sports Liaison Committee. The Presidents Council endorsed the actions of the Management Council.

(d) Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. The Presidents Council endorsed the Management Council recommendation to include the Divisions I, II and III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in the development of criteria for the new sportsmanship award.

(e) Committee on Women's Athletics. The Presidents Council reviewed recommendations from the Administrative Committee related to the Division III process to address the Gender Equity and Diversity Audit. The Presidents Council noted the importance of chief executive officer leadership on campuses relative to:

i. Leadership roles and hiring of women and minorities.

ii. Increasing participation opportunities and sports sponsorship for women.

The Presidents Council also expressed its desire for a diversity discussion session for Division III at the 2000 NCAA Convention.

(2) Management Council subcommittees.

(a) Convention Planning Subcommittee. The Presidents Council:

i. Approved and forwarded to the Executive Committee the Management Council recommendation to secure a prominent individual to provide the Association-wide keynote address during the NCAA Convention opening business session.

ii. Endorsed the tentative 2000 NCAA Convention Division III business schedule and recommended continued inclusion of student-athletes in the Division III business sessions and a discussion session on gender and ethnic diversity in Division III, including concepts for partnerships with NFSHAA and ACE; building K-12 diversity partnerships and utilizing data from the ad hoc report.

(b) Governance Structure Evaluation Subcommittee. The Presidents Council endorsed the Management Council recommendations, noting the expectation that all Division III and Association-wide committees review relevant areas of the committee structure, update committee operations plans and report back by June 29, 1999.

(d) Subcommittee to Review Nontraditional Seasons. The Presidents Council:

i. Requested that each Presidents Council member receive a transcript related to the "nontraditional segment discussion session" from the 1999 NCAA Convention Division III business session.

ii. Recommended that the subcommittee:

  • Articulate the principles which are the basis for any action and/or modification.

  • Identify the specific scope of problems and reasons for modification.

    (3) Division III committees.

    (a) Budget Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council:

    i. Prioritized budget initiatives and recommendations for the preliminary 1999-00 Division III budget initiatives and agreed to forward them to the Division III Budget Committee for final recommendation.

    ii. Recommendation that the Division III Budget Committee consider identifying funds to encumber, beginning with the 2000-01 budget for membership educational initiatives and student-athlete welfare to be implemented by the Division III committee structure consistent with the Division III strategic plan.

    The Presidents Council also noted that Division III reserves should remain untouched at least until the status of the next NCAA basketball television contract is determined.

    (b) Championships Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council recommendations to:

    i. Increase individual-team sport field sizes in men's and women's cross country and men's and women's tennis.

    ii. Add 16 relay-only swimmers to the men's and women's championships.

    iii. Allow both individuals tied for the last place to participate in men's and women swimming championships.

    iv. Fund from Division III championships budget the standardization of the championships experience.

    v. Fund increases in officiating fees in several sports.

    vi. Fund increases limited to Pool C brackets for selected sports to facilitate the implementation of the new championships automatic-qualification legislation (1999 NCAA Convention Proposal No. 38). It was noted that the revised bracket sizes would reflect a 1:7.5 access ratio in all team sports.

    (c) Interpretations and Legislation Committee. The Presidents Council:

    i. Approved the sponsorship of legislation to amend Bylaw 5.3.1.1.1 as recommended by the Management Council.

    ii. Requested that the committee review and evaluate the current legislative process for Division III, including membership requirements and dates for submission of proposed legislation.

    (d) Membership Committee. The Presidents Council approved the Management Council recommendations to:

    i. Approve a provisional member four-year education program schedule to ensure that the needs of provisional members are met, while making the most effective use of resources at the Convention.

    ii. Require faculty athletics representatives and senior woman administrators to attend a provisional-member orientation session.

    iii. Fund an educational video conference for fall 1999 to educate Division III active members on legislative issues.

    (e) Nominating Committee. The Presidents Council approved all Management Council recommendations for committee appointments.

    (f) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The Presidents Council deferred action regarding Division III student-athlete representation on NCAA Association-wide committees, noting the differences proposed between divisions.

    6. NCAA legislation.

    a. Review of noncontroversial legislation adopted by the Management Council per NCAA Constitution 5.3.1.1.1. The Presidents Council endorsed the Management Council recommendation to sponsor noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 31.7.2.1.4 (meeting frequency) for all Division III committees, beginning September 1, 1999. The Presidents Council forwarded to the Executive Committee the same recommendation regarding Association-wide committees.

    7. Update on nomination process for vacancies on the Presidents Council. The Presidents Council:

    a. Ratified the slate of nominees and term recommendations to fill four August 1999 vacancies, created by the adoption of 1999 NCAA Convention Proposal No. 26:

    i. Stanley Caine, Adrian College.

    ii. Dan DiBiasio, Wilmington College (Ohio).

    iii. Muriel Moore, Buffalo State College.

    iv. Jeanie Watson, Nebraska Wesleyan University.

    b. Ratified the appointment process for membership notification and voting. The Presidents Council also requested that the staff provide each Council member with an updated list of all Division III chief executive officers