The NCAA Executive Committee rolled up its sleeves and did some hands-on work with the Association's strategic plan during its April 25 meeting in Indianapolis.

The four-phase plan, which is expected to be ready for the Executive Committee's final review a year from now, was identified as a priority when NCAA President Myles Brand took office in January. It involves input from every major NCAA constituency and is meant to provide a "road map" for what the NCAA envisions itself becoming in the future. Because the plan involves so many issues and so many groups, the NCAA has retained outside assistance from Tecker Consultants of Trenton, New Jersey.

Executive Committee members met with Glenn Tecker, president and CEO of the firm, who led them through the nuts and bolts of the process, as well as through an hour-long "strategic-thinking" discussion.

"One of the primary themes already emerging from stakeholder discussions is the desire for the NCAA to lead, not just regulate and enforce," Tecker told the Executive Committee. "If the plan truly is to lead, the NCAA needs to discuss current conditions, trends that are important and goals about what the NCAA could and should be. First, you must determine what you want to accomplish, then what it will take to accomplish it, then how to organize to best get it done."

Tecker said that historically, members volunteered to be a part of the NCAA because they felt that collectively, they could protect and administer what they believed had value and purpose (college sports). But one of the goals for the strategic plan is to augment the NCAA's service mission with a leadership mission. That is, service (which should be interpreted to include the NCAA's regulatory functions) and leadership will direct future actions of the Association.

The session was an important one for the Executive Committee since it eventually will be the group to sign off on the plan. Brand in fact told the group he expects it to grab the reins with authority. "We will use all the groups and constituencies to gather data, but I'm counting on you to be the leadership group," he said.

Executive Committee members took steps to ensure a high level of presidential involvement, asking that the plan include every opportunity for all CEOs, not just those involved in the NCAA governance structure, to contribute. In that vein, the NCAA will use other presidential-based settings to provide college and university CEOs an opportunity to contribute to the dialogue for the strategic plan.

As for other NCAA constituents, several stakeholder groups composed of college and university presidents, athletics administrators, faculty and others already have met to conduct strategic-thinking sessions, and several key issues have emerged. A complete summary of the Divisions I, II and III sessions can be found in the April 28 issue of The NCAA News, as well as on NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org). In fact, because the goal is to have the plan be as transparent and member-friendly as possible, extensive updates will be included in each issue of The NCAA News (see pages 22-23 in this issue) through the 2004 Convention. Also, a section of NCAA Online will be devoted to informing the membership about the strategic-planning process and providing extensive information about the plan. The Web site also will provide the membership with the opportunity to ask questions or provide comments.

Brand told the Executive Committee that he is looking for the strategic plan to prompt the Association to be the "leading light" for collegiate athletics. "Intercollegiate sports affects our culture and the lives of young people," he said. "Those young people will be our future leaders. We're helping to shape that culture."

Equity issues

Executive Committee members addressed two equity issues during their meeting, including a reaffirmation of their support for Title IX. The Committee has been out front in expressing its desire for Association involvement and to publicly support the law.

In that light, the Committee wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige that emphasizes those desires. The entire text of the letter accompanies this article.

The Executive Committee also discussed the issue of American Indian mascots, nicknames and imagery and decided to refer input from divisional groups to its subcommittee on gender and diversity for further review before making a final recommendation in August.

At its November 2002 meeting, the Executive Committee referred a Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee report on the use of American Indian mascots in intercollegiate athletics to the divisional governance structures for input. Over the next few months, the Executive Committee's subcommittee on gender and diversity will draft a proposal incorporating that input into an Association-wide recommendation for the Executive Committee's review in August.

"This is an important issue for the entire Association, and we want to take the proper steps to help ensure the NCAA leadership acts in a responsible manner," said Executive Committee Chair Carol Cartwright, president of Kent State University. "As it stands now, we are moving closer to a consensus on a position for the Association on this critical matter."

New president orientation

In other action, Brand introduced a new orientation concept for first-time college and university presidents. He told the Executive Committee that the plan will be to provide presidents who are new to the job with a brief overview and orientation to athletics -- particularly the NCAA -- during their first year by sending a small team to campus to meet with the president and essential staff. The team would include two NCAA staff members and a sitting or recently retired president from a similarly situated university or college.

"This should serve to create a knowledge base that is more efficient than the normal break-in process," Brand said.

The new model will begin as a pilot program and will be implemented beginning with next year's new presidents.

The Executive Committee also took a look at budget issues during its April meeting. The group noted that based on the projected revenues and the actions from last year, about $7.6 million remains to fund base budget adjustments for 2003-04.

Executive Committee members approved the following recommendations for allocating those dollars:

A 2 percent adjustment for Division I championships to cover increased costs in travel and game expenses.

A $2.5 million adjustment for the Association's insurance programs. The Executive Committee previously approved a one-time $2 million allocation from the 2002 surplus to address insurance in the event the Division I Men's Basketball Championship should be canceled. The proposed base adjustments would fund that increase on a permanent basis for the Men's Final Four. The allocation also would implement the insurance task force recommendations of increasing the student-athlete death benefit from $10,000 to $25,000 and increase the general liability limits from $25 million to $40 million.

A $555,000 adjustment to fund increases in contracted and base services for 2003-04. Most of the increases are guaranteed by contract or necessary to carry out the current level of services.

A $750,000 adjustment to replace funding for the leadership and scholarship programs that have historically been funded by the NCAA Foundation. The allotted funds represent about one-third of the required resources.

A $1.965 million allocation for the president's priorities identified in the strategic plan once it is complete, as well as other initiatives that have been identified by Brand.

Executive Committee emphasizes Title IX support in letter to Paige

The following is a letter the NCAA Executive Committee sent to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige April 25 supporting Title IX. The letter was signed by Executive Committee Chair Carol Cartwright, president of Kent State University, and copied to President Bush.

As chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Executive Committee, I am writing to express the committee's support for the continued implementation of Title IX as it currently is structured and to express the committee's concern that the law and its interpretations might be altered in ways that would set back the progress made over the last 31 years.

Each member of the NCAA Executive Committee is a college or university president who has been intimately involved in efforts to comply with Title IX. We bring a level of expertise to the application of the law on the campus with regard to athletics that is unique. The Executive Committee represents all types of institutions, and we believe our practical experience in Title IX compliance will be valuable in your considerations.

There is no question that Title IX has provided civil rights impetus to ensuring equity of opportunity in athletics and other areas of higher education that would have been impossible to achieve without the enforcement that the law proscribed. Indeed, little progress toward athletics equity was made during those years when application of Title IX was held at bay. The effect of any further such reduction in enforcement would be devastating to the efforts of all of us who have worked to ensure that both men and women can benefit from the educational and character development nature of athletics participation. Our worst fear is that recommendations of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics will be accepted that will freeze participation for women at the current level and inhibit further growth.

In the last couple of weeks, a number of colleges have announced new cuts to their athletics programs. There undoubtedly will be more. The decisions to cut programs should not be blamed on Title IX. The fact is that colleges and universities are facing significant and complex financial dilemmas. Hard economic times demand hard economic choices, and each of us as college presidents are being confronted with such decisions on a daily basis. The choices, however, are institutionally based. They are the result of new priorities, changes in emphasis or philosophy, diminishing resources, or all of the above. In the judgment of the Executive Committee, Title IX is not the reason for these cuts.

It is our position that Title IX and its enforcement policies should not be changed. The three-part test for compliance provides sufficient flexibility. The proportionality target in prong one provides an objective measure for successful compliance. However, it is not the only or even the most-used measure of success. Two-thirds of all the cases reviewed by the Office for Civil Rights have been settled using the second and third prongs.

The answer for higher education is not to change Title IX. We believe that the answer is to enforce Title IX consistently and fairly. The NCAA Executive Committee urges the Department of Education to do so.

NCAA President Myles Brand has stated the Association's position in a straightforward manner and one that the Executive Committee fully supports: Title IX is not broken and does not need to be fixed. Rather, it needs to be supported, enforced and allowed to finish the job it was designed to do -- provide equal opportunities for athletics participation without gender bias.