HUNTINGTON BEACH, California -- The Division II Management Council continued with its efforts to improve the academic performance of Division II student-athletes by agreeing to recommend that the Presidents Council sponsor legislation that would require student-athletes to pass six hours of academic credit in the preceding academic term in order to be eligible for athletics competition.

The proposal, which originated with the Division II Academic Requirements Committee, would be effective with hours earned in the 2005 fall term, if adopted.

While the Council endorsed the notion of keeping student-athletes on a degree track, some members balked at the proposal, questioning whether it adequately factored in hours earned in summer school. Their argument was that as long as a student-athlete earns 24 hours in an academic year, it shouldn't matter how those hours are distributed from one semester to another. In that regard, they believed that student-athletes who are on track to graduate would be penalized because they had one bad semester.

Also, some administrators were concerned that the proposal is a Trojan horse for an outright midyear certification program. While the ARC continues to contemplate the advisability of whether student-athletes should be required to maintain an appropriate grade-point average on a term-by-term basis, it was noted that any decision of that magnitude would also need to be sponsored as a legislative proposal for the membership to consider.

Kevin Hickey, faculty athletics representative at Assumption College, said that anybody who would be affected by the proposed six-hour rule is in academic peril. "Full-time enrollment requires 12 hours," said Hickey, who is liaison to the ARC. "If a student-athlete has passed only three hours, that suggests that he has either failed or withdrawn from three classes and that he should be paying more attention to academics."

While administrative challenges were offered as reasons not to pursue the legislation, the group eventually noted that the requirement would be minimal and that it also has the support of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Other legislation

The Management Council spent most of its time reviewing proposed legislation for the 2004 Convention, and few changes were made to proposals that already were in the legislative pipeline. However, the Council did vote to pull its support of two controversial proposals relating to insurance coverage. One developed by the Legislation Committee as part of the legislative deregulation package would have permitted an institution to provide all medical and dental expenses that it determined to be incidental to a student-athlete's participation. The other, developed by the Association's Risk Management and Insurance Task Force, would have permitted an institution to pay for a student-athlete's medical expenses resulting from any injury or illness, providing such expenses are necessary for the student-athlete to return to competition.

In opposing the proposals, Council members noted that insurance costs could become prohibitive, that institutions willing to fund such expenses would have a major recruiting advantage and that the benefits likely would be unevenly applied from student to student (that is, star athletes would be more likely to realize the benefits). Finally, the Council noted that SAAC opposed the proposal.

The Management Council also revisited Proposal Nos. 21 and 25 from the 2003 Convention. The group agreed that in both cases, the application of the legislation has not matched the intent. Legislation to remedy the problems will be developed soon. In the meantime, member institutions affected by the confusion should use the appeals process.

Women's lacrosse eyewear

In a non-legislative matter, the Council discussed at length an issue involving protective eyewear for women's lacrosse. US Lacrosse, which administers playing rules for women's lacrosse, has voted that protective eyewear be required for participants beginning in the 2005 regular season. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports supported the change for safety reasons and urged that the membership require the eyewear for the 2004 championship and strongly encourage it for the 2004 regular season. A grant program would help institutions that need financial assistance to acquire the eyewear.

In discussing the matter, the Council became concerned about the precedent of purchasing equipment for the membership through such a grant program. It eventually agreed to make the money available as a loan that would be repayable over two years.

(The Council also voted to require the eyewear for the 2004 regular season, subject to a review of whether the NCAA has the authority to modify playing rules maintained by an outside organization for the regular season. That review subsequently determined that the Association does not have such authority. The vote thus reverted to a strong recommendation that the equipment be used for the 2004 regular season and that it be required for the 2004 championship and for the regular and postseason from that point forward. For more information, see a related story on page 20.)

Division II Management Council

July 21-22/Huntington Beach, California

Endorsed a statement of support for NCAA representation on the U.S. Olympic Board of Directors.

Noted that a Division II student-athlete, McLain Schneider of the University of North Dakota, was selected as a 2003 Walter Byers Scholar.

Permitted the use of computer-screen printouts for reporting standardized test scores to fulfill institutional requirements related to official visits.

Delegated to the Membership Committee final authority for making decisions regarding the membership status of reclassifying institutions and established the Management Council as the group to hear appeals from reclassifying institutions.

Supported recommendations from the Committee on Women's Athletics to modify the Division II Institutional Self-Study Guide.

Approved a recommendation from the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to redefine its responsibilities.

Received the final report of the Division II Football Issues Project Team and praised the project team for its work.

Elected a representative from the Pacific West Conference to replace Barbara Flores of Western New Mexico University. The Presidents Council still must ratify Flores' replacement.

Denied a membership appeal to make the Texas State Grant count against individual and institutional financial aid limits.

Discussed the prospects of creating a less bureaucratic, more responsive NCAA.

Paused for a moment of silence in memory of Bruce Harger, former athletics director at Drury University and Division II Management Council member.