CCA plan: Commissioners layout their vision.

DALLAS -- The Division II Conference Commissioners Association rolled out details about how its proposed corporate sponsorship arrangement would enhance exposure of Division II programs across the country during a January 9 panel discussion at the NCAA Convention.

The discussion -- "Division II in Lights...Sponsorships and Television" --stressed the possible television benefits that could occur should the commissioners and Kelly Press meet their sales goals (see "League Leaders attempting to bolster identity, resources" in the July 5, 2004, issue of The NCAA News).

Bob Heigert, commissioner of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, said that corporations are continuing to show interest in the CCA plan. If the sales are completed soon, the commissioners hope to have the plan functioning by September. If so, part of the package likely will be a syndicated television magazine featuring regional and national updates on Division II.

Sam Fuller, Urban's director of syndication, said he believes that a weekly Division II highlights show could be placed right away on 30 stations covering about 25 percent of the nation's homes. Each program would include three to four regional highlights, national features and a local ticker. "Stations are looking for quality programming," he said. "You always hear there's a glut of programming out there, but that's not so."

Heigert said that the membership continues to appear committed to the commissioners' plan. He said 80 member schools have indicated they want to participate fully in the CCA program, with another 130 saying they want to take part on a partial basis. Sixteen have said they don't want to be involved while 34 are uncommitted.

"We hope by fall to have in place this program to help the public understand what Division II is all about," said Alan Patterson, commissioner of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference.

-- David Pickle

Faculty athletic representatives: Better job definitions, visibility needed to enhance role

DALLAS -- Faculty athletics representatives in Division II took another step toward defining their roles in intercollegiate athletics at the 2005 NCAA Convention.

In a Division II education session January 9, a panel of representatives discussed the FAR Professional Development Initiative, its goals, history and process. The members involved with the initiative hope to improve the role of the FAR on campuses, develop leadership skills among Division II FARs and make people in the position more visible on campus.

The Project Steering Committee has met twice and conducted a survey of Division II Conference Commissioners and CEOs at the Convention. The group will establish an FAR Fellows Institute to be held in conjunction with the Division II Regional Student-Athlete Leadership Action Academy this fall, with follow-up at the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association Fall Forum and the 2006 NCAA Convention.

David Brunk, commissioner of the Northeast-10 Conference, said that the role of the FAR can be varied from campus to campus -- from a person with active responsibilities with the athletics department to a title "in name only." He encouraged FARs and CEOs to collaborate at each institution to develop a job description that will be satisfying to everyone.

Clyde Doughty, athletics director at New York Institute of Technology, said the FAR at his institution had a nonexistent role until just two years ago, but things had improved since a job description was drafted. The FAR, he said, was invaluable to him.

"The FAR for me has met a lot of credibility and bridged a lot of gaps between academics and athletics," he said.

Panelist Suzanne Sanregret of Michigan Technological University recommended that FARs be very visible to staff, coaches and student-athletes on campus by getting involved in season start-up meetings and attending games.

Ben Giess, chair of the Division II Student Athlete Advisory Committee, said the FAR at his institution was invaluable to student-athletes in providing a link to the community for mental health, community service and general information.

The Project Steering Committee will now develop training modules in anticipation of the FAR Fellows Institute this fall.

-- Michelle Brutlag Hosick

Model athletics department: Sufficient personnel needed to tackle broad range of duties

DALLAS -- Division II athletics directors distributed a document detailing the model Division II athletics department during a January 9 educational session at the NCAA Convention. How institutions meet that model, they say, is up to the institutions themselves.

While the developers of the model believe that each Division II department should be made up of at least four people -- an athletics director, two additional administrators and an administrative assistant -- they stressed that athletics directors shouldn't believe they need to slot the responsibilities in traditional personnel channels. What is most important, they said, is understanding what needs to be done and having enough people (with enough support) to do it.

The presentation, made principally by Western Oregon University Director of Athletics Jon Carey, was divided into two parts: 21 "guiding principles" and the actual components of a model department.

The first seven principles identified institutional integration and control, CEO oversight, athletics director management, faculty athletics representative and senior woman administrator involvement, the coach's role and student-athlete advisory committee involvement.

The description of the model department itself was divided into four parts: staff, technology, office location and salaries.

While some of the information may have seemed obvious, such as the availability of voice mail, Carey said that nothing should be taken for granted. "It may seem basic," he said, "but it's not always a given that it's there."

The report also described average salaries for Division II athletics administrators ($80,000 for athletics directors, $45,000-$55,000 for associate athletics directors, $30,000-$45,000 for assistant athletics directors and $25,000-$30,000 for administrative assistants).

While Carey acknowledged that salaries vary greatly by region, he said, "It's important to realize that the athletics director is a top administrator on campus and should be identified as such."

As for the flexibility provided by the new draft, Rollins College Athletics Director Phil Roach approved.

"I compliment you on the way you've written this, the way it allows for institutional wiggle," Roach said. "It says that we would like for you to report to the president, but if not, here's what you do. I think that's the right approach to take."

The final document will be distributed to Division II athletics directors and chief executive officers sometime this spring.

-- David Pickle

Dietary supplements: Experts recommend balanced diet over possibly risky alternatives

DALLAS -- Medical health professionals and NCAA officials cautioned Division II delegates about the possible dangers of dietary supplements at a Division II education session held during the 2005 NCAA Convention.

Rochel Rittgers, director of athletic training services at Augustana College (Illinois), urged delegates to educate their student-athletes about banned substances and nutritional supplements. She reported that NCAA drug testing produced 36 positive drug tests in Division II during the 2002-03 school year. Those tests do not include tests done by individual institutions, which are not required to be reported to the NCAA.

"Many of our positive tests are as a result of student-athletes claiming that all they were taking were nutritional supplements," she said, adding that all ingredients in such supplements may not be listed on the label.

Panelists urged student-athletes to practice a balanced diet instead of turning to supplements like protein shakes or other vitamins and minerals.

"You can get the same benefits from products at your local grocery store and you don't have to go to your local supplement store," Rittgers said. Mary Wilfert, assistant director of education outreach for the NCAA, said the Association's Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports discourages people from taking dietary supplements.

Rachel Olander, a resource specialist with the NCAA's drug-testing contractor The National Center for Drug Free Sport, Inc., and a former student-athlete, said the popularity of the dietary supplement industry was only growing, and its safety was sometimes confusing not only to st udent-athletes but to coaches as well. Many of the supplements, she said, are not monitored for safety by the federal Food and Drug Administration and therefore are not required to accurately list their ingredients.

"They make all these claims to you, and they don't have to prove that any of them are true," she said.

-- Michelle Brutlag Hosick

Diversity in coaching: Job candidate pools need to be inclusive

DALLAS -- The message from a January 9 Division II educational session on "Recruiting Coaches to Work for You" was simple: No institution should necessarily feel obligated to hire a woman or minority for any position, but each institution should ensure that the candidate pools are as diverse as possible.

The 45-minute session included information on the new Division II assistant coaches grant initiative and on the NCAA's new office of inclusiveness, but most of the attention focused on a "Best Hiring Practices" paper developed by the Division II Presidents Council, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators and the Black Coaches Association.

Pam Gill-Fisher, associate director of athletics at the University of California, Davis, repeatedly emphasized the importance of developing diverse pools by tapping into available resources such as the BCA or NACWAA. However, she also flagged more subtle ways of diversifying candidate pools, such as by making certain that job descriptions are not exclusionary.

"The job description can be very important," Gill-Fisher said. "In women's soccer, you might say that you require three to five years of head coaching experience, but how many women or minorities have that kind of experience? Perhaps you need to open it up and say that assistant coaching experience is required.

"Does that mean you're going to generate a less qualified pool? Maybe, but maybe not. I know some tremendous assistant coaches who would be great head coaches."

Members of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also inquired how institutions might involve student-athletes in the hiring process.

Gill-Fisher suggested that each institution should develop a formal plan regarding the composition of search committees, which could be required to include student-athletes. If an institution chooses not to include any student-athletes on the search committee, Gill Fisher said another option might be to require candidates to meet with selected groups, such as the teams themselves or the institutional SAAC.

The "Best Hiring Practices" document will provided to the membership later this year.

-- David Pickle