The NCAA Executive Committee has approved a $1 million allocation in Association-wide funds to be donated toward the NCAA/Habitat for Humanity “Home Team” project.

The allocation to be paid over multiple years adds to the $1.5 million previously donated by the Association, buoyed by a lead gift of $1 million from Division II. The NCAA announced the partnership with Habitat for Humanity after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the Gulf Coast region, including several college and university communities. “Home Team” is a multi-faceted plan to promote long-term recovery in those areas, as well as help in other locales on a national scale by leveraging NCAA championships and other resources.

The donation also adds to membership relief efforts already underway. An Executive Committee survey this fall revealed that NCAA institutions and conferences had contributed about $7.5 million to hurricane victims, much of that directly from athletics department funds.

The Executive Committee made its decision after noting a $2.5 million surplus in unrestricted net assets available from fiscal-year 2004-05. In addition to the $1 million allocated toward Home Team, the Executive Committee approved $900,000 for ongoing technology initiatives and $600,000 for directors and officers insurance costs. While the NCAA budgeted an additional $1 million for insurance in the 2004-05 fiscal year, actual amounts were $600,000 higher when renewal negotiations were completed this fall. Over the past five years, the NCAA’s insurance carrier has paid about five times more in claims than the NCAA has paid in premiums.

Because of the Executive Committee’s decision last year to allocate future interest earnings to the newly created quasi-endowment fund, $2.5 million was available for additional allocation this year.

The Executive Committee’s decision to allocate the unrestricted funds also means there will be no supplemental distribution to members this year.

In other items, the Executive Committee deliberated but deferred until April an appeal from Bradley University regarding the use of the school’s nickname (the Braves). A staff review committee appointed by the Executive Committee retained Bradley on the list of institutions subject to restrictions established by an Executive Committee policy for schools whose mascots or nicknames are deemed to be hostile or abusive. Bradley officials appealed the ruling, but Executive Committee members decided they needed more time to give the matter the attention it deserves. The Committee will act on appeals from Bradley, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Dakota at its April meeting. Those institutions will not be subject to restrictions that become effective February 1 until their appeals are completed.

Committee members also considered but did not act on a proposal from University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella that would base divisional affiliation on sport rather than by broad-based programs. Kupchella stated his case in a letter to the Executive Committee (also printed as a guest editorial in the December 5 issue of The NCAA News) that said his proposal “would allow schools that really do want to move all of their sports to the ‘highest’ athletics level to do so following a business plan that would move one sport, or a few sports, up per year, rather than having to move all at one time.”

The Executive Committee recognized President Kupchella’s thoughtful proposal, but members cited several concerns, including the difficulty in defining recruiting parameters under a multi-divisional model.

The Executive Committee also heard an update from a project team reviewing overall Association committee expenditures. The project emanated from an Executive Committee charge to reduce in-person meeting frequency, increase the percentage of meetings held in Indianapolis and reduce the committee budget by 25 percent.

Among preliminary recommendations from that group is to reduce from four to three the number of annual meetings of the Executive Committee, and the Divisions I, II and III Management Councils and presidential bodies by 2007. Other cabinets and committees already have begun implementing in-person meeting reductions.

Finally, Committee members approved future dates and sites for the NCAA Convention, beginning in 2009. Convention sites for 2007 (Orlando, Florida) and 2008 (Nashville, Tennessee) already have been contracted.

The Convention will shift from its usual Friday-Monday format to the Wednesday-Saturday before Martin Luther King Day beginning in 2009. The change results from a request-for-proposal process in which several cities offered multiyear deals at a significant cost savings. In addition, the date formula accommodates the membership in that the Convention will continue to be held relatively early in January (but late enough to accommodate the Bowl Championship Series), and it will allow delegates to avoid travel or business on Martin Luther King Day.

NCAA Convention dates and sites, 2007-2019

Year  Date  Site   Hotel

2007 January 5-8        Orlando, Florida  Rosen Shingle Creek Resort

2008 January 4-7        Nashville, Tennessee   Gaylord Hotel

2009 January 14-17     Washington, D.C.        Gaylord National

2010 January 13-16     Atlanta      Hyatt Regency and Marriott Marquis

2011 January 12-15     San Antonio        Hilton, Marriott Rivercenter, Marriott                              Riverwalk, Grand Hyatt

2012 January 11-14     Indianapolis       Marriott, Westin, Hyatt Regency

2013 January 16-19     Grapevine, Texas Gaylord Hotel

2014 January 15-18     Orlando, Florida  Rosen Shingle Creek Resort

2015 January 14-17     Washington, D.C.        Gaylord National

2016 January 13-16     San Antonio        Hilton, Marriott Rivercenter, Marriott

                        Riverwalk, Grand Hyatt

2017 January 11-14     Dallas        Adam’s Mark, Westin

2018 January 17-19     Indianapolis       Marriott, Westin, Hyatt Regency

2019 January 16-19     Atlanta      Hyatt Regency and Marriott Marquis