The NCAA Executive Committee has authorized further efforts to study ways to deal with divisional growth and inter-division migration within the Association, as well as to consider the possibility of permitting universities outside the United States to become NCAA members.

Meeting October 26 in Indianapolis, the Executive Committee agreed to:

Form an Association-wide committee with broader representation from all three divisions to pick up the work of the Executive Committee’s Working Group on Membership Issues — and specifically to study the possibility of establishing either a fourth membership division or a Division III subdivision.

Permit its Working Group on Membership Eligibility for International Institutions to study the possibility of accepting universities outside the United States for membership on a case-by-case basis, as part of a pilot program.

The Working Group on Membership Issues, chaired by University of Georgia President Michael Adams and consisting primarily of presidents of Divisions II and III institutions, asked the Executive Committee to appoint a larger committee with broader representation from all three divisions to study membership models suggested during the working group’s discussions.

Executive Committee Chair Walter Harrison, president of the University of Hartford, will appoint the committee, which will be instructed to prepare concepts for discussion at the 2008 Convention. Any resulting legislative proposals probably would be submitted for voting in 2009.

The working group, formed late last year largely in response to a proposal in Division III by the North Coast Athletic Conference to impose a cap on the size of the division, focused its meetings in June and on October 25 on the possibility of creating a fourth membership division.

The group suggested two types of criteria that might be considered either for creating a new division (Division IV) or for subdividing Division III — currently the Association’s largest membership division with 443 active, provisional and reclassifying members, as well as eight institutions that formally began exploring membership before the Division III Presidents Council imposed a moratorium through January 2008 on accepting new members.

One of the models might be based on what the group termed "quantitative membership criteria," such as number of sports sponsored by an institution or financial commitment to athletics. The other model might be based on "philosophical criteria" based on institutional objectives for athletics — such as a desire to limit or expand playing and practice seasons, permit redshirting, offer a broad range of sports to encourage participation, or focus resources on a small number of teams for competitive purposes.

Working-group members suggested that a new Division IV would not permit the awarding of athletics scholarships — thus distinguishing it in one important aspect from Divisions I and II — while imposing fewer legislative restrictions than currently exist in Division III.

Additional working-group discussions focused on ways to fund a new division. Possibilities include allocating a percentage of current Association funding to the division, increasing membership dues to fund programming and championships, or establishing a "self-funded" division in which members pay for their own championships and services. A fourth option would be to adjust an existing division’s share of current funding on a per capita basis as an institution chooses to migrate from one division to another — in other words, that institution’s share of funding in one division could be transferred to the other division.

In making its recommendations, the working group noted that Divisions II and III independently are taking steps to manage membership issues.

In addition to recent efforts to promote the benefits of membership and improve Division II’s visibility in intercollegiate athletics and higher education, the Division II Presidents Council is sponsoring legislation at the 2007 Convention that seeks to establish a uniform process by which new and reclassifying members seek active membership. The proposal would require any institution seeking membership to be sponsored by an active Division II member or conference, and establish a two-part membership process consisting of an exploratory period and a provisional period.

Division III, in addition to its current moratorium on accepting members, will consider two proposals sponsored by the Division III Presidents Council that seek to further limit acceptance of new members annually while also holding current members more accountable for compliance with Division III standards. The Council is asking the Division III membership to choose its approach over the membership cap, which again is being proposed by the North Coast Athletic Conference at the 2007 Convention.

The Working Group on Membership Eligibility for International Institutions, chaired by Belmont University President Robert Fisher, informed Executive Committee members that it has been discussing the possibility of establishing a pilot program for evaluating universities outside the United States and its territories for NCAA membership.

The Executive Committee authorized the working group to continue its deliberations and to formally propose criteria for evaluating international institutions at the committee’s January meeting.

The working group is suggesting that institutions expressing interest in NCAA membership be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, not only under current standards for membership eligibility, but also under criteria for evaluating the impact acceptance would have on current NCAA student-athletes and member institutions.

Among criteria relating to student-athletes are cultural impact (enhancement of the student-athlete experience and of cultural exposure and development), educational impact (creation of diverse educational opportunities), and student-athlete well-being (by increasing opportunities for regional competition based on geographic proximity).

As for impact on current NCAA member institutions, criteria might include the ability of an international institution to develop a conference alliance and strengthen competition within a conference.

The working group believes that most current interest in exploring NCAA membership involves Canadian institutions, but the group also believes that criteria must account for potential interest by institutions in other countries.