NCAA conference offices will play a greater role this year in choosing the winner of one of the Association’s most prestigious honors. For the first time since the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics began naming an NCAA Woman of the Year in 1991, winners will be designated by conference rather than by state.

Schools now will submit nominations to the conference office (if one of the nominees is of color, a school may submit a second nomination). Divisions I and II independents will submit directly to the national office, while Division III independents will submit through the Association of Division III Independents.

Each conference will forward one winner (or two if one is a student-athlete of color) to the Woman of the Year selection committee. From those conference winners, the selection committee will announce the top 10 winners in Divisions I, II and III, respectively. From each group of 10, the CWA will designate a top three, then one overall winner from the pool of nine divisional honorees.

Previously, the selection committee chose one winner per state (including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico). Ten finalists were selected from the pool of state winners and the Woman of the Year was chosen from the top 10. 

CWA revised the process to increase conference involvement and ownership. The move also provides additional opportunities to recognize more female student-athletes, since there could be more than 200 winners if each NCAA conference participates and submits two nominations. That’s significantly higher than the 52 honorees possible under the old process.

The 2006 NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner will be October 28 in Indianapolis. Nomination forms are on the Woman of the Year home page at www.ncaa.org (go to “Media & Events,” then “Awards”).

Wisconsin brings mascot issue to high school level

Scrutiny of schools using Native American nicknames, logos and imagery has expanded beyond the college and university level to include high schools. Athletic Management magazine reports that the Wisconsin  legislature is reviewing a proposal that would make it easier for community members to file discrimination charges against local school boards, but would not keep schools from using the nicknames, logos and imagery.

Should the legislation pass, the state superintendent of education would be required to hold a hearing to evaluate any complaint within 45 days of filing and force the school board to prove it was not discriminating. If found in violation, a fine of up to $1,000 would be applied each day the nickname, logo or imagery remained in place.

In December, the state superintendent encouraged schools to discontinue using Native American nicknames, logos and imagery. Over the past 16 years, 25 districts have replaced logos; however, about 40 public schools are still using names or imagery.

TCU sportsmanship plan turns chatter into matter

A Texas Christian University campaign inspired by the NCAA’s “Little Eyes Are Watching You” sportsmanship poster has won an award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. 

TCU’s “You’re a Horned Frog” campaign included posters and signage in locker rooms, team gathering places and athletics administration areas. The initiative encourages sportsmanship, personal responsibility, academic achievement, good citizenship and pride in TCU. Some of the signage features former TCU student-athletes LaDainian Tomlinson, currently a running back with the San Diego Chargers, and baseball pitcher Lance Broadway, who recently was drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox. 

“We weren’t trying to correct a problem — we were trying to reinforce good and classy behavior,” said TCU Associate Athletics Director for Operations Ross Bailey. “It’s working so far, and it will continue to grow. We keep getting messages about how our kids act when they are traveling and how they play hard, but play with class. Yeah, we want to beat you, but we want to do it in the right way. I think what we’ve seen is more action coming out of the plan and less talk.”

As part of the next phase, student-athletes will receive T-shirts with campaign messaging during summer orientation. In the long run, the school plans to extend the effort to the campus and the surrounding community.