NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – The Division III Presidents Council will consider Thursday withdrawing a proposal to establish equestrian as an emerging sport for women and also consider asking the membership to refer for further study a proposal affecting the end date of the fall nontraditional season.

Both actions were recommended Wednesday by the Division III Management Council.

The Management Council recommended that only the portions of Proposal No. 7 that would remove four sports (archery, badminton, synchronized swimming and team handball) from the emerging-sports list be put forth for a vote in Saturday morning’s Division III business session. If the Presidents Council agrees, the Division III membership will not be asked to vote on the equestrian portion of the proposal, and Division III would not include the sport on its emerging-sports list.

Institutions that currently compete in equestrian through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association recently expressed concern that listing the sport as emerging in Division III could cause institutions to lose varsity status because of NCAA rules for sponsorship of varsity sports. The schools are concerned that such a move might reduce participation opportunities for women, as well as place Division III programs at a competitive disadvantage against teams from Divisions I and II schools.

While the Management Council easily agreed on not moving the equestrian portion of Proposal No. 7, it struggled more with the question of whether to refer for further study Proposal No. 12, which initially was proposed with the intent of ending the fall nontraditional season in a manner similar to the spring season.

Currently, institutions may conduct the spring season up to a date coinciding with the start of final examinations, and the Presidents Council agreed to sponsor the proposal to permit schools to also end the fall season when finals begin, rather than by the current legislated end date of October 30.

However, the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association not only expressed concern about the potential of interfering with student-athletes’ ability to prepare for fall final exams but also suggested Division III should reconsider the spring end date. The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also opposes the later fall end date.

Several Management Council members expressed support for putting both seasons on the same footing for now, then taking up the question of whether an end date coinciding with final exams is appropriate. But the Council ultimately backed referring Proposal No. 12 to the Division III committee structure for further study,  including the possibility of establishing an earlier end date in the spring, and recommended that the Presidents Council ask the membership to do so Saturday.

A third proposal on Saturday’s legislative agenda prompted another Council action – though that action in no way impacts whether the proposal will be considered by the membership.

Council members, noting the withdrawal of sponsorship by one of two conferences that put forth Proposal No. 8, approved an interpretation effective for the 2010 Convention that a proposal must retain the minimum required sponsorship to remain on the legislative agenda.

The interpretation does not affect this year’s proposal to permit institutions to view NCAA data throughout a season related to criteria for ranking and selecting teams for a championship. That proposal properly was sponsored by the September 1 legislation deadline but subsequently lost one of its two conference sponsors.