MINUTES OF THE

 

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

 

MINORITY OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERESTS COMMITTEE

 

 

NCAA national office    January 27-28, 2003

Indianapolis, Indiana            

 

 

Participants: 

 

Diane Armento, Dartmouth College

Joseph N. Crowley, University of Nevada, Reno

Venera Flores, University of Dallas

Derrick Gragg, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Amy Hackett, University of Utah

Tom Hickman, Winthrop University

Eugene Marshall Jr., Ramapo College of New Jersey, chair

Doella Miller, University of Alabama, Birmingham

Gwendolyn Reeves, Fort Valley State University

Lynda Tealer, Southland Conference

Joyce Wong, Eastern Connecticut State University

Rochelle Collins, NCAA

Laronica Conway, NCAA

Keith Gill, NCAA

Tommie Walls, NCAA 

 

Earnest Collins, University of Northern Colorado; Earl Robinson, Lees-McRae College; Kary Couchman, Albion College; Mara Lee Caples, California State University, Dominguez Hills were unable to attend. 

 

[Note:  These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated “sense of the meeting”) in accordance with NCAA policy regarding minutes of all Association entities. While certain items on the committee’s agenda were acted upon at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference. 

 

The meeting was called to order at 8:39 a.m. by the chair, Mr. Marshall.  All members were present as noted above. 

 

 

1.       Opening Remarks.  Mr. Marshall welcomed new committee members Doella Miller and Gwendolyn Reeves to the meeting.

 

2.       Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee’s (MOIC) Roster and Subcommittee Listing.  The committee reviewed the current member roster and subcommittee listing.  It was noted that Lynda Tealer is interested in serving on the football issues subcommittee.

 

 

3.       Approval of Management Council Report.  The committee noted that the minutes from its September meeting were unavailable.  The committee also reviewed its report to the Management Councils and discussed activities and accomplishments. 

 

 

4.       Review of Management Council Reports.

 

a.       The committee noted that as a part of the Division I academic reform package, a proposal was passed to reduce the number of remedial courses permissible to satisfy academic progress requirements.  The committee noted that this legislation may have a disparate impact on the ethnic minority student-athlete population, but believes it is best to give the legislation an opportunity to demonstrate its impact before passing judgment. 

 

b.       The committee was concerned that the Division II management council supported only two of the MOIC’s recommendations regarding the use of American Indian mascots, nicknames and logos.  The committee re-iterated that its recommendations are not designed to restrict access to any championships.  The recommendations are designed to ensure that the championship environment is supportive of all individuals.  The committee also noted that to date, the Division I and Division III Management Councils and presidential bodies have not provided any comments regarding the recommendations.  The committee is concerned that without comments from these groups, it will be difficult to provide the Executive Committee a true sense of the governance structure’s reactions to the recommendation prior to its April meeting.

 

c.       The committee noted that the Division II Management Council requested that committee service information be included as a part of the enhancement programs administered by the MOIC and Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA).  The committee noted that this information is already provided as a part of the enhancement programs and reaffirmed its commitment to continuing to provide this information to program participants.

 

 

5.       Review of the Use of American Indian Mascots in Intercollegiate Athletics.  The committee reviewed its timeline to provide the Executive Committee with governance structure reaction to the American Indian mascot recommendations.  The committee noted that the Championships committees do not meet until early February, but expressed concern that several of the groups that met in January 2003 did not include comments in their report.  The committee is concerned that the Association may be unwilling to take a stand and that this process may drag on indefinitely.  The committee also expressed concern that it may not be able to meet its commitment to forward the comments to the Executive Committee for its April 2003 meeting.

6.       Strategic Plan.  In preparation for the upcoming budget preparation process, the committee reviewed and revised its strategic plan.

 

 

7.       Governance Committee Demographics.  The committee requested to see a breakdown by gender and ethnicity of the Division I Board of Directors and the Division II and III President’s Councils.

 

 

8.       Review of NCAA Football Study.  The committee reviewed the final report of the Football Study Oversight Committee.  The staff informed the committee that President Brand has appropriated $180,000 to develop an ethnic-minority coaches’ academy and an executive mentor program.  The committee was pleased by this action and commended President Brand for his commitment.  In addition, the committee reviewed its final report and took the following action:

 

a.       Remained committed to seeking $1 million to address the lack of ethnic minority football coaches.

 

b.       Committed itself to develop methods to get more presidents involved with this issue.

 

c.       Removed the first four recommendations in its football report related to developing a matching grant program for graduate assistant coaches and modifying the number of permissible graduate assistant coaching positions. 

 

d.       Agreed to research other methods to increase the pool of graduate assistant coaches.

 

 

9.       2001-02 Race Demographics of NCAA Member Institution’s Athletics Personnel.  During its September meeting, the committee reviewed the Race Demographics of NCAA Member Institutions’ Athletics Personnel report and noted that no progress has been made since 1995.  Based on this poor progress, the committee requested that the governance structure be made aware of these issues so that changes may occur.  The committee noted that, in accordance with its request, the information included in the most recent version of the Race Demographics report will be presented to the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Presidents Councils, Management Councils of all three divisions and national office senior staff.

 

 

10.   Diversity Initiatives.  The committee reviewed a preliminary draft review of NCAA initiatives to promote gender and ethnic diversity in intercollegiate athletics.  When finalized, this document will provide the history, purpose, budget allocation, and program accomplishments for each NCAA diversity initiative.  The committee suggested some additional information for inclusion in the document.  The review will be forwarded to the CWA and the Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues for review during each group’s summer meetings.

 

11.   Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females.  The committee noted that the Minority Opportunities in Athletics Association (MOAA) requested $250,000 from the NCAA to start a leadership institute for ethnic minority females.  The NCAA did not approve this request, as the NACWAA/HERS program is available to ethnic-minority women.

 

 

12.   Partnerships.  The committee noted its partnership with the Black Coaches Association (BCA) and MOAA to forward potential coaching candidates to institutions with vacancies.  The committee noted that this system is a step in the right direction; however, the process for inclusion on the list is not broad-based and may miss qualified candidates.  The committee discussed potential methods to rectify this situation.  Specifically, the committee discussed the development of a web-based system to link potential employers with ethnic minority and female employees.  The committee agreed to investigate this concept.  The committee also discussed methods to ensure that a list of graduate assistant coaches is maintained to ensure that those individuals are effectively represented during assistant coaching vacancies.

 

 

13.   Committee Membership.  The committee reviewed the legislative requirements for membership and noted there must be six Division I, three Division II and three Division III members.  In addition, there must be three student-athletes.  In Division I, all three sub-divisions must be represented, but there are no specified minimums for the subdivisions.  The committee also noted that currently there is not a Division I-A athletics director, nor conference commissioner on the MOIC.  The committee noted that the call for nominations has closed for the current selection cycle, but agreed to solicit nominations from Division I-A athletic directors and conference commissioners during the next cycle.

 

The committee also noted the chair’s term will expire September 1, 2003.  Due to the ongoing work of the committee on issues involving minority football coaches, the use of American Indian mascots in intercollegiate athletics and the diversity initiatives review, as well as the appointment of several new committee members in the past year, the committee agreed to request a one-year term extension in order to provide the continuity and direction necessary for the effectiveness of the committee’s work.

 

 

14.   President Brand’s Remarks.  NCAA President Myles Brand addressed the committee and noted the commitment of NCAA resources to issues surrounding increased hiring of ethnic minority head coaches and to the support of diversity in leadership positions in intercollegiate athletics.  He also noted the direction of the Title IX commission and the Supreme Court’s review of the University of Michigan case are of great concern to him.  President Brand informed the committee that he will be developing a strategic plan for the Association and invited comments and feedback from the committee.

 

15.   Athletics Certification.  The committee noted the Athletics Certification Committee did not support MOIC’s recommendation for campus climate surveys related to the use of American Indian mascots be submitted as a part of the athletics certification process.

 

 

16.    Review of Joint Meeting with CWA.  The committee reviewed the joint CWA/MOIC meeting agenda.

 

 

17.   Coaches Academy for Ethnic Minority Football Coaches.  The committee discussed curricula for the future coaches academy.  The committee noted that the academy, at a minimum, must include the following training:  NCAA rules and regulations; hiring criteria used by athletics directors and chief executive officers; interview preparation; public speaking, safety and competitive safeguards issues; fundraising and media relations.  It was noted that the academy design and content will be finalized after discussions with key constituent groups, including the American Football Coaches Association, the Black Coaches Association, the National Football League, and NCAA directors of athletics and chief operating officers.

 

 

18.   Future Meeting Dates and Sites.  The next meeting will be held June 9-11, 2003; San Francisco, California (Hyatt Regency Fisherman’s Wharf).  The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. on June 9 and conclude at 12 p.m. on June 11.

 

 

19.   Senior Minority Administrator.  The committee began to explore the concept of a senior minority administrator position for each member institution similar to the senior woman administrator position. 

 

 

20.   Adjournment.  The meeting recessed at 4:15 p.m. on Monday, January 27 and adjourned Tuesday, January 28 at 9:59 a.m.

 

 

 

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The National Collegiate Athletic Association

February 7, 2003   RMC:tw