January 2006 NCAA Executive Committee minutes

MINUTES OF THE

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Indianapolis Marriott Downtown January 9, 2006

Indianapolis, Indiana

Participants:

Michael Adams, University of Georgia

Philip Austin, University of Connecticut

Clinton Bristow Jr., Alcorn State University

Daniel Curran, University of Dayton

Paul Engelmann, Central Missouri State University

Robert Fisher, Belmont University

Walter Harrison, University of Hartford, chair

Arthur Kirk, St. Leo University

Kathryn Martin, University of Minnesota, Duluth

Sydney McPhee, Middle Tennessee State University

Michael Miranda, Plattsburgh State University of New York

Ivory Nelson, Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Shirley Raines, University of Memphis

Phillip Stone, Bridgewater College (Virginia)

Ron Wellman, Wake Forest University

John Welty, Fresno State University

Myles Brand, NCAA

Bernard Franklin, NCAA

Delise O'Meally, NCAA, recording secretary

G. Wayne Clough, Georgia Institute of Technology; Martin Jischke, Purdue University; and Peter Likins, University of Arizona, were unable to participate.

Also in attendance were: Gary Brown, director of The NCAA News; Erik Christianson, director of public and media relations; Elsa Cole, NCAA general counsel; Dennis Cryder, senior vice president for branding and communications; Jim Isch, senior vice president for administration/chief financial officer (CFO); Corey Jackson, interim director of diversity and inclusion; Tom Jernstedt, executive vice president; John Johnson, director of promotions and special events; Kevin Lennon, vice president for membership services; Keith Martin, managing director of finance and operations; Wallace Renfro, senior advisor to the NCAA president; Judith Sweet, senior vice president for championships and education services/senior woman administrator;

Charlotte Westerhaus, vice president for diversity and inclusion; Bob Williams, managing director of public and media relations; David Berst, Daniel Dutcher and Mike Racy, NCAA governance vice presidents; and Bridget Belgiovine, Beth DeBauche and Terri Steeb, NCAA governance directors.

[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 on 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 5:51 p.m. by the chair, President Harrison. All members were present as noted above.

1. Welcome and announcements. Harrison welcomed all attendees and asked the Committee to recognize departing members Kathryn Martin and Phil Stone, chairs of the Divisions II and III Presidents Councils, and departing Division II Management Council representative Paul Engelmann. He also welcomed incoming Division II Management Council representative, Jill Willson, director of athletics at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

2. Approval of October 27, 2005, meeting minutes.

It was VOTED

“To approve the Executive Committee minutes of the October 27, 2005, meeting as distributed.”

3. Mascot appeals to Executive Committee.

Harrison informed the Executive Committee that mascot appeal deliberations would be conducted in “executive session” and would proceed as a paper-only review process of all documents submitted without participation from the institution or the NCAA staff review committee. He further noted that, to take action, a majority vote of

participating Executive Committee members is required and that the Executive Committee may reverse the ruling of the staff committee only if the institution demonstrates that the ruling was clearly contrary to the evidence considered. Finally, he outlined specific requirements for recusal of Committee members to avoid any potential for conflict of interest.

The Executive Committee decided to defer deliberation on Bradley University’s appeal until its April meeting.

4. NCAA President’s report. President Brand provided updates, discussed a series of initiatives and sought Executive Committee input.

a. Committee reduction report. O’Meally provided a brief update on progress being made in the area of committee expenditure reduction. She reviewed the recently adopted Executive Committee policies and outlined the timeline and implementation steps for each element of the policy.

b. College of William and Mary nickname review. Franklin provided the Executive Committee with an update on the status of the College of William and Mary as it relates to that institution’s use of Native American mascots, nicknames or imagery. He noted that William and Mary had received an extension to complete its institutional self-study and, therefore, was not included on the original list of 18 institutions subject to the provisions of the policy. Franklin noted that William and Mary submitted its self-study on November 1, 2005, and evidenced its intent to retain the use of the nickname “Tribe” with associated feather imagery. Franklin requested that the Executive Committee grant the staff review committee the authority to review William and Mary’s institutional self-study to determine whether it should be subject to the provisions of the policy.

It was VOTED

“To grant the NCAA staff review committee the authority to review the institutional self-study submitted by William and Mary, as well as that of any other institution that enters the process from this point forward.”

5. NCAA Executive Committee Finance Committee report.

a. First quarter fiscal year 2005-06 budget to actual. The Committee reviewed the financial schedules for the first quarter 2005-06 budget-to-actual.

b. Fiscal year 2004-05 audited statements. The Executive Committee reviewed the audited financial statements prepared by the audit firm of Deloitte and Touche. Deloitte and Touche issued an unqualified opinion for the fiscal year September 1, 2004, through August 31, 2005, financial statements.

It was VOTED

“To approve the audited financial statements prepared by the audit firm of Deloitte and Touche.”

c. Recommended uses of unallocated net assets. The Executive Committee reviewed the recommended uses of net unallocated assets.

It was VOTED

“To approve the following uses as recommended:

“(1) $1 million allocated to the Habitat for Humanity (Home Team) effort to assist families in the path of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The million dollars will supplement the $1 million already allocated to the relief efforts by Division II from its divisional resources and $500,000 provided from the Centennial budget allocation. The additional funding will be paid over multiple years.

“(2) $900,000 allocated to technology contractual obligations to support on-going technology initiatives.

“(3) $600,000 allocated to insurance costs (general liability and directors and officers.).”

d. Multiyear audit emphasis. The Finance Committee approved the following audit services to be conducted during the upcoming year.

(1) Audit of the fiscal year 2005-06 financial statements.

(2) Audit of the fiscal year 2005-06 qualified savings and retirement plans.

(3) Preparation of federal, state, benefit plans and property tax returns.

(4) Exempted contest agreed-on procedures.

The Finance Committee also approved the following additional audit services with the understanding that management would prioritize the work over the next several years depending on the project scope and available resources. Staff was authorized to use the appropriate consultants or audit firms to complete the work.

(1) Academic progress rate testing.

(2) Intermediate sanctions compliance.

(3) Championships site selection and ticketing procedures.

(4) Unrelated business income tax training related to corporate sponsorships.

(5) Initial-eligibility clearinghouse process review.

(6) Sales tax recovery project related to hotel occupancy costs.

e. Investment subcommittee report. The investment subcommittee of the Finance Committee reviewed the performance of NCAA investments. The subcommittee changed the asset allocation of the operating reserve pool from 20 percent equities and 80 percent fixed income to 40 percent equities and 60 percent fixed income, noting that the certainty of NCAA cash flows warrants taking a longer term perspective.

The subcommittee requested that NCAA consultant, Ennis Knupp, make a specific recommendation on investing in global equities as opposed to current investment policies of investing in U.S. equities and non-U.S. equities. The subcommittee also requested that Knupp work with staff to identify capable global equity managers for the subcommittee’s consideration by May 1.

f. Series 2005 bond issue. The Committee received an update on the Series 2005 bond issue. During its October meeting, the Executive Committee approved the issuance of up to $34 million in tax-exempt bonds. The bond issue closed on November 17, 2005, with an issue size of $31.75 million. The issue comprised two components. The first component ($9.795 million) refunded the 1999 bonds and the other component ($21.955 million) was used to fund settlement and acquisition costs of the National Invitation Tournaments. The 20-year issue has coupon rates ranging from 3.0 percent to 5.0 percent, with yields of 2.95 percent to 4.61 percent. The refunding provided savings of more than $540,000.

g. Fiscal year 2006-07 and fiscal year 2007-08 biennial budget process and timeline. The Committee reviewed the fiscal year 2006-07 budget process and timeline. The upcoming budget year is the first year of a new biennium; therefore, new initiatives as well as new inflationary requests for existing programs will be considered.

6. Proposal from President Kupchella, University of North Dakota. Brand discussed a proposal submitted by President Kupchella of the University of North Dakota to eliminate divisional classifications except on a sport-by-sport basis, allowing institutions the flexibility to select the divisional classification for each sport in which they participate. While the Committee noted some benefits associated with this membership structure, several concerns were raised, including increased challenges in the area of governance and the difficulty, under such a model, to define divisional rules like recruiting and eligibility that impact a wide cross section of sports. The Committee chose to take no action on the proposal.

7. Centennial celebration. The Committee received an update on the Centennial celebration and viewed a short public service announcement that commemorates 100 years of celebrating the student-athlete.

8. Litigation update. The Committee received a report from the NCAA general counsel regarding litigation and settlement actions.

9. NCAA Division I Board of Directors and Divisions II and III Presidents Councils reports.

a. Division I Board of Directors. The Committee received an update on the actions of the Division I Board of Directors. These included:

(1) NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2005-26. Discussed the application of pending Proposal No. 2005-26 (amateurism – promotional activities - institutional, charitable, educational or nonprofit promotions) and offered suggestions to assist presidents and the membership better appreciate the application of the proposed bylaw.

(2) NCAA Division I Committee on Academic Performance.

(a) Received an update regarding the preliminary findings based on two years of Academic Progress Rate (APR) data.

(b) Approved a recommendation for a team-centered public recognition program for the top 10 percent of teams in each sport based on the APR.

(d) Reviewed the process for release of APR data.

(3) Legislation. Considered a number of legislative proposals in the 2005-06 legislative cycle that came to the Board of Directors for approval and adopted a number of proposals that were recommended by the Management Council under the new process for considering legislation.

(4) Appointments. Appointed new members to the Board of Directors, the NCAA Division I-AA/I-AAA Presidential Advisory Group and the NCAA Division I Management Council, who will assume their representative roles after the April series of meetings.

b. Division II Presidents Council. The Committee received an update on the actions of the Division II Presidents Council. These included:

(1) 2006 NCAA Convention. Completed another successful Convention, with 36 of the 38 Presidents Council-sponsored proposals overwhelmingly adopted by the membership, including:

(a) 2006 NCAA Convention Division II Proposal No. 20 – which permits the name, picture or appearance of a student-athlete to be used in any institutional charitable, educational or nonprofit promotion that involves a commercial entity, including media entities, under specified conditions.

(b) Proposal No. 22 – which requires a student-athlete seeking to meet the one-time transfer exception, who has one season of competition or two semesters remaining in which to complete his or her eligibility, to complete an average of 12 credit hours of transferable degree credit at the certifying institution for each term of full-time attendance with a minimum grade-point average of 2.000.

(c) Proposal No. 23 – which establishes an appropriate penalty structure as part of the enforcement and championship selection process.

(2) Convention programming for Division II chancellors and presidents. Conducted programming at the 2006 NCAA Convention that followed up on the branding initiatives that have taken place since the Division II Chancellors and Presidents Summit last summer, including focus group research on the Division II identity in four major United States cities, Rich Luker's work in helping Division II schools implement strategies that are community based, as well as more opportunities to put Division II events on television.

(3) Management Council representatives. Ratified the appointment of Mike Covone, athletics director, Barry University, as vice chair of the Division II Management Council. Covone will serve as vice chair until September 2007.

c. Division III Presidents Council. The Committee received an update on the actions of the Division III Presidents Council. These included:

(1) Year-round drug-testing program. Requested a formal proposal from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) for a voluntary year-round drug-testing two-year pilot program in Division III and earmarked $400,000 in the Division III 2006-08 budget, if approved.

(2) Legislative review. Reviewed and confirmed all Council positions on 2006 legislative proposals. Noted that the Division III membership adopted all major proposals sponsored by the Council and defeated all major proposal opposed by the Council, including those that would have compromised the “reform agenda” adopted in 2004.

(3) Presidents/Chancellors Advisory Group. Approved the establishment of a Division III Presidents/Chancellors Advisory Group, effective for 2006. The group will consist of a president/chancellor representative from each conference and the group of independents not currently represented on either the Presidents or Management Councils to advise and provide input to the members of the Presidents Council. The group tentatively will meet in October and January.

(4) Attendance policy. Reviewed its attendance policy and attendance record of members, reinforced a strict application.