MINUTES
OF THE
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
NCAA National Office August 9, 2007
Participants:
Michael
Adams,
Charles
Ambrose,
James Barker,
David Brunk, Northeast-10 Conference
Jackie Campbell, Atlantic-10 Conference
Dan Curran,
Valerie Cushman,
Anthony DiGiorgio,
Gregory Geoffroy,
Bruce Grube,
Michael McFarland, College of the Holy Cross
John Fry,
Edward Ray,
Sidney Ribeau,
Steve Weber,
Myles Brand, NCAA
Bernard Franklin, NCAA
Delise O'Meally, NCAA, recording secretary
Eddie Moore,
Also in attendance were: Gary Brown, director of The NCAA News; Erik Christianson, director of public and media relations; Elsa Cole, vice president of legal affairs/general counsel; Joni Comstock, senior vice president of championships; Dennis Cryder, senior vice president of branding and communications; Jim Isch, senior vice president of administration/chief financial officer (CFO); Tom Jernstedt, executive vice president; Kevin Lennon, vice president of membership services; Keith Martin, managing director of finance and operations; Wallace Renfro, senior advisor to the NCAA president; Greg Shaheen, senior vice president of basketball and business strategies; Charlotte Westerhaus, vice president of diversity and inclusion; Bob Williams, managing director of public and media relations; David Berst, Daniel Dutcher and Mike Racy, NCAA governance vice presidents; and Beth DeBauche, Leah Nilsson 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 3:55 p.m. by the chair, President Adams. All members were present as noted above.
1. Welcome and announcements.
2. Executive Session.
The Executive Committee convened an executive session during which it reviewed the executive compensation committee report and a proposal for a joint venture.
a. Executive compensation. The Committee reviewed recommendations of the Executive Committee Administrative Subcommittee on executive compensation.
It was VOTED
?To approve the executive compensation report for the NCAA president and other disqualified employees.?
b. Joint venture. The Committee reviewed a possible for-profit joint venture.
It was VOTED
?To conceptually approve the NCAA entering into a for-profit joint venture pending completion of staff?s due diligence and delegate authority to a combined committee of the Executive Committee Administrative Subcommittee and Finance Committee to approve final details of the venture.?
3. Approval of April 26, 2007, meeting minutes.
It was VOTED
?To approve the Executive Committee minutes of the April 26, 2007, meeting as distributed.?
4. NCAA President?s report. President Brand provided updates, discussed initiatives and sought Executive Committee input.
a. Amendment to NCAA Constitution. Elsa Cole provided an update on legislative action taken at the divisional presidential meetings to clarify NCAA Bylaw 31.1.1 to specifically reference the Executive Committee?s authority and responsibility to establish policies related to NCAA championship events. She noted that the divisional presidential bodies also sponsored an amendment to NCAA Constitution Article 4 to provide similar clarity as it relates to the Executive Committee?s existing authority to adopt and implement policy. Cole noted that this amendment does not change the duties of the Executive Committee, nor does it expand its authority.
It was VOTED
?To sponsor the amendment to NCAA Constitution Article 4 and forward the amendment to the entire membership for a vote at the 2008 NCAA Convention.?
b. Strategic planning update. Brand provided an update on the Association-wide strategic plan. He noted that significant progress had been made in the implementation of the plan. Of the 120 initiatives identified in the plan, 84 have been completed, representing 70 percent; 35 are in progress, representing 30 percent; and one has not been started. Brand noted that the time was appropriate to revisit the plan to determine if modifications need to be made to extend the useful life of the plan. The Committee agreed to form a subcommittee to review the plan.
5. NCAA Executive Committee Finance Committee Report
a. FY 2006-07 third quarter budget to actual. The Committee received a report of the Association?s financial activity for the third quarter of FY 2006-07, noting that results are within budget parameters.
b. FY 2008-09 and 2009-10 tentative budget allocations and timeline. The Committee reviewed a summary of the revenues and expenditures for the upcoming biennium.
It was noted that the NCAA FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10 biennial budget process timeline outlines the budget process for the next two budget years. The upcoming biennium budget process begins with the meeting in August, when the Executive Committee approves tentative budget allocations. These tentative allocations will be used as a guide as committees and staff begin formulating budget requests. Final approval for the FY 2008-09 budget will occur at the April 2008 meeting.
It was VOTED
?To approve the tentative budget allocations for FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10.?
c. FY 2007-08 budget recommendations.
(1) Increased revenue estimate. As a result of the increase in the Division I men?s basketball ticket prices for the ?Good of the Game,? and the success of the ticket and hospitality packages sold in the secondary market, it is recommended the Association increase its base revenue projections for FY 2007-08 in the amount of $10 million. The Association?s projected revenue will increase from $604 million to $614 million in FY 2007-08. The $10 million revenue increase also will be reflected in FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10 biennium budget projections.
It was VOTED
?To approve the recommended increase in base revenue projections for FYI 2007-08.?
(2) Temporary seating for men?s basketball. The Committee reviewed a re-quest from the national office staff to allocate additional revenues to the purchase of temporary seating for men?s basketball. The NCAA staff has submitted a proposal to increase the future revenues of the Final Four gate revenues by 40 percent by reconfiguring the future dome sites to a football-like layout. Staff is estimating an increase in annual revenues of approximately $4 million as a result of the new configuration. The staff recommends purchasing temporary seating that can accommodate the new configuration, which could be shipped and installed each year. The Ex-ecutive Committee Finance Committee recommends that $4 million of additional FY 2007-08 revenues generated through the Men?s Final Four tournament be allocated to the purchase of temporary seating.
It was VOTED
?To approve allocation of $4 million of additional FY 2007-08 revenues to the purchase of temporary seating.?
(3) Division I revenue distribution formula. The Committee received a report on a recommendation from the Division I Men?s Basketball Committee to the Division I Board of Directors to modify the Division I basketball for-mula. The Division I Men?s Basketball Committee has recommended that one additional unit be allocated to the winner of the opening round game beginning in 2008. The Division I Board of Directors will consider action at its November meeting.
d. FY 2007-08 salary recommendations. The Committee allocated FY 2007-08 merit and equity moneys for the national office staff. Brand supplemented the equity adjustment allocation by reallocating approximately $230,000 by the elimi-nation of positions. In total, the allocation for salaries remains the same as a result of the proposed changes. The Executive Committee Finance Committee supported reallocation and offered this item as informational only.
6. Executive Committee Working Group on Membership Report. The Committee received a report of the Executive Committee Working Group on Membership. The working group reviewed the current membership processes for each division, received an analysis of the voting on recent reform efforts in Division III and received a report from the Divi-sion III working group that concurrently has been reviewing membership issues. Some important themes that have emerged related to models to create a subdivision or new di-vision include:
a. Division III, as a default position, is where an institution would remain in its cur-rent membership grouping unless it elects to join the new grouping. Institutions would not be assigned to the new grouping, regardless of affiliation, sports spon-sorship or voting patterns, without deciding to join that grouping.
b. Delaying the effective date. The effective date of any legislative changes adopted at the 2009 NCAA Convention should be delayed by at least two years to permit adequate time for institutions and conferences to make informed decisions re-garding future affiliation.
c. This grouping would most likely feature increased sports sponsorship and might include other more restrictive legislation.
d. It is important to keep traditional rivalries in mind as institutions choose to join the new grouping.
The group also received an update on a recent meeting with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) leadership. The purpose of that meeting was to provide information on membership activities within both organizations. The NAIA expressed its willingness to participate in focus group discussions with a subgroup of this working group.
The working group will convene its next in-person meeting in October, in conjunction with the divisional presidential meetings. During its next meeting, the working group will continue its review of alternative membership grouping concepts and the legal and legislative framework for these membership models. It also will begin discussions re-garding the identity of the new grouping. Finally, the working group noted that an Association-wide forum will be held at the 2008 Convention to outline the membership models, and a membership survey will be initiated in spring 2008.
7. Litigation update. The Committee received a report from the NCAA general counsel re-garding litigation and settlement actions. Cole noted that the Executive Committee Administrative Subcommittee granted approval for legal counsel to use NCAA funds in an amount certain to augment insurance payments to secure settlement in a specific case. She also reported on the recommendation from the Executive Committee Working Group on the Federal Arbitration Act. The working group recommended that the Committee not support the concept of aligning NCAA infractions hearing and appeal procedures with ?arbitration? to invoke the protections of the Federal Arbitration Act. The working group believes that this is not a viable process to meet the needs of the Association at this time. The group report noted that the primary advantage of being under the Act was initially thought to be the ability for the NCAA to issue subpoenas, enforceable by a court of law, for the production of documents and information during the investigatory process to de-termine if there has been a violation of NCAA rules. Through further research and review, the group determined that the Act confers on arbitrators only a limited power to subpoena witnesses and associated documents, even in connection with the submission of an existing case. Judicial interpretation varies widely on the scope of the authority of an arbitrator or arbitration panel to issue prehearing subpoenas for discovery and depositions in a pending action. The working group noted that an arbitration structure would be more complicated and, without prehearing subpoena power, would create a more adversarial system without the benefit of access to additional information. Given the lack of clarity in the law, the working group believes that, for NCAA purposes, the disadvantages of ar-bitration in this context outweigh the advantages.
It was VOTED
?That the Executive Committee not support the concept of aligning NCAA infractions hearing and appeal procedures with arbitration.?
8. NCAA Division I
a. Division I
(1) Membership moratorium. Approved a four-year moratorium on Division I membership standards as the Association examines a series of member-ship issues. As part of this act, a narrative will be provided to the membership explaining the action.
(2) Men?s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group. Met with Dan Guerrero, chair of the new Division I Men?s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group, which has been established to help recommend changes that improve the academic culture in men?s college basketball. The Board indicated a commitment to consistency in the academic reform efforts. Additionally, it met with National Association of Basketball Coaches Executive Director Jim Haney and selected coaches serving on the Men?s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group to discuss possible ways to improve academic performance in men?s basketball.
(3) Youth basketball. Received an update on efforts of stakeholders in men?s basketball, including the NCAA, to develop greater structure for youth basketball. It noted that addressing issues relative to youth basketball is critical to answering concerns about academic performance in the sport of men?s basketball.
(4) Governance Subcommittee?s recommendations. Received a report from the Management Council?s Governance Subcommittee regarding its recommendations to revise the Division I governance process and struc-ture. It agreed that the recommendations should be shared with the membership for comment with the understanding the Board may use its emergency authority to take action on the recommendations in October 2007. (Note: The Board instructed the Governance Subcommittee to change its recommendations to provide for the Infractions and Infractions Appeals Committees to report to the Board of Directors.)
(5) Override proposals.
(a) Proposal No. 2006-40. Took no action with regard to the override requests on Proposal No. 2006-40, which specified that electronically transmitted correspondence that may be sent to a prospective student-athlete is limited to electronic mail and fac-similes. (Note: Accordingly, this proposal will be subject to membership votes at the 2008 Convention.)
(b) Proposal No. 2006-87. Took no action with regard to the override requests on Proposal No. 2006-87. This proposal provides, in the sport of golf, that an institution may participate in a total of nine three-day tournaments (with a maximum of 54 holes per tourna-ment) or 24 dates of competition. (Note: Accordingly, this proposal will be subject to membership votes at the 2008 NCAA Convention.)
(c) Proposal No. 2007-9. Amended Proposal No. 2007-9. This pro-posal provides, in part, that an institution shall award athletically related financial aid to each counter at a minimum value of 33 percent of an equivalency. The amendment provides that an institution shall award countable financial aid to each counter at a minimum value of 25 percent of an equivalency. (NOTE: The membership shall be provided another opportunity to override this action by the Board.)
(6) Proposal No. 2006-17 B. Defeated Proposal No. 2006-17 B, which was tabled in April. This proposal precludes participation in a pool or fantasy league in which there is an opportunity to win a prize. By defeating this proposal, all three divisions will have the same definition of sports wa-gering.
(7) Executive Committee authority. Used its emergency legislative authority to adopt legislation to clarify the Executive Committee?s existing authority by stating expressly the Committee has the authority and responsibility to establish policies related to NCAA championships events; it agreed to sponsor legislation to expressly state that the Executive Committee may act on behalf of the Association by adopting and implementing policies to resolve core issues and other Association-wide matters. (Note: The amendment does not change the duties and responsibilities of the Execu-tive Committee, nor does the amendment expand the Executive Committee?s authority or power.)
(8) Committee on Academic Performance (CAP). Received an update on the ongoing work of the CAP.
b. Division II Presidents Council. The Committee received an update o n the actions of the Division II Presidents Council that included the following:
(1) Division II
Chancellors and Presidents
(a) Division II should be viewed as a ?membership destination.?
(b) Division II policies, programs and budget initiatives should align with the division?s strategic positioning platform.
(c) Division II, with its partial athletics scholarship model, should be recognized as the optimal tuition revenue model for intercollegiate athletics.
(2) Constitutional amendment. Agreed to sponsor legislation for the 2008 Convention to amend Constitution 4.1.2 to clarify the Executive Committee?s existing authority to adopt and implement policy and adopted an administrative change to Bylaw 31.1.1 to specify that all NCAA championships shall be conducted in accordance with general policies established by the Championships Committee, Management Council, Presidents Council and/or Executive Committee.
(3) Division II regionalization. Ratified the recommendation made by both the Division II Championships Committee and the Division II Manage-ment Council to implement a new regionalization model that provides for consistent conference assignments and geographic borders for all Divi-sion II national championship selections. The regionalization philosophy is a defining characteristic of Division II membership, where regional scheduling is emphasized. The Council agreed to monitor the impact of this new regional model and will consider possible realignments after three years of operation.
(4) Game-environment hearing. Received a report regarding the Division II Management Council discussions with involved constituents to create a more positive competition environment that encourages repeat attendance from fans and supporters. This initiative is tied directly to the division?s community engagement campaign. The development of an interactive game-environment education toolkit is planned for next year, once the Di-vision II membership has a chance to discuss the issue at the 2008 Convention. Other opportunities considered are a partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations and a joint meeting between the Division II Presidents Council and chairs of Division II con-ference presidential bodies to discuss these issues.
c. Division
(1) Chancellors/Presidents Advisory Group. Conducted its semi-annual meet-ing of its Chancellors/Presidents Advisory Group, focusing on a discussion of membership growth and possible changes to the membership structure to accommodate that growth. The meeting also emphasized ad-ditional funding for grant programs that promote student-athlete well-being.
(2) Division III membership moratorium. Formally endorsed allowing the cur-rent moratorium on new Division III membership to expire in January 2008. It noted that the moratorium is no longer necessary with the adoption last January of legislation to limit the size of new provisional member classes to four and to increase standards necessary to qualify for provisional membership. The Council also noted that the moratorium may be masking true interest in Division III membership, which would be valuable in the current discussions regarding how to best accommodate the long-term membership growth within the Association.
(3) Recruiting communications. Agreed to cosponsor with the Centennial and New England Men?s and Women?s Conferences a 2008 Convention proposal limiting recruiting communications to electronic mail and facsimiles. This prohibits the use of text messaging and social networking Web sites in the recruiting process. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recommended this proposal.
(4) Male practice players. Voted to sponsor a 2008 Convention proposal to limit the use of male practice players to one day per week in the traditional segment, in a number not to exceed one-half the starting line up for the particular sport. This was based on the goal of enhancing the participation opportunities for female student-athletes. In addition, most who voted against the proposal agreed they did so because they preferred the complete elimination of male practice players. The Division III SAAC also recommended the Council sponsor legislation to limit the use of male practice players.
(5) First aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use certification. Voted to sponsor a 2008 Convention proposal to require that at least one non-student employee of the institution who is certified in first aid, CPR and AED use, and the institution?s emergency plan activation policies, be present at all athletically related activities. The Division III SAAC also recommended this proposal.
(6) Constitutional amendment. Adopted an administrative regulation and sponsored a 2008 Convention proposal to clarify the Executive Committee?s existing authority to adopt and implement championships policy. Further, the Presidents Council recommended that the Executive Committee cosponsor the Convention proposal to clarify the duties and responsibilities of the NCAA executive Committee included in Constitution 4.1.2.
9. Future meetings. The Committee reviewed its future meetings schedule.
10. Adjournment. President
Adams adjourned the meeting at 5:35 p.m.
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