REPORT
OF THE NCAA DIVISION I
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL ISSUES COMMITTEE
The
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Issues Committee submits the following
report from its August 28, 2007, conference call:
1. LEGISLATIVE
INFORMATION ITEMS.
The Women’s Basketball Issues Committee offers
the following comments and recommendations regarding select legislative
proposals pending in the 2007-08 Division I legislative cycle:
NOTE: As the Division I Women’s
Basketball Issues Committee considered the legislative proposals listed below,
they also reviewed the positions provided by the Women’s Basketball
Coaches Association’s (WBCA) Board of Directors.
a.
Proposal No. 2007-38
Recruiting -- Contacts and Evaluations -- Recruiting Opportunities -- Women
Comment/Position: The Women’s
Basketball Committee does not support Proposal No. 2007-38 as written, noting
the current provision of five recruiting opportunities appears sufficient to
allow coaches to contact and evaluate prospective student-athletes and assess
whether they would be a proper fit for an institution and a team. The committee questioned the value of
the two additional recruiting opportunities relative to the impact on
coaches’ life/work balance.
b. Proposal
No. 2007-44 Recruiting -- Offers And Inducements And Tryouts -- Use Of Academic
Support Services/Training-Room Facilities In All Sports -- Voluntary Summer
Conditioning In Football And Basketball. Intent: To eliminate the requirement that a
prospective student-athlete must have signed a National Letter of Intent (or a
written offer of admission and/or financial aid) in order to receive academic
support services and use the institution
Comment/Position: The Women’s
Basketball Issues Committee supports Proposal No. 2007-44 as written, noting
this proposal provides institutions with the needed flexibility to provide non
grant-in-aid prospective student-athletes in football and basketball (enrolled
in summer school at the certifying institution prior to full-time enrollment)
with the benefits of academic support services and the use of the
institution’s training room facilities. The committee stated there is no good
reason to make a distinction between grant-in-aid and non grant-in-aid student-athletes
regarding these services.
c. Proposal
No. 2007-88 Playing and Practice Seasons -- Women
Comment/Position: The Women’s Basketball
Issues Committee supports Proposal No. 2007-88 as written, but in offering its
support, the committee noted that this proposal may be beneficial to
men’s basketball as well and suggested the Men’s Basketball Issues
Committee also examine this proposal.
In examining this proposal, individual committee members offered a
variety of opinions regarding the impact of this proposal on student-athlete
well-being.
d.
2007-89 Playing
and Practice Seasons -- Basketball -- First Contest -- Exceptions -- Exhibition
Game. Intent: In basketball, to specify that in years
in which October 31 falls on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, an
institution may participate in one exhibition game on the Friday, Saturday or
Sunday prior to October 31.
Comment/Position: The Women’s Basketball Issues
Committee did not support Proposal No. 2007-89 as written. The committee
supported the general concept but questioned why the proposal restricted
scheduling the exhibition game to a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. The committee recommended the proposal
be amended to provide for more flexibility by allowing institutions to schedule
an exhibition game anytime after the start of its practice season.
2. NONLEGISLATIVE
INFORMATION ITEMS.
a. Update
of the NCAA Division I Management Council Governance Subcommittee’s
recommendations. The
Women’s Basketball Issues Committee received an update on the ongoing
work of the Governance Subcommittee and learned that based on feedback from the
various issues committees, the subcommittee is now recommending that issues
committees remain in the proposed new governance structure. It is anticipated that the Division I
Board of Directors will be asked to use its emergency authority to adopt the proposed
new governance structure at its November 1, 2007, meeting, for implementation
by September 2008.
b. Report
from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Board of Directors. The committee received a report from the
CEO of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in which she
thanked the Women’s Basketball Issues Committee along with the NCAA staff
for their help with and support of the WBCA’s new legislative process. She noted that this was the first year
of the involvement of the WBCA’s Foresight Committee, and while they have
not yet achieved their goal of having 100 percent of women’s basketball
specific proposals come through the WBCA legislative process, the WBCA members
did review a large number of proposals in the upcoming legislative cycle and
the WBCA views this first year as a great success. In closing, she noted that the WBCA is
still very interested in seeing legislation considered that would allow
participation in individual skill instruction by more than one group of four
student-athletes at one time.
c. Report
from the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Discussion Group. The committee learned that the NCAA
Division I Women’s Basketball Discussion Group will be meeting on September
5 for possibly its last meeting, and that it is anticipated the group will
review possible marketing initiatives for both the regular and post-seasons, examine
membership feedback regarding the idea of possibly moving the season back one
week, and review other initiatives previously identified by the group to
determine whether any of these ideas warrant further consideration.
d. Report
from the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. The committee received a report from the
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee in which it was explained
that the Women’s Basketball Committee, with a focus on enhancing the
student-athlete experience and attendance, is recommending that the current
tournament format be revised from eight sites – eight teams to 16 sites
– four teams, effective with the 2009 championship. Additionally, the group was informed
that the Women’s Basketball Committee asked the Division I
Championships/Competition Cabinet to refer to the appropriate committees the concept
of reducing the annual institutional limit of the total number of counters in
women’s basketball from 15 to 13 with the proviso the scholarship limits
would be increased in other women’s sports. The Women’s Basketball Issues
Committee indicated a desire to be part of that conversation as it progresses
through the governance structure.
e. Report
from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee. The committee received an update on the
status of the court markings for the men’s and women’s three point
lines to be implemented in 2008-09.
The respective rules committees agreed that two distinct lines would be
implemented, sparking conversation among the membership. The Collegiate Commissioners Association
is currently surveying its coaches to ascertain the level of support regarding
options for marking the courts.
f. Update
on NCAA Division I women’s basketball marketing initiatives. The committee received an update on a
number of women’s basketball marketing initiatives designed to further
promote the game at the “grassroots,” institutional, conference and
national levels. Specifically, it
was noted that the National Office has sent out a request for proposals from national
marketing consulting firms to provide strategic marketing and promotions services
for Division I women’s basketball.
Once the marketing firm is selected and in a position to oversee
activities, there are a series of exciting new initiatives, which will be
presented to the membership, including:
(1)
The “Pack
the House” Challenge whereby member institutions will compete against
schools in there own conference as well as all of Division I to set attendance
goals;
(2)
“Share the
Experience,” which will be an event hosted by the NCAA where the
marketing directors from the 12 preliminary-round sites will be provided an
opportunity to share best practices and brainstorm regarding ideas to increase
attendance for the 2008 women’s basketball preliminary rounds; and
(3)
The Division I
Women’s Basketball Grant Program, which is a three-year pilot funding
program, which is intended to grow the game from the “inside out and at
the grass roots level.”
NOTE: The
Women’s Basketball Issues Committee will continue to receive updates and
have an opportunity to examine these initiatives.
g. Enforcement
Initiatives. The committee was
introduced to the women’s basketball enforcement staff liaison and she
briefly described a new initiative whereby the women’s basketball
community will be offered more enforcement information and assistance with the
goal of establishing increased familiarity and comfort with the process.
h. Next
meeting. The next scheduled
gathering of the Women’s Basketball Issues Committee is tentatively set
for January 11, 2008, from 1 – 5 p.m. for those members in attendance at
the 2008 NCAA Convention. The next
official meeting of the Women’s Basketball Issues Committee will occur in
the spring of 2008 with a date to be determined.
Committee Chair:
Staff liaisons:
Sue Donohoe, Women’s Basketball
Beth
DeBauche, Governance
Lynn
Holzman, Membership Services
Michelle
Perry, Women’s Basketball