REPORT OF THE

REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS/COMPETITION CABINET

The NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet submits this report from its June 27-28, 2006, in-person meeting in La Jolla, California. [Note: All votes were unanimous voice votes unless otherwise indicated. Subcommittee positions are noted unless part of the consent package.]

ACTION ITEMS.

· Legislative Items.

a. Emergency Legislation – Playing and Practice Seasons – First Contest – Men's Soccer.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee and the NCAA Division I Championships/
Competition Cabinet Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to recommend that the NCAA Division I Management Council support and forward to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors for adoption emergency legislation to specify that, effective August 1, 2007, the first contest date in men's soccer would be September 1 or the preceding Friday if September 1 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, except that an alumni contest may be played the weekend prior to September 1 when September 1 does not fall on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

(2) Effective Date. August 1, 2007.

(3) Rationale. The recommended contest date was the date used in men's soccer before the cabinet approved a change to the championship date formula in 2003 to conduct the men's and women's soccer championships on the same weekend. The cabinet has agreed to change the soccer championship date formula so that the men's and women's championships will not occur on the same weekend beginning with the 2007 season. Therefore, it is appropriate to return to the former first contest date while maintaining the men's soccer season at 132 days. The cabinet feels this proposal warrants emergency consideration in that use of the regular legislative cycle will cause unnecessary hardship to the Division I membership as it seeks to schedule contests for the 2007 season.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. Minimal.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. This may permit men's soccer squads to report earlier for preseason practice than they will in 2006; however, this change will be a return to the former rule after only one year.

b. Noncontroversial Legislation – Recruiting – Telephone Calls to Prospects – Exception – Women's Basketball.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Issues Committee, the cabinet agreed to recommend that the Management Council support and forward to the Board of Directors for adoption noncontroversial legislation to provide that the one telephone call, which may be made to a prospect [or the prospect's parents or legal guardian(s)] during the month of April, may not be made until the Thursday after the conclusion of the NCAA Women's Final Four.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate.

(3) Rationale. Coaches feel pressure to call prospects April 1 and there is a concern that many coaches either leave the Final Four or do not attend events associated with the Final Four due to this pressure. By precluding telephone calls in April until the Thursday after the conclusion of the Women's Final Four, coaches would be able to celebrate their sport by attending all of the associated activities and still have adequate time in April to place permissible recruiting calls. Additionally, the cabinet noted the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet's support of this recommendation. Finally, it should be noted that the cabinet felt it was appropriate to request noncontroversial legislation inasmuch as broader consultation and debate are unlikely to improve the proposal in any substantial way, significant disagreement or alternative points of view will not be generated and there does not appear to be a significant impact on existing legislation or proposed legislation.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

c. Noncontroversial Legislation – Executive Regulations – Ineligibility for Use of Banned Drugs – Medical Exceptions.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the cabinet agreed to recommend that the Management Council support and forward to the Board of Directors for adoption noncontroversial legislation to add "anabolic agents" to the list of classes of drugs in NCAA Bylaw 31.2.3.5 for which a medical exception may be requested.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate.

(3) Rationale. Currently, there is an exception that allows for the use of banned substances to maintain the health of the student-athlete and support the student-athlete's academic success. In the past, anabolic agents were precluded because of the strong prohibition for the use of these substances as performance enhancers. The committee has heard a number of appeals that involved the legitimate use of testosterone, an anabolic agent, for the treatment of medical syndromes involving serious hormonal deficits. The committee would ensure that procedures are in place that would allow a thorough advance review of the medical use of these substances before use of the anabolic agent without the risk of abuse. Finally, it should be noted that the cabinet felt it appropriate to request noncontroversial legislation, inasmuch as broader consultation and debate are unlikely to improve the proposal in any substantial way, significant disagreement or alternative points of view will not be generated and there does not appear to be a significant impact on existing legislation or proposed legislation.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

1. Legislative Information Items – Cabinet-Sponsored Proposals for Initial Consideration by the Management Council in January 2007.

a. Executive Regulations – Division I Cabinets and Committees – Eligibility for Membership – "On the Staff."

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet Bracket/Format Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to permit staff members employed at a single or multisport conference receiving automatic qualification to serve on Division I cabinets or committees, or as Division I representatives on Association-wide or common committees, provided the individual is nominated by a multisport conference set forth in NCAA Constitution 4.2.1.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate.

(3) Rationale. Members of the cabinet believe it is appropriate for any conference that is entitled to automatic qualification to have an opportunity for representation in the governance structure. In addition the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation so that waivers would not have to be requested in each instance.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

b. Executive Regulations – Automatic Qualification – Sports Groupings for Automatic Qualification – Exception.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the Bracket/Format Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to provide an exception to the six-team requirement for team sports that are sponsored by less than 30 percent of the membership and are members of conferences that previously had six teams. (For 36, Against 7, Abstentions 3)

(2) Effective Date. August 1, 2007.

(3) Rationale. Members of the cabinet agreed that the exception currently existing in NCAA Bylaw 31.3.4.4-(c) for "other individual sports" should apply to team sports with low sports sponsorship numbers. Without providing this exception for sports in this category, it is possible that institutions may decide to drop the sport, which will take opportunities away from current and future student-athletes. The cabinet noted that this exception provides flexibility to the sports committee but does not require the committee to use the exception. In other words, for those sports that fall below 30 percent, sports committees would not be required to recommend automatic qualification to those conferences that do not meet the six-team requirement but would be permitted to do so, if appropriate. In addition, the cabinet agreed to monitor closely any such recommendations for automatic qualification.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

c. Committees – Common Committees – Committees with Playing Rules and Championships Administration Responsibilities – Committee Composition – Men's Water Polo Committee.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo Committee and the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet Nominating Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to specify that the composition of the committee would include two representatives from the East region, two representatives from the West region and one would be an at-large representative. The sixth member of the committee would be the secretary-rules editor and could be from either region.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate; although composition requirements would be met through attrition.

(3) Rationale. Members of the cabinet believe that this would create more balance between the two water polo regions and lead to better decision-making on championship issues.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

d. Administrative Regulations – Summer Basketball Event Certification – Men's and Women's Basketball.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Issues Committees, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to amend Bylaws 30.16. and 30.17 respectively to require qualified medical personnel be present at summer events; preclude athletically related activities from beginning before 8 a.m. on a given day; require the last athletically related activity to begin not later than 10 p.m.; limit prospective student-athletes to participating in no more than five games over a rolling two-day period with no more than three games on a given day; and to require the price of event packets be listed on the event certification application and the price be made available to coaches prior to arrival at the specified event.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate.

(3) Rationale. Concern has been expressed regarding the health and safety of prospective student-athletes participating in certified events. Some certified events have athletically related activities scheduled from very early in the morning until very late at night, sometime lasting until after midnight, with prospective student-athletes participating in multiple contests on a single day. Further, coaches arrive at the events and are required to pay the cost of the event packets without having any previous knowledge of the price. Accordingly, this recommendation is intended to address concerns about the well-being of prospective student-athletes by ensuring the presence of appropriate medical personnel, to ensure that prospects are competing at a reasonable hour of the day, to ensure they have adequate rest over the course of multiple contests and to ensure coaches have advanced notice of the cost to attend and receive the event packets. Finally, the cabinet noted the NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet's support of this recommendation.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

e. Administrative Regulations – Recruiting Calendars – Men's Basketball.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the Men's Basketball Issues Committee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation, effective immediately, to expand the dead period following the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship until noon Thursday after the championship game.

(2) Effective Date. Immediate.

(3) Rationale. Currently, coaches feel pressure to continue recruiting activities in April prior to the upcoming signing period and there is a concern that many coaches either leave the Final Four or do not attend

events associated with the Final Four due to this pressure. By extending the dead period until the Thursday after the conclusion of the championship game, coaches would be able to celebrate their sport by attending all of the associated activities and still have adequate time in April to make last-minute recruiting contacts before the signing period begins. Finally, the cabinet noted the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet's support of this recommendation.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

f. Recruiting – Institutional Camps and Clinics – Football.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to specify that an institutional football camp and/or clinic shall be conducted only on its campus, within the state in which the institution is located or, if outside the state, within a 50-mile radius of the institution's campus.

(2) Effective Date. August 1, 2007.

(3) Rationale. Members of the cabinet and the football community believe that the trend of hosting institutional camps in different regions of the country is an unwanted development in the football recruiting culture. Such camps are hosted primarily for recruiting purposes and come at a great expense to institutional and personal resources.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. Reduced institutional costs for those institutions currently hosting camps in a manner contrary to this recommendation.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

g. Committees – Association-Wide Committees – Playing Rules Committees – Eligibility.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation to permit institutional staff members from institutions that sponsor a sport at a division other than their all-sport division, to serve on that sport's playing rules committee, provided at least 25 percent of the institutions sponsoring the relevant sport are Division II or III institutions.

(2) Effective Date. August 1, 2007.

(3) Rationale. Currently, an institutional staff member at an NCAA Division II or III institution is not permitted to be a member of a rules committee for a sport that competes at the Division I level. However, members of the cabinet believe that all institutions sponsoring a sport at each divisional level should have the opportunity to serve on the playing rules committees, which are Association-wide committees. This provision would apply if at least 25 percent of the institutions sponsoring the relevant sport are Division II or III institutions. Currently, only men's ice hockey (41 percent playing Division I men's ice hockey are Division II or III institutions) and women's ice hockey (28 percent playing Division I women's ice hockey are Division II or III institutions) fall into this category.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

h. Playing and Practice Seasons – Number of Contests – Annual Exemptions – Event Certification.

(1) Recommendation. Based on a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet Certified Contests Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to sponsor noncontroversial legislation to eliminate the event certification program in sports other than football and basketball.

(2) Effective Date. August 1, 2007.

(3) Rationale. The cabinet noted that the adoption of NCAA Proposal No. 2006-14 eliminated the event certification program in basketball, resulting in the elimination of the certification process for over 90 percent of the total number of events. The cabinet further noted that during the 2005-06 academic year, only nine events in all other sports were certified and only 11 events sought certification for 2006-07. Given the limited number of opportunities in these other sports, the cabinet believes that eliminating the certification process will foster competitive equity.

(4) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(5) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

2. Nonlegislative Informational Items.

a. Approval of Report from September 20-21, 2005, Cabinet Meeting. The report from the cabinet's February 7-8 in-person meeting was approved as previously distributed.

b. Report from the Management Council, Board of Directors and NCAA Executive Committee April 2006 meetings. The cabinet received an update from NCAA staff without taking action.

c. Budget Report from Cabinet Chair. Chris Dawson reported on the outcome of the cabinet's budget recommendations, highlighting the cabinet's top priorities and noting the initiatives that received final approval. In addition, Jim Isch, senior vice president for administration and chief financial officer of the NCAA, explained the newly implemented internal procedures related to the budget process. It was agreed that cabinet members would be sent a chart summarizing the cabinet's budget recommendations and the budget initiatives that received final approval.

d. Report of the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet Administrative Committee.

(1) Review of Subcommittee and Sports Committee Liaison Assignments. The Administrative Committee reported on assignments made to the cabinet's subcommittees and sports committee liaison program. It was noted that the Administrative Committee made the appointments having considered cabinet member interest and expertise, geographical and subdivisional representation and gender and ethnic diversity.

(2) Use of Male Practice Players in Women's Sports. After the Administrative Committee framed the issues for the full cabinet, the cabinet engaged in a discussion related to the use of male practice players in women's sports. The cabinet considered information provided by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and Women's Basketball Issues Committee and information from a recent conference call of the NCAA Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues. After a lengthy discussion, it was the sense of the meeting that the cabinet opposes the use of male practice players. Further, it was agreed that the use of male practice players in women's sports appears to be having a significant impact on participation and development opportunities for female student-athletes and that additional feedback on the issue needs to be sought. As a result, the cabinet agreed to develop a resolution indicating that the cabinet intends to sponsor legislation related to the use of male practice players in all women's sports (For 26½, Against 21½). Prior to sponsoring the legislation, the cabinet will gather feedback from a variety of key stakeholders and consider the feedback as it develops specific language and rationale for the proposal. All feedback will be gathered in preparation for the cabinet's February 2007 meeting.

(3) Cabinet Substitution Policy. The Administrative Committee reported that when conferences send a substitute for a cabinet member who is unable to attend a particular cabinet meeting, the conference can also identify a substitute to attend the absent member's subcommittee meetings (excluding the Administrative Committee). The individual designated to attend the absent member's subcommittee meeting(s) can either be the substitute representative or for those conferences having more than one representative, another conference representative already serving on the cabinet. In addition, it was noted that there were a large number of substitutes in attendance at the June 2006 meeting. The cabinet agreed that the importance of attendance at the cabinet meetings should be re-emphasized with the conference offices and that they should be reminded to review standing cabinet meeting dates with potential cabinet nominees to ensure that nominees will be able to commit to regular attendance.

e. Report of the Nominating Subcommittee. The subcommittee confirmed the cabinet's policy regarding committee resignations and interim vacancies. The policy states that "if an individual resigns from the committee prior to the expiration of his or her term, for reasons considered sufficient by the subcommittee (e.g., job changes, medical conditions) or to become a member of a cabinet or the Management Council, preference will be given to refilling the position with a qualified and eligible individual nominated by the resigning member's conference, only for the remainder of that member's term on the committee."

f. Report of the Bracket/Format Subcommittee.

(1) Regional Allocation. The cabinet agreed to modify its working principles related to regional allocations, effective 2007-08. In team sports and individual-team championships that are sponsored by 30 percent or more of the membership, regional allocations would not be permissible. For individual-team championship sports sponsored by less than 30 percent of the membership, sports committee will be permitted, though not required, to have regional allocations in addition to automatic qualification. For such sports, after automatic qualification and regional berths have been determined, the remainder of the field would be selected on an at-large basis. The cabinet further agreed that even though men's and women's diving and men's and women's outdoor track and field are above the 30 percent sponsorship level, it would remain permissible for those sports to use regional allocations (For 37½, Against 9). [A motion to table the issue to seek additional feedback was defeated (For 21½, Against 26½).]

[Note: Men's and women's golf are the only sports above 30 percent that currently use regional allocation in addition to automatic qualification.]

(2) Wrestling Allocation Formula. The cabinet reviewed a report by a special subcommittee charged with examining wrestling's allocation formula (e.g., use of historical performance and current cap on qualifiers). The special committee, consisting of several cabinet members and the chair of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee, determined that the Wrestling Committee should continue to use regional allocations in addition to automatic qualification and would retain its current formula for determining the number of qualifiers allocated to each of the qualifying tournaments. In agreement with the special subcommittee, the Bracket/Format Subcommittee believed that the current system serves the sport of wrestling effectively in that it guarantees that each conference or regional qualifying tournament will have a minimum number of allocated berths (11) that can increase from one year to the next based on performance at the finals site. In addition to serving the wrestling community effectively, it was agreed that the current model was the only viable model of several considered by the special subcommittee.

(3) Infractions Penalties and Impact on Championships Competition. Based on a recommendation from the Bracket/Format Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to recommend that the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions revisit the impact of the penalties imposed related to the 2007 NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The cabinet noted the impact of permitting student-athletes to compete and place despite the institution's ineligibility for the championship due to NCAA infractions. In particular, it was noted that team scoring is affected, student-athletes from eligible institutions are displaced and the ineligible institution can have the opportunity to benefit from participation of its student-athletes in the championship. (For 35½, Against 10)

g. Reports of Sports and Sports Issues Committees.

(1) Men's and Women's Fencing. Based on a recommendation from the Bracket/Format Subcommittee, the cabinet approved a recommendation from the committee related to regional qualifications. Specifically, the cabinet agreed to increase the number of required bouts from 15 to 18 in 2006-07 and from 18 to 21 in 2007-08, and to require a fencer to achieve a 20 to 40 percent win-loss percentage opposed to only 20 percent in scheduled dual meets as determined by the region. The new regional qualification requirements will read as follows:

(a) Participate in a minimum of 50 percent of the institution's dual meets against varsity teams of four-year degree-granting institutions. The maximum number of meets that would be counted toward the 50 percent would be 18. If an institution scheduled more than 18, only 18 would be used, thus a fencer would need to fence a minimum of nine dual meets to qualify;

(b) Compete in a minimum of 18 bouts in 2006-07 and 21 bouts in 2007-08; and

Regional Format. Based on a recommendation from the Bracket/Format Subcommittee, the cabinet agreed to give the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee the authority effective 2006-07 to use the original round-robin tournament format with each region having the ability to accept three to four entries and for each region to determine the variance a fencer must achieve in their win-loss record in scheduled dual meets (20 to 40 percent).

(2) Field Hockey.

(a) Performance Index.