GUIDING
PRINCIPLES TO REVIEW CONFERENCE GRANT REQUESTS
The
Division II Presidents Council has approved the allocation of Division II
revenue to Division II conferences to address initiatives identified in the
Division II strategic plan. Money is
being made available to Division II conferences to implement and enhance
programs in many areas, including diversity, senior woman administrators,
faculty athletics representatives, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, academic
support, technology and student-athlete financial assistance.
The
Division II Budget and Finance Committee will oversee the conference grant
program and make decisions regarding conference grant allocations. The administration of the program will take
into consideration the diverse nature of conference structures and allow
conferences a reasonable degree of flexibility in constructing their grant
programs.
The
Budget and Finance Committee will use the following guiding principles when
considering conference grant requests:
1. Moneys requested by a conference must be
used to support programs initiated or managed by the NCAA; to enhance existing
conference programs; or to implement new institutional or conference programs
that support the Division II strategic plan.
Please note that subgrants to member schools still
will be permitted in this menu format for conference grants, but request(s)
must include a summary from member schools as to how subgrant money will be
spent; and the conference must include supporting documentation as to how the
conference will measure the success of the subgrant program. Note, too, that the Budget and Finance
Committee reserves the right to audit subgrant programs as part of the annual
reporting process.
2.
The Budget and
Finance Committee will divide grant applications among committee members for
initial review. The committee will first
award all requests that do not exceed the maximum amount available for a
conference provided that the grant request meets the specified criteria. (Each conference is guaranteed up to the
maximum amount specified for a required or permissive grant program, provided
all other criteria are met.)
3.
The committee will evaluate and measure the conference?s use of the prior
year grant funds within the specified guidelines. If a conference is found to violate
conference grant guidelines, the Budget and Finance Committee may place the
conference on ?watch? status. If a
conference violates guidelines while on ?watch? status, the committee may take
action up to and including withholding grant funds.
4.
Requests for
money in excess of the maximum amount available for a conference will be considered
and awarded from the total unallocated grant money.
5.
A committee
member will recuse himself/herself during the discussion in which his/her conference
has requested funds in excess of the maximum required or permissive grant available.
6.
Administrative
fees are no longer permitted as part of the conference grant application requests.
7. Full-time
administrative positions being funded or created as part of the conference?s
grant application must include a timeline to move the position to the
conference?s base budget.
8. When
evaluating grant requests that exceed the conference maximum, the committee
will evaluate the conference?s specific plans for the additional dollars and
consider progress the conference has made toward a ?Model Division II
Conference.? Principles under
consideration include:
a. Chief
Executive Officer Authority. A model
Division II conference shall involve chief executive officers (CEOs) in the
conference governance model. Consistent
with the role CEOs have in the governance of Division II, CEOs must have
ultimate authority and responsibility for the operation of Division II
conferences. Even though this principle
addresses the need for chief executive officer involvement in Division II,
conferences will have autonomy to determine the best way to include chief
executive officers in the conference's operations.
b. Full-Time
Commissioner. A model Division II
conference shall employ a full-time commissioner.
c. Staff. A model Division II conference shall employ a
sufficient number of staff members to assist the commissioner in administrative
tasks and delivering services for conference member schools.
d.
e. Diversity. A model Division II conference shall be
committed to the principle of diversity.
The conference shall promote an atmosphere of respect for and
sensitivity to the dignity of every person.
The conference shall also value the opinions of all, work to assure
gender and ethnic diversity in the conference?s governance structure and
initiate a leadership role in this area for its member schools.
f. Student-Athlete
Advisory Committee. A model Division
II conference shall have an active conference SAAC that represents the concerns
and ideas of the conference's student-athletes and is committed to
student-athlete welfare.
g. Rules
Compliance. A model Division II
conference shall initiate systems and services of rules education and
monitoring/enforcement to assist member institutions to comply with all
applicable rules and regulations of the NCAA in the conduct of its
intercollegiate athletics programs.
h. Academic
Standards. A model Division II
conference shall provide support and programs that will assist student-athletes
to succeed in academics.
i. Technology. A model Division II conference shall
implement technology advancements to enhance communication and improve services
with the NCAA and conference member schools.
j.
Faculty
Involvement. A model Division II conference shall feature
the active involvement of faculty athletics representatives on institutional
and conference issues.
k.
Senior Woman
Administrator Involvement. A model Division II conference shall feature
the active involvement of senior woman administrators on institutional and
conference issues.
l. Media
Relations and Marketing. A model
Division II conference shall promote its events and activities to maximize
exposure, interest and revenue.
m. Financial
Stability. A model Division II
conference shall be administered with prudent management and fiscal practices
to ensure financial stability.
n. Championships/Awards/Recognition. A model Division II conference shall provide
student-athletes with championships opportunities and athletics recognition
that is consistent with the division's commitment to student-athlete welfare
and the division's philosophy that athletics is an integral part of the total
educational experience.
o. Citizenship/Leadership/Sportsmanship. A model Division II conference shall encourage
all student-athletes, coaches and fans to respect each other, practice
civility, encourage teamwork, appreciate differences and understand citizenship
responsibilities.
p. Nominations
Process. A model Division II
conference shall be active in nominating the conference's faculty and athletics
administrators to fill vacancies on Association-wide and Division II
committees.
9. When
an independent institution requests strategic initiative funds, the committee
will consider the request but will not award more than 10 percent of the
maximum grant allowed for each conference.
10. Grant information specific to a particular
conference, including dollars requested, conference ?model office? information
and total allocations spent, shall remain confidential information, limited
only to staff and Division II Budget and Finance Committee members.
11. The Budget and Finance Committee reserves the
right to request an audit of conference expenses for money distributed to
conferences through this grant program.
In addition, the committee reserves the right to withhold conference
grant distributions to conferences with schools habitually delinquent in
reporting scores to NCAA sports committees.
The National
Collegiate Athletic Association