REPORT OF THE

DIVISION III INTERPRETATIONS AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

 

 

1.            ACTION ITEMS.

 

a.            Permissible Promotional Activities – NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1.

 

(1)         Recommendation: Sponsor legislation to clarify that student-athletes may not participate in any promotional activity other than as permitted under Bylaw 12.5.1.

 

(2)         Rationale: In response to a referral from the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, the committee reviewed Bylaws 12.5.1 and 12.5.2. Current NCAA regulations list the circumstances under which promotional activities are permissible (Bylaw 12.5.1) and specific activities that are considered nonpermissible (Bylaw 12.5.2). However, the legislation does not contain a general rule or principal stipulating that promotional activity is nonpermissible if one or more of the conditions under the permissible section is not fulfilled. Thus, the current legislation leads to confusion when an activity does not specifically meet Bylaw 12.5.1 or Bylaw 12.5.2. These proposed changes are consistent with the committee’s previous deregulation of Bylaw 12, in that Bylaw 12.5.2 would be deleted with appropriate language related to permissible activities added to Bylaw 12.5.1.

 

b.            Bylaw 17 Chart – Incorporation into the 2002-2003 NCAA Division III Manual.

 

(1)         Recommendation: Sponsor legislation to incorporate the Bylaw 17 chart into the 2002-2003 Division III Manual (Attachment A).

 

(2)         Rationale: The committee believes this chart will add clarification. The chart is also consistent with the committee’s efforts to deregulate Bylaw 17.

 

c.             Glossary of Terms – Incorporation into the 2002-2003 Division III Manual.

 

(1)         Recommendation: Sponsor legislation to incorporate the glossary of terms into the 2002-2003 Division III Manual (Attachment B).

 

(2)         Rationale: The committee believes this glossary will add clarification. The glossary is also consistent with the committee’s efforts to deregulate the Division III Manual.

 

d.            Athletics Personnel and Employment with Professional Sports Organizations – NCAA Bylaw 11.3.3.

 

(1)   Recommendation: Sponsor legislation for the 2002 Convention to delete Bylaw 11.3.3.

(2)   Rationale: In the spirit of deregulation, institutions should have the autonomy to establish policies regarding the employment and income arrangements between their athletics department staff members and professional sports organizations.

 

e.            Time Lapse between Foreign Tours -- Bylaw 30.7.4.

 

(1)   Recommendation: Sponsor legislation for the 2002 NCAA Convention to clarify that foreign tours for all Division III sports may not occur more than once every three years.

 

(2)   Rationale: Bylaw 30.7.4 requires that Division III institutions have a three-year time lapse between foreign tours. However, current bylaws for several Division III sports specify a four-year time lapse between foreign tours -- in direct contradiction to Bylaw 30.7.4. In the current Division III manual, sports that conclude with either a National Collegiate Championship or a National Governing Body Championship (where there is no NCAA Championship opportunity) specify the four-year time lapse. In contrast, Division III championship sports specify the three-year time lapse. The committee agreed that the three-year time lapse between foreign tours should apply to all Division III sports -- regardless of the championship opportunities in those sports. Further, the committee agreed that this recommendation is consistent with the original intent of Bylaw 30.7.4.

 

f.              Definition of Student-Athlete.

 

(1)   Recommendation: Sponsor noncontroversial legislation to make Bylaw 12.02.5 consistent with the language in Bylaw 13.02.2.

 

(2)   Rationale: Currently, the definition of student-athlete in Bylaw 12.02.5 is different than the recently adopted definition of student-athlete in Bylaw 13.02.2. For purposes of consistency and increased clarity, it is important that there be uniform definitions of the term “student-athlete.”

 

g.            Satisfactory-Progress Requirements -- Correspondence Courses and Extension Courses from another Institution.

 

(1)   Recommendation: Sponsor legislation for the 2002 Convention to permit nontraditional courses (i.e., correspondence courses, distance learning, independent study, etc.) to be used to meet satisfactory-progress requirements, in accordance with Bylaw 14.4.1.2.2.

 

(2)   Rationale: Legislation was recently sponsored in Bylaw 14.1.6.2.5 to permit a student-athlete to use hours earned in nontraditional courses taken at another institution to meet the full-time enrollment requirement at the certifying institution. Currently, under Bylaw 14.4.1.2.2, a student-athlete is not permitted to use hours earned in correspondence and extension courses taken at another institution to meet the satisfactory-progress requirement at the certifying institution. Bylaw 14.4.1.2.2 should be modified to be consistent with the proposed changes to Bylaw 14.1.6.2.5, so that a student-athlete may use nontraditional courses taken at another institution to satisfy both the full-time enrollment requirement and the satisfactory-progress requirement at the certifying institution.

 

h. Recommendation to Amend the Role of Management Council Representatives on Division III General Committees. Per the Management Council’s request, the committee reviewed a recommendation to amend Bylaw 21.8.2.5 to require that Management Council representatives will serve as ex officio, nonvoting members and be excluded from the total composition requirements for Division III general committees. The committee disfavored the proposed legislation in its current form, noting that the proposed legislation failed to address the real concern of easing the placement of Management Council representatives on Division III general committees. The committee recommends that the “ex officio, nonvoting” language be removed from the proposed legislation.

 

i. Proposed Changes to the Legislative Cycle. Review and comment on proposed changes to the Division III legislative cycle. The committee had lengthy discussions regarding ways in which the current legislative cycle could be changed. The committee’s proposed changes are attached for the Management Council’s review and comment (Attachment C).

 

 

2.            INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

 

a.            Deregulation – Bylaws 30 and 3l. Committee members agreed to individually review and revise Bylaws 30 and 31, in preparation for future committee conference calls.

 

b.            Division I Proposal No. 2000-13 -- Referral to NCAA Division III Championships Committee. During its June 2001 meeting, the committee reviewed Division I Proposal No. 2000-13, regarding annual contest exemptions in gymnastics. The committee is referring this proposal to the Division III Championships Committee for review and comment.

 

c.             Proposed Changes to NCAA Constitution 6.1.3 (Faculty Athletics Representative). The committee reviewed a recommendation from the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) to consider a legislative change to Constitution 6.1.3. The committee agreed not to recommend a legislative change at this time.

 


d.            Possible Changes to Timing of NCAA Annual Convention. In connection with its discussion of possible changes to the legislative cycle, the committee also discussed changes to the timing of the NCAA’s annual Convention. The month of June was discussed as a possible alternative. The committee suggests that the NCAA Convention-Planning Subcommittee discuss a change to the timing of the Convention.

 

 

 

 

Chair: Suzanne Coffey, Bates College

Staff liaison(s): Chris T. Martin; Mweni Ekpo

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The National Collegiate Athletic Association

July 6, 2001 MUE/CTM:lmh