NCAA OLYMPIC SPORTS LIAISON COMMITTEE
a. Legislative Issues. The committee reviewed legislative proposals from Divisions I, II and III that are currently progressing through the various governance structures. The committee supported Division II Proposal No. 33, which, if adopted, would include the World University Games as an exception to the outside competition regulation. Divisions I and III adopted similar pieces of legislation this past August. The committee unanimously supported Division I Proposal No. 2001-77, which limits the time period a former student-athlete can receive a United States Olympic Committee/National Governing Body waiver of full-time enrollment to five years following exhaustion of eligibility or completion of degree, whichever is earlier. The committee also supported Division I Proposal No. 2001-96, which amends the definition of a professional team to one that either declares itself professional or provides compensation above actual and necessary expenses to at least one member. The committee voted to support Proposal No. 40 in Division III, which permits a student-athlete, prior to his or her full-time enrollment at a collegiate institution, to accept prize money based on place finish from the sponsor of an open athletics event, the United States Olympic Committee or the appropriate national governing body. The impact of legislation adopted by the three divisions at the summer 2001 meetings of the Board of Directors and Presidents Council also was discussed.
b. Changes in the NCAA Budget Process. The committee discussed the NCAA’s need to reduce its operating budget, and its decision to change from an annual to biennial budget process. The committee reviewed its future budgetary needs and decided that the only possible request would be for expenditures to promote emerging sports. It was decided that future expenditures on the emerging sports program would be done in conjunction with the Committee on Women’s Athletics.
c. Value of the NCAA to the U.S. Olympic Committee. The committee was updated on the latest developments regarding the National Governing Bodies’ (NGBs) proposal to obtain a majority voting power on the United States Olympic Committee’s Executive Committee. The NCAA submitted a response in opposition to that legislation. The response included statistics on the NCAA’s role in preparing or supporting current and future Olympians. At the time of the meeting, it was unclear as to the status of the legislation, but it appeared that the NGBs’ attempt to gain a majority voting power on the Executive Committee failed.
d. Discussion of
NCAA Sports Sponsorship (Division I only). At its last in-person meeting in April 2001, the
committee reviewed a proposal put forth by the committee’s former chair,
Carolyn Campbell-McGovern of the Ivy Group, relating to a new model for
Division I sports sponsorship revenue distribution. This proposal was presented in draft format to the NCAA Division
I Championships/Competition Cabinet at its September 2001 meeting. The committee agreed to establish an ad
hoc subcommittee (four members of the
committee) to review the proposal and present its recommendations to the full
committee at its April 2002 in-person meeting.
e. Future Meetings. The committee’s next meeting will be held April 15-16, 2002, in Indianapolis. The fall meeting will take place in Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 3-5, 2002, (in conjunction with the USOC Board of Directors fall 2002 meeting).
Staff Liaisons:
Douglas Archie; Bridget Niland