2003 NCAA CONVENTION PROPOSALS
SPONSORED BY THE NCAA DIVISION III PRESIDENTS COUNCIL

Pursuant to NCAA Constitution 5.3.6.3.1.2 proposed amendments sponsored by the NCAA Division III Presidents Council to be considered by the NCAA Division III membership at an annual NCAA Convention must be submitted not later than September 1. The following is a list of the proposals in legislative form that the Presidents Council has agreed to sponsor. Those items that the NCAA Division III Management Council has not yet reviewed in legislative form are marked with an asterisk.

*NO. 1		ELIGIBILITY – SEASONS OF COMPETITION
Intent: To establish a season-of-competition waiver that may be granted due to extenuating circumstances for student-athletes who competed while eligible in a limited amount of competition.
A. Bylaws: Amend 14.2.6, page 97, as follows:
[Division III]
	"14.2.6 Season-of-Competition Waiver – Competition While Ineligible. In conjunction with a request for restoration of eligibility and any conditions imposed thereon per Bylaw 14.12, a student-athlete may be granted an additional season of competition by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement when the student-athlete participated in a limited amount of competition as a result of a good-faith, erroneous formal declaration of eligibility by the institution's appropriate certifying authority; or the student-athlete's good-faith, erroneous reliance on a coaching staff member's decision to put the student-athlete into competition prior to the coaching staff member receiving a formal declaration of the student-athlete's eligibility from the institution's appropriate certifying authority. The competition must have occurred under all of the following conditions:"
	[14.2.6-(a) through 14.2.6.1 unchanged.]
B. Bylaws: Amend 14.2 by adding new 14.2.7, page 98, as follows:
[Division III]

"14.2.7 Season-of-Competition Waiver – Competition While Eligible. A student-athlete may be granted an additional season of competition by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement when, due to extenuating circumstances (per Bylaw 14.2.7.1.2), the student-athlete, while eligible, participated in a limited amount of competition. The competition must have occurred under all of the following conditions:
"(a)	The competition occurred while the student-athlete was representing an NCAA member institution;
"(b)	The composition occurred within 60 days of the date the student-athlete first reported for athletics competition;
"(c)	The student-athlete did not compete in more than two events or 10 percent (whichever number is greater) of the institution's completed events in his or her sport. All competition (including a scrimmage) against outside participants shall be countable under this limitation in calculating both the number of events in which the student-athlete participated and the number of completed events during that season (both segments) in the sport.
	"14.2.7.1 Administrative Criteria. The following criteria shall be employed in the administration of this season-of-competition waiver:
		"14.2.7.1.1 Ten-Percent Calculation. The requirements specified in Bylaw 14.2.4.3.5 shall apply to the 10-percent calculation specified in this waiver.
		"14.2.7.1.2 Extenuating Circumstances. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:
		"(a)	The student-athlete officially withdrew from the institution as a result of a life-threatening injury or illness suffered by a member of the student-athlete's immediate family, which clearly is supported by contemporaneous medical documentation;

	"(b)	The student-athlete officially withdrew from the institution as a result of extreme financial difficulties as a result of a specific event (e.g., layoff, death in family) experienced by the student-athlete or an individual on whom the student-athlete is legally dependent, which prohibit the student-athlete from participating in intercollegiate athletics. These circumstances must be clearly supported by objective documentation (e.g., decree of bankruptcy, proof of termination) and must be beyond the control of the student-athlete or the individual on whom the student-athlete is legally dependent;
	"(c)	The student-athlete's institution dropped the sport (in which the student has practiced or competed) from its intercollegiate program; or
	"(d)	The student-athlete participated as a result of good faith, reliance on a coaching staff member's decision to put the student-athlete in an alumni contest, exhibition contests, scrimmages or nonchampionship season contests based on the coach's documented misunderstanding of NCAA legislation.
	"14.2.7.1.3 Penalty. A student-athlete who is granted a waiver pursuant to Bylaw 14.2.6 shall be withheld from two contests of intercollegiate competition for each contest in which he or she competed.
	"14.2.7.1.4 Review Authority. In cases where a student-athlete does not meet the extenuating circumstances listed in Bylaw 14.2.7.1.2, the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement shall have authority to review and grant waivers based on additional documented extenuating circumstances."
Source: NCAA Division III Presidents Council [Management Council (Administrative Review Subcommittee)].
Effective Date: August 1, 2002 (for competition occurring on or after August 1, 2002).

Rationale: This proposal is based on the number of requests submitted by the membership and reviewed and granted by the subcommittee to waive Bylaw 14.2.3.1. The majority of cases processed involve situations where a coach either mistakenly allowed a student-athlete to compete without realizing it would result in the loss of a season or the coach simply decided to play the student-athlete in limited competition. The subcommittee distinguishes cases where the coach made a decision to allow the student-athlete to participate in limited competition from those where the coach mistakenly believed that the criteria through legislation can reasonably expand the season-of-competition waiver to include eligible student-athletes. It noted that the increasing number of requests being submitted by the membership have, in essence, created criteria that can be reviewed in a more equitable manner through a specific legislated waiver. Regarding the two-for-one condition, the subcommittee notes that it currently grants waivers by Bylaw 14.2.3.1 on a two-for-one withholding condition. Such a condition protects competitive equity while deterring abuses of the waiver process.