SUPPLEMENT NO. 17

DIII Presidents Council 4/02

DIVISION III STUDENT-ATHLETE REINSTATEMENT COMMITTEE

Summary of Recommendations

ACTION ITEMS -- MANAGEMENT COUNCIL ONLY

1.	ISSUE:	Policies and Procedures.
Committee Recommendation:
	Approve two amendments to the committee’s policies and procedures: a. That for the purpose of fulfilling a reinstatement withholding condition, the contest(s) must occur during the traditional season (i.e., championship segment), and the contests must be considered for the team’s NCAA championship selection. b. Refinement of reconsideration procedures. Subsequent to the committee's appeal decision, an institution may request that the staff reconsider its initial decision if the institution submits newly discovered information that existed at the time of the decision but was not available to the institution or the student-athlete. If the institution then seeks to have the committee review the staff’s decision it may appeal.
Management Council Action:
	Approved the two amendments to the committee’s policies and procedures.

INFORMATION ITEMS

1.	ISSUE:	Issuance of Directives.
Committee Action:
	The committee discussed whether it would continue to issue directives. The committee concluded that it would continue to issue directives since directives are key components of its goal of being responsive to the membership. Specifically, directives provide the membership with a summary of key actions by the committee to codify case precedent or to highlight a shift in case precedent. Directives are listed on the student-athlete reinstatement Web site and published in The NCAA News.
Management Council Action:
	Accepted the information.
2.	ISSUE:	Academic Fraud Directive.
Committee Action:
	The committee reviewed its December 2000 directive regarding student-athletes who engage in academic fraud under NCAA Bylaw 10.1 (Unethical Conduct). Specifically, the committee directed the staff not to reinstate student-athletes in cases involving academic fraud. The committee noted that although this was a serious reinstatement decision, these types of violations should be dealt with harshly, and the committee was available to provide relief, if appropriate.
Management Council Action:
	Accepted the information.
3.	ISSUE:	Withholding Condition Directive for Sports that Utilize Dates of Competition and Maximum Contest Limitations.
Committee Action:
	NCAA contest limitation legislation permits certain sports (e.g., soccer, field hockey) to engage in a maximum number of dates of competition during the nontraditional season and a maximum number of contests during the championship season. Such legislation provides institutions with greater flexibility since an institution could engage in several contests on a specific date during the nontraditional season. The staff requested clarification from the committee on what the appropriate reinstatement condition is for student-athletes who engage in multiple contests on a single date during the nontraditional season. The committee directed the staff to count each permissible date of competition as one contest. Thus, a student-athlete who competed in four contests on two dates of competition would be reinstated after being withheld from the next two regular-season contests during the championship or traditional season since reinstatement conditions may only be fulfilled during the championship season.
Management Council Action:
	Accepted the information.
4.	ISSUE:	Applying Withholding Condition for Team/Individual Sports.
Committee Action:
	The committee reviewed a proposal put forward by the staff to amend the policies regarding the application of a withholding condition to state the following: [The competition must be a regular-season competition (i.e., used to calculate the Rating Percentage Index for postseason competition in the sport), which does not include scrimmages or exhibitions. In the sport of tennis, which has both individual and team competitions, only championship-season team competitions can be used to fulfill a condition.] The staff reported on discussions with the championships staff in an effort to develop a better understanding of the distinctions between individual and team championships and the selection process for both. Although sports vary in exactly which events are considered in each individual and team championships selection process, the number of individual events is limited under Bylaw 17 (Playing and Practice Seasons), and events are identified and scheduled as team competitions with team scoring that counts toward team championship consideration. The team competitions appear to be most similar to the contests considered regularly scheduled for all team sport participants and have less flexibility in scheduling. For purposes of fulfilling a reinstatement condition, the committee determined that the competition must be regular-season competition during the championship segment, and the contests must be considered when the team is evaluated for championship selection. The committees also decided to send the report to the sport committees requesting feedback.
Management Council Action:
	Accepted the information.
5.	ISSUE:	Reinstatement Requests Involving Bylaw 14.01.3 (Compliance with Other NCAA and Conference Legislation).
Committee Action:
	There are two categories of cases processed involving Bylaw 14.01.3: a. The first category concerns the certification process where a student-athlete competes and would be considered otherwise eligible, but the institution or conference certification process was not completed, the student-athlete was not included on the eligibility roster or squad list, or forms were not completed. The staff has reinstated those student-athletes within this category of violation without condition because the institution/conference failed to complete the necessary paperwork, but the student-athlete was otherwise eligible. b. The second category concerns those circumstances where a student-athlete does not meet an institutional or conference regulation, which results in the student-athlete being ineligible for competition. In this category, the staff has withheld student-athletes on a one-for-one basis or noted the use of a season if the student-athlete competed in less than 50 percent of the season. The committee discussed the reinstatement conditions and confirmed that the staff is applying the appropriate withholding condition for violations of Bylaw 14.01.3 (Compliance with Other NCAA and Conference Legislation).
Management Council Action:
	Accepted the information.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association

April 15, 2002 BB/DTD:skt