NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
DIVISION III DEREGULATION EFFORTS
SUMMARY
The NCAA Division III
Interpretations and Legislation Committee (ILC) began its deregulation efforts
during the 1997-98 academic year as directed by the NCAA Division III
Management and Presidents Councils.
In Phase I, the ILC focused on the elimination of legislation that was adopted during the pre-federated governance structure in response to Divisions I and II needs. References to the other two divisions were also eliminated as the ILC worked toward the creation of a true Division III manual. Phase I revisions were approved by the Management Council in July 1998. These revisions were editorial in nature and included changes to NCAA Bylaws 11, 13, 14, 17 and 15 (with the assistance of the NCAA Financial Aid and Awards Committee). During the 1999 NCAA Convention, the committee presented its work to the Division III membership during a discussion forum.
The ILC then embarked on a more substantial deregulation project – Phase II. Phase II was based on the following primary goals – simplification, clarification of existing legislation, elimination of legislation that was not relevant to Division III and elimination of legislation that was not consistent with the Division III philosophy. During this review, the ILC recommended three types of revisions – staff editorial, Management Council editorial and substantive revisions. Staff editorial revisions were deemed by the ILC and Management Council to be minor or editorial in nature. Management Council revisions were those that did not change the scope or intent of the existing legislation. Substantive revisions were those that changed the scope of the existing legislation. At the 2000 NCAA Convention, the membership was presented with and adopted the Management Council revisions (Appendix F in the 2000 Convention Official Notice) and the substantive revisions (Proposal Nos. 59-79). The ILC presented these changes to the membership as part of a Convention discussion session as was done at the 1999 Convention.
Following the completion of Phase II, the committee turned its deregulation attention to Phase III, which was “future deregulation challenges.” In this phase, the ILC focused on the manner in which legislation is presented in the Division III manual. Specifically, the committee identified the following areas of focus:
1. The creation of a glossary of terms;
2. Consistent bylaw numbering/sequencing;
3. Addition of key references; and
4. Manual language/semantics.
These areas were designed to assist the committee in creating a true Division III manual.
NCAA Division III Deregulation Efforts
Page No. 2
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The 2002-03 manual will include the committee’s new glossary of terms to assist the membership in understanding and applying Division III legislation. The glossary will include frequently used NCAA terms, along with a working definition of each term. While the glossary is not intended to replace legislation, it is intended to serve as a useful tool in understanding the legislation. The ILC recognizes that this document will be a work in progress and may need to be altered on an occasional basis.
As the committee worked its way through the Division III manual, the group realized there was very little consistent bylaw numbering. This was especially true in Bylaw 17. The committee worked to create a standard numbering sequence in which all legislation would be numbered identically. This was accomplished through the use of bylaw templates.
The committee recommended that key references or cross-references be added to various pieces of legislation. The ILC recognized that many times it is helpful to look at more than one piece of legislation in analyzing a particular situation. As a result of this work, the Management Council approved several key bylaw references as editorial revisions designed to assist the Division III membership.
As the final part of Phase III, the ILC examined the language used in presenting the existing legislation. The committee noted that one piece of legislation might be stated using negative language, while the following piece of legislation would be stated using positive language. The ILC recommended several bylaw revisions to accomplish consistent language.
In 2002, the committee shifted its deregulation focus to review Bylaws 30 and 31 in conjunction with the NCAA Division III Championships Committee. The committee will also focus its attention on Bylaw 12, which has changed dramatically with adoption of the amateurism package at the 2002 Convention. The committee has asked the Amateurism Task Force for guidance in ways to best present the remaining legislation in Bylaw 12. Any changes to Bylaw 12 will be shared with the task force to ensure consistency.
The committee is committed to finding ways to present Division III legislation in the simplest, most easy-to-understand format. Accordingly, the ILC realizes that deregulation of the Division III manual may never be fully completed.