MINUTES OF THE

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

DIVISION III INTERPRETATIONS AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Sheraton Hotel January 30-31, 2003

Key West, Florida

Participants:

Victoria Chun, New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association.

Travis Feezell, Whitman College

Timothy Gleason, Ohio Athletic Conference

Gary Karner, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Garnett Purnell, Wittenburg University, chair

Sandra Slabik, Neumann College

Charlie Wilson, Olivet College

Mweni Ekpo, NCAA

Bo Kerin, NCAA

Julie Katz, Vassar College; and Bridget Belgiovine, NCAA, were present for a portion of the meeting.

[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated “sense of the meeting”) in accordance with NCAA policy regarding minutes of all Association entities. While certain items on the committee’s agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]

Thursday, January 30

The meeting was called to order at 8:25 a.m. by the chair, Mr. Purnell.

1. Welcome and Announcements. The NCAA Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee welcomed new member Ms. Chun to her first meeting.

2. Committee Roster. The committee reviewed the current committee roster.

3. Approval of Previous Minutes.

It was VOTED

“That the December 4, 2002, teleconference minutes be approved as distributed.”

4. 2003 NCAA Convention. The committee had a lengthy discussion regarding the 2003 NCAA Convention.

a. The committee was provided an update regarding the adoption of NCAA Proposal No. 45 (sponsored by the committee) and the modification of wording to include “athletics department staff member” in lieu of “institutional staff member.”

b. The committee discussed Proposal Nos. 40 and 41 related to playing and practice seasons and possible reasons for the proposals’ defeat.

c. The group provided feedback regarding the Convention schedule of meetings and proposed alternative schedules, including moving the conference meetings to Monday morning, or immediately prior to the Division III business session, so that conferences have a better opportunity to make well-informed decisions regarding the proposals for consideration. The committee agreed to forward a scheduling recommendation to the NCAA Division III Management Council for further consideration.

5. Deregulation of NCAA Bylaw 12. The committee continued its discussions regarding the deregulation of Bylaw 12 (amateurism). Specifically, the committee reviewed deregulation concepts currently ongoing in Division II and considered similar deregulation issues. The group agreed to address additional deregulation items on future conference calls.

6. Interpretive Issue -- Football Conditioning in the Nontraditional Segment. In response to several inquiries from the membership, the committee discussed conditioning and strength training during the nontraditional segment of football, pursuant to Bylaw 17.11.6. The committee agreed to offer guidance to the membership via a Legislative Assistance Column and an article in the Division III newsletter. Feedback would be solicited from the NCAA Division III Football Committee, in determining the appropriate language. The committee reviewed its April 22, 2002, item 4-(a) official interpretation and Bylaws 17.02.1.1 and 17.11.6 and addressed the following issues:

a. The group agreed that simulation of offensive and defensive alignments is prohibited by existing legislation. Further, the group agreed that strength and conditioning

activities that include activities listed in Bylaw 17.02.1.1 are not permitted, and positioning more than one student-athlete in a manner that simulates football-related competition or practice activities is not permissible. The group agreed that physical fitness classes listed in the institution’s catalog and open to all students do have to issue academic credit to enrolled student-athletes for the activities in the class to be permissible under Bylaw 17.02.1.1-(d).

b. The group reviewed the terms “monitoring” and “conducting” and agreed that “monitoring” for the purpose of applying the legislation, refers to the observation of voluntary conditioning activities to ensure the safety of student-athletes, as opposed to “conducting” (i.e., directing or instructing) such activities by an institutional coaching staff member with sport specific responsibilities.

c. The group reviewed the duties of a strength and conditioning coach and requested the staff provide a Legislative Assistance Column regarding the permissible duties of the strength and conditioning coach.

d. The committee agreed to offer guidance to the membership regarding conditioning activities.

7. Division III Bylaw 14.1.9 -- Change in Eligibility Status. In response to an inquiry from the membership, the group reviewed Bylaw 14.1.9 (change in eligibility status) and the issue regarding timing of institutional certification of student-athletes. The committee agreed that in the event a student-athlete drops below the standards of participation as determined by the institution or conference at any time, the student-athlete is not eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics pursuant to Bylaw 14.01.2.

8. Bylaws Containing References to “Districts.” The committee discussed the fact that several bylaws reference the term “district,” despite the fact that geographical districts are no longer used in determining NCAA committee composition. In the interest of avoiding confusion, the committee supported the removal of the term “district” from the appropriate bylaws and asks that staff handle as appropriate.

9. NCAA Ad Hoc Review Report. The group was provided an update on the December 4, 2002, memorandum from the NCAA Executive Committee regarding the Ad Hoc Review Report. The committee noted that it tabled its previous discussions regarding possible changes to the Division III legislative cycle in light of the future of Division III initiative and the advancements in the Legislative Services Database for the Internet (LSDBi).

10. Antitrust Training. The group reviewed an antitrust training video facilitated by NCAA General Counsel Elsa Cole and NCAA Associate General Counsel Scott Bearby. The committee also reviewed handouts that accompanied the video.

[Note: The meeting recessed at 4:45 p.m.]

Friday, January 31

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. All members were present as noted above.

11. Review of Division III Glossary of Terms. In its annual review of the new Division III glossary, the committee agreed to add to the glossary the term “contact,” as defined by Proposal No. 45.

12. Review of Bylaw 14.5.5 -- Four-Year College Transfers. The committee reviewed Bylaw 14.5.5 and considered whether to editorially revise the legislation in order to further clarify the rule. Specifically, the committee discussed whether the transfer legislation should be stated in the positive format (presumption of eligibility) rather than in the current negative format (presumption of ineligibility). The committee supported this reorganization of the transfer legislation and requested to review draft legislation on a future teleconference.

13. Review of Committee Operations Plan. The committee reviewed its operations plan and agreed to add the deregulation of Bylaws 12 (amateurism) and 16 (extra benefits) to the operations plan and to begin this process with a review of Bylaw 12 on its next teleconference. The committee also suggested that the committee minutes should be forwarded to the Division III commissioners list serve and to the Division III “independent institutions” list serve.

14. 2003-04 Division III Manual Review. The committee reviewed the proof of the 2003-04 Division III Manual to ensure that legislation adopted during the 2003 Convention was properly incorporated.

15. Future In-Person Meetings and Conference Calls. The committee reviewed its future meeting dates, sites and conference calls.

a. February 27, 2003; teleconference, 12:15 p.m.

b. April 2, 2003; teleconference, noon.

c. May 14, 2003; teleconference, noon.

d. June 23-24, 2003; NCAA, Indianapolis, Indiana.

e. February 5-6, 2004; site to be determined, New Orleans, Louisiana.

16. Other Business.

a. Interpretive Issue -- Ticket Brochure/Flyer Promoting NCAA Championship. The committee agreed to issue an official interpretation (similar to an interpretation that currently exists in Divisions I and II) to allow institutions to distribute ticket brochures/flyers promoting NCAA championships held on a member institution’s campus to high-school prospects.

It was VOTED

“That the following interpretation be approved by the Division III Management Council:

Ticket Brochure/Flyer Promoting NCAA Championship (III). A member institution that is hosting any portion of an NCAA championship may send a ticket application to a high-school coach/administrator, but not to specific prospects, provided:

The application includes only information relevant to the championship;

The application is available to the general public, including all high schools in the local area; and

The application contains no information related to the institution's athletics program.

The subcommittee noted that under such circumstances, such an item would not be considered a recruiting item. [Reference: Bylaw 13.4.1 (recruiting materials)]

b. Emerging Sports -- Rugby. The committee agreed to propose noncontroversial legislation to change the effective date for 2003 Convention Proposal No. 54