REPORT OF THE

DIVISION III NOMINATING COMMITTEE

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. Nominating Committee Appointments (Attachment).

Recommendation. Approve the following committee appointments. All terms are effective at the close of the Convention, unless otherwise noted:

(1) Championships Committee: Susan Chapman, director of athletics, Worcester State College, and John Cochrane, commissioner, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

(2) Financial Aid and Awards Committee: Reappoint Phillip Creighton, president, Eastern Oregon University. Appoint Patricia Blodgett, director of student financial services, Keene State College.

(3) Committee on Infractions: Reappoint Jone Dowd, senior woman administrator, Catholic University. Appoint Gerald Young, compliance coordinator/associate professor, Carleton College, and Alfred Lechner, attorney at law, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP (public member). Mr. Lechner’s term would begin immediately.

(4) Management Council: Reappoint Marcia Kierscht, president, Stephens College, and Sandra Slabik, faculty athletics representative, Neumann College. Appoint James Harris, president, Defiance College, and Richard Strockbine, director of athletics, University of Dallas.

(5) Membership Committee: Reappoint Del Malloy, director of athletics, Salve Regina University.

(6) Nominating Committee: Reappoint Rita Wiggs, commissioner, Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Appoint Paul Moyer, director of athletics, Moravian College.

(7) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee: Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Christine Gipson, Methodist College; Northwest Conference – Adam Mohr-Zinn, Pacific University.

b. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Appointment Process.

(1) Recommendation. Approve a policy allowing a vacancy on the SAAC to be filled by the conference whose representative previously served on the SAAC if, after communicating twice with the partner conference, no names are submitted.

Rationale. The committee wishes to give conferences adequate opportunity to fill vacancies on the SAAC while at the same time minimizing the length of time a position remains vacant.

(2) Recommendation. Request that the SAAC review the role of the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association in the conference-partner program.

Rationale. The committee believes that although the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association is a voting conference, it should not be placed in the conference-partner program rotation since it is not a traditional multisport conference.

(3) Recommendation. Request that the SAAC send a letter to all Division III conference offices explaining the conference-partner program and the role of the conference in solicitation and nominations of student-athletes to serve on SAAC, including the role and expectations of the SAAC member and his/her relationship with the nonrepresented conference’s SAAC.

Rationale. The committee is concerned that the conferences may not be familiar with the intent and processes of the SAAC conference-partner program.

c. Division III Committee Appointment Process.

(1) Recommendation. Endorse a Convention session at either the 2003 or 2004 Convention regarding committee service and the nominations process.

(2) Rationale. The committee wishes to foster dialogue between it and the membership to increase the number of nominees and to better understand the membership’s concerns regarding committee service.

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

a. SAAC Nominations Process. The committee discussed the SAAC conference-partner program nominations process and made the following recommendations:

(1) Address the solicitation of nominees letter to the conference commissioner, copying the directors of athletics.

(2) Encourage conference commissioners to submit nominees from under-represented sports when soliciting nominees.

(3) Request that conference commissioners prioritize the three nominees for consideration.

b. Division III Appointment Process and Issues. The committee reviewed the committee appointment process and composition demographics, and it discussed strategies for increasing the pool of nominees. The committee recommended:

(1) That staff develop a process in which letters are sent to the CEOs of outgoing committee members recognizing the committee member’s service to the NCAA.

(2) That staff maintain a list of committee resignations and the reasons for those resignations so that the committee can review the data at a later date.

(3) That Nominating Committee members conduct exit interviews of resigning committee members when a reason for the resignation is not stated in the resignation letter.

(4) That Nominating Committee members communicate with sports committee chairs when soliciting nominees to fill vacancies on sports committees.

(5) Further discussion to explore the possibility of other means of gathering committee service data for the committee’s review (general membership survey, committee member survey, conference meeting questionnaire, etc.).

(6) Inclusion of committee service facts in the Division III newsletter articles.

c. February 2003 Meeting. The committee selected Savannah, Georgia, as its first choice and Key West, Florida, as its second choice of sites for the February 2003 meeting. The committee selected February 4-6, 2003, as the dates of its next in-person meeting. [NOTE: Subsequent to the meeting, due to conflicting meeting schedules, an alternate date was requested.]

Committee chair: Robert Williams, Swarthmore College, Centennial Conference

Staff liaison, Sharon Tufano