REPORT OF THE
NCAA DIVISION III ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
DIVISION III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
1.
ACTION ITEM.
a. Policies
and Procedures.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the subcommittee's amended policies and procedures. [Attachment] The subcommittee clarified the following issues: (a) permitting the chair to determine that the subcommittee may reconsider a request even if the new information standard is not met; and (b) in cases where assertions are made regarding another member institution or conference as a basis for relief, that party shall be provided all materials and an opportunity to respond in writing within ten business days.
(2)
Rationale. The subcommittee has reviewed various
cases over the past year that have resulted in necessary clarifications of the
policies and procedures in order to assist the membership, the subcommittee and
the staff in the administrative review process.
(3)
Budget Impact. None.
2.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
a. Review
of Staff Decisions, Subcommittee Decisions and Reconsideration Requests. The
subcommittee reviewed the cases that were staff denied and appealed to the
subcommittee and reconsideration requests decided by either the staff or the
subcommittee from
The subcommittee approved the staff to decide cases even in the absence of case precedent. The subcommittee noted that staff may forward cases when it cannot reach a consensus on an issue; however, it is expected that the number of forwarded cases will decrease. The subcommittee indicated that cases with national significance should be forwarded to the subcommittee. Lastly, the subcommittee noted that it will review staff decisions on a periodic basis and may archive staff decisions it does not support.
b. Information
Standards for Transfer Requests Involving Assertions of Misinformation. The subcommittee reviewed the case precedent
and affirmed the continued application of the October 1999 information
standards in cases involving assertions of misinformation. The subcommittee also affirmed that the
staff should continue to include consideration of other factors especially the
student-athlete’s academic record.
The subcommittee reviewed whether relief is appropriate for
circumstances when the sources of academic misinformation are coaching staff
members from a two-year institution, an NCAA institution or an NAIA institution.
The subcommittee approved the following guidelines in regards to assertions of misinformation:
(1) In
cases in which the misinformation provided by the previous four-year
institution led to the student-athlete being ineligible and applicant institution
can document that the student-athlete would have been eligible had he/she
attended applicant institution directly, relief should be provided (e.g., 2-4-4
transfer).
(2) In
cases in which the student-athlete relied in good faith on the academic misinformation
and had correct information been provided, it was determined that the
student-athlete could have met the necessary transfer requirements, and but for
the misinformation, he or she could have been eligible, relief should be
provided.
(3) In
situations involving misinformation, if the student-athlete is not eligible at
any Division III institution, then regardless of the misinformation received,
the request should be denied provided the request for relief is solely based on
the misinformation.
In cases where the misinformation cannot be documented and absent other extenuating circumstances, the subcommittee directed the staff to deny these cases.
c. Standards
for Transfer Requests Involving Assertions of Academic and Athletics Reasons. The subcommittee reviewed case
precedent and affirmed the continued application of the October 2000 academic
and athletics directives regarding transfer-waiver requests. However, the subcommittee directed the
staff to
continue to review requests on a case-by-case basis for extenuating circumstances, which may warrant relief from the transfer legislation.
d. Information Standards for Transfer Requests Involving Financial Hardship and Injury or Illness. The subcommittee reviewed case precedent and affirmed the October 2000 information standards for assertions of financial hardship and the directive to deny requests involving a transfer for financial reasons in which the documentation is not provided to meet the information standards. The subcommittee noted that when a student-athlete’s transfer is a result of specific event causing a financial hardship and supporting objective documentation is provided, relief from the transfer year in residence may be considered.
The subcommittee reviewed case precedent and affirmed the October 1999 information standards for assertions of injury or illness. The subcommittee also approved the following guidelines:
(1) If the institution is unable to provide documentation to substantiate the injury or illness, the case should be denied.
(2) If the institution does provide documentation substantiating the injury or illness and injury and the injury or illness necessitated the transfer, the case should be granted.
(3) If the institution provides documentation substantiating an injury or illness, but the injury or illness is ancillary to the facts and thus does not relate to the need to transfer, the case should be denied.
e. Minimum-Amount-of-Competition/Seasons-of-Competition
Waiver —
Competition While Eligible. The subcommittee noted that from