REPORT OF THE
NCAA
OLYMPIC SPORTS LIAISON COMMITTEE
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
Association Wide.
a.
Update Regarding the U.S. Olympic
Committee (USOC) Joint Task Force. The committee was provided an update on
the progress of the NCAA/USOC Joint Task Force. In addition, the committee discussed
possible legislative concepts to be forwarded to the task force. Kyle Kallander, chair of the NCAA
Olympic Sports Liaison Committee (OSLC) and also a member of the task force,
will work with the task force to bring the suggested concepts.
b.
Update from research. In its ongoing review of the
overall decline in Olympic sports, the committee reviewed data regarding
athletically related financial aid awarded to male student-athletes in NCAA
Division I from 1995 to 2003. The data
were compiled using the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act forms. The committee also reviewed data showing
all institutions that dropped Olympic sports from 1988 to 2004 by sport and
division.
c.
USOC update on the general assembly meetings. Jeff Howard, director of corporate communications, updated
the committee on the inaugural USOC assembly meetings held
d.
Review of the OSLC
meeting dates. The committee
discussed the most efficient and effective way for it to conduct business. The committee stressed the importance of
meeting in-person with as many national governing bodies as possible each year
to facilitate discussion and build on the current relationships. Based on the new governance structure of
the USOC, the committee wishes to explore the benefit of meeting in conjunction
with the USOC assembly meetings.
The committee recommended that an assessment of the productiveness of
the general assembly meeting be conducted to determine if meeting during the
assembly will increase overall efficiency.
e.
Strategic plan. The committee reviewed the most recent
updates to its strategic plan. The
committee agreed that communication will be a key element in implementing the
strategic plan during the 2005-06 academic year.
f. Review
of athletics-activities waivers. Staff updated the committee on the number
of athletics-activity waivers filed during the 2004-05 academic year. The staff noted that only four waivers
were filed relating to the 2004 Summer Olympic games. Additionally, the staff reviewed the
athletics-activity waiver process and guidelines employed by the NCAA student-athlete
reinstatement staff. No
recommendations were made for changes to the waiver process because no abuses
were identified.
g. Review
of NCAA Bylaw 16.8.1.3. The
committee reviewed the issue of permissible
expenses for student-athletes trying out for a national team. Current legislation allows institutions
to provide expenses for student-athletes to participate in a tryout if that
tryout is the sole opportunity to make the national team. The staff provided an update on the various
methods currently in use for selection to the Olympic team. After reviewing the structure of several
national governing bodies, the committee determined generally, that a single
identified tryout is not the sole measure used for selection to the national
team.
The
committee supported the concept of allowing institutions to provide actual and
necessary expenses for student-athletes to participate in one tryout annually
per sport conducted for the purpose of qualifying for the national team. Prior to submitting specific legislation
in this regard, the committee will seek additional feedback from the national
governing bodies to ensure the practicality of this approach. In the interim, the committee recommends
that the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Management Council Administrative Review
Subcommittees consider granting waivers to allow institutions to provide
expenses for student-athletes to participate in one tryout annually per sport
conducted for the purpose of qualifying for the national team.
h. Update
on Field Hockey elite training center. The staff updated the committee on the
information received from USA Field Hockey about the recent development of the elite
training centers in the United States.
Specifically, staff reviewed all the relevant legislation surrounding
the training centers (e.g., tryout implications, outside competition, and
practice and playing season regulations).
i. Meeting with National Governing Bodies. The committee met with
representatives from the U.S. Soccer Federation, USA Track and Field, U.S.
Synchronized Swimming and U.S. Equestrian.
(1) U.S. Soccer Federation. Forrest Eber and Hector Tovar from the U.S.
Soccer Federation spoke to the committee about the structure of their organization,
performance of the different teams and development of their youth programs.
(2)
USA Track and
Field. Craig Masback from USA Track and Field
spoke to the committee about the selection process for the national team. He also indicated that his organization
will be more engaged with the committee and the efforts of the NCAA. Furthermore, he will be doing some
public relations work related to women’s track and field as a viable and
productive women’s sport. Mr.
Masback also spoke about the importance of the relationship between the U.S. Olympic
Committee and the committee in all sports programs, particularly track and field. Lastly, he informed the committee about
the high rate of participation numbers in track and field in the NCAA.
(3)
U.S.
Synchronized Swimming. Jennie Harper and Terry Harper from U.S.
Synchronized Swimming spoke to the committee about the status of their sport in
the NCAA. They stated that the
sport is growing, even though a few programs have dropped the sport in recent
years.
(4)
U.S. Equestrian
Federation. Andrea Ice and Sherry Frank from the U.S.
Equestrian Federation spoke to the committee about the growing number of programs
within the NCAA. They also spoke to
the new initiatives that the federation has been involved with, such as the
development of their Web site, which has general information about the sport of
equestrian for parents and kids who want to get involved.
Staff Liaisons: Jennifer
Strawley, Membership Services
Wendy
Walters,
Josh
White,