REPORT OF THE
NCAA DIVISION III
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
1. ACTION ITEMS.
a. Provisional Member Annual Report – Fourth Year
of Provisional Membership Approval.
(1) Recommendation. That
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the
aforementioned institution’s annual report, the committee agreed that the
institution should be moved forward into the fourth year of provisional
membership.
b. Provisional Member Annual Reports – Third Year
of Provisional Membership Approval.
(1) Recommendation. That
the following institutions be moved into the third year of provisional
membership:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the
aforementioned institution’s annual report, the committee agreed that the
institutions should be moved forward into the third year of provisional
membership.
c. Provisional Member Annual Reports – Third Year
of Provisional Membership Denial.
(1) Recommendation. That the following institutions repeat the second
year of provisional membership:
(a)
(b)
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the aforementioned
institutions' annual reports, the committee agreed that the institutions should
be required to repeat the second year of provisional membership. The institutions failed to meet the
sport sponsorship requirements as set forth in NCAA Constitution 3.6.1.4
(five-sport/three season requirement) and NCAA Bylaw 20.11.3.3 (minimum
contests and participants requirements for sports sponsorship).
d. Reclassifying Members Annual Report --
Third Year of Reclassifying Membership Denial.
(1) Recommendation. That
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the
aforementioned institution's annual report, the committee agreed that the institution
be required to repeat the second year of reclassification. The institution failed to meet the sport sponsorship
requirements as set forth in Constitution 3.6.1.4 (five-sport/three season
requirement) and Bylaw 20.11.3.3 (minimum contests and participants
requirements for sports sponsorship).
e. Reclassification Request – Third Year of Reclassification Approval.
(1) Recommendation. That
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of
the aforementioned institution’s annual report, the committee agreed that
the institution should be moved forward into the third year of
reclassification.
f. Provisional Member Annual Reports –
Second Year of Provisional Membership Approval.
(1) Recommendation. That
the following institutions be moved into the second year of provisional
membership:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of
the aforementioned institutions’ annual reports, the committee agreed
that the institutions should be moved forward into the second year of
provisional membership.
f. Provisional Member Annual Reports –
Second Year of Provisional Membership Denial.
(1) Recommendation. That
the following institutions be repeat the first year of provisional membership:
(a)
(b)
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the
aforementioned institutions’ annual report, the committee agreed that the
institutions should be required to repeat the first year of provisional
membership. The institutions failed
to meet the sport sponsorship requirements as set forth in Constitution 3.6.1.4
(five-sport/three season requirement).
h. Provisional
Member Request – Application for Provisional Membership.
(1) Recommendation. That the following institutions be scheduled to begin provisional membership in the 2006-07 or 2007-08 academic years:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(2) Rationale. Based on its review of the
aforementioned institutions’ applications, and the limit of six
institutions per provisional class, the committee agreed that these
institutions be moved into their first year of provisional membership in the
2006-07 or 2007-08 academic years.
Each of these institutions completed its exploratory year in 2004-05.
i. Common
Deadline of June 1 for all Applications and Annual Reports.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend Constitution 3.6.3.2 and 3.6.4.2 to
require the receipt of the exploratory application and provisional and
reclassifying annual report no later than June 1.
(2) Rationale. The establishment of a June 1 deadline
for the exploratory application and annual reports will provide a common
deadline for all membership forms.
j. Waivers to Accelerate the Four-Year Process.
(1) Recommendation. At the completion of the provisional or reclassification year two,
institutions be afforded the opportunity to apply to the committee for a waiver
of the provisional timeline. The
committee will review the following standards, based on compelling evidence:
(a) Meet
sponsorship requirements for two years;
(b) Meet
sport minimum requirements for two years;
(c) Complete
successful financial aid report;
(d) Attend
all required functions (i.e., NCAA Convention, NCAA Regional Seminar);
(e) Award
no athletics aid during any provisional year;
(f) Complete
successful year two on-campus visit;
(g) Exhibit
evidence of a compliance system;
(h) Avoid
repeating years one or two;
(i) Meet
all other membership requirements; and
(j) Display
evidence of effective mentoring.
(2) Rationale. At this time, the committee does not
have the authority, if requested by the institution, to waive the provisional
four-year process. The committee
remains committed to a four-year process and its program philosophy designed to
assist an institution to adjust to operational practices and Division III philosophical
values. To that end, the committee
believes there maybe some institutions that exhibit a readiness for Division
III active membership more quickly than other institutions’ provided the
institution can demonstrate this readiness through established standards.
k. Review
Sports Sponsorship Contest and Participant Minimums.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation to revise the
minimum sport-specific contest requirements to 70 percent of division-wide
average number of contests in that sport, with a delayed effective date of
(2) Rationale.
The committee believes that
institutions sponsoring varsity intercollegiate sports should demonstrate a
legitimate commitment to the sport program and a quality student-athlete
experience. In order to demonstrate
this commitment, the committee recommended that the minimum contest requirement
be based on 70 percent of the most recent three-year mean with the exception of
men's and women's golf (seven contests) and men's and women's ice hockey (17
contests). [Attachment A] The
committee will review the average contest figures and contest minimums every
three years and seek sport committee feedback.
l. Review
Five-Sport/Three-Season Requirement.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation to increase the
sports sponsorship minimum to six sports for male/mixed teams and six sports
for female teams for institutions with enrollment greater than 1,000 students,
effective
(2) Rationale. The
what constitutes a
broad-based program. The four-year
delayed effective date will give each of the approximately 30 schools affected
by this proposal adequate time to prepare for its implementation and is similar
to the delayed effective date successfully employed when minimums were last
raised from four and four to five and five.
m. Access
to Division III Funds for Reclassifying Institutions.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation to no longer allow an
institution to be eligible for funding once the institution has forwarded to
the national office written notice of its intention to change its membership
classification.
(2) Rationale. The committee believes that once an
institution has made a commitment to join another division, the institution
should no longer receive Division III initiative funds.
n. Conference
Voting Rights.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend
Constitution 3.02.3.3 and 3.3.2.2 to clarify that a conference must have six
primary members to receive voting privileges.
(2) Rationale. The committee is concerned that
institutions that are members of more than one voting conference have a double
vote.
o. Minimum
Participant Requirements.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to
establish minimum contest
participant requirements for emerging sports:
(a) Synchronized
swimming – eight contests, N/A participants;
(b) Team
handball – 10 contests, N/A participants;
(c) Archery
– five contests, five participants;
(d) Badminton
– eight contests, six participants;
(e) Bowling
– eight contests, five participants; and
(f) Squash
– eight contests, nine participants.
(2) Rationale. Minimum participant requirements have
not been established for Division III emerging sports. The minimum participant requirements are
consistent with NCAA Divisions I and II.
p. Waiver
of Five-Sport/Three Season Requirement -- Constitution 3.2.4.1.2.6.
(1) Recommendation. Approve
(2) Rationale. The committee noted that Immaculata
submitted a strong plan to sponsor the requisite programs for males within the
three-year period allowed by this waiver.
q. Waiver of Minimum
Contest and Participant Requirement -- Bylaw 20.11.3.3.9.1.
(1) Recommendation. Deny
(2) Rationale. The committee noted that Emmanuel had
ample time between the event cancellation and the end of the season to schedule
an additional contest.
2. INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS.
a. Fall
Exploratory Meeting Agenda. The committee reviewed the agenda for the
October 3 fall exploratory meeting.
The exploratory orientation agenda was approved with the following
recommendations:
(1) Include
the committee roster;
(2) Add a
slide to review institutional access to Division III programs and services; and
(3) Invite
the senior administrator that has athletics oversight.
The committee
also discussed the delivery of orientation material through Web casting. To that end, the committee agreed to
keep the orientation in its current in-person format.
b. Simultaneous
Exploration of Two Divisions. The committee discussed simultaneous
exploration by institutions currently in the exploratory phase for two
divisions. The committee had no
objection with institutions exploring more than one division.
c. Provisional
and Reclassifying Orientation Agenda and PowerPoint. The committee reviewed the agenda for
the October 13 provisional and reclassifying orientation. The committee recommended institutional
preparation regarding NCAA rules prior to arriving for the in-person
orientation and incorporating round-table discussions.
d.
e.