REPORT OF THE
NCAA
DIVISION III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
PLAYING
AND PRACTICE SEASONS SUBCOMMITTEE
ACTION ITEMS.
a.
Archive Official Interpretation.
(1) Recommendation. Archive a December 8, 1976, item
reference 1, official interpretation which permitted Division III institutions
to compete against teams from the
(2) Rationale. The subcommittee noted that foreign
tours outside the declared playing season are intended to provide unique
cultural and competitive opportunities to student-athletes. The subcommittee also noted that foreign
tours outside the declared playing season are not intended to extend
competitive opportunities against institutions and club teams from the
(3)
Budget Impact. None.
b. Subcommittee
Position on Basketball Exhibition Proposal.
The
subcommittee reviewed the membership-sponsored proposal, which intends to
permit in basketball an institution to have the option of exempting from
maximum contest limitations two informal practice scrimmages or one informal
practice scrimmage and one exhibition contest against a Division I or II opponent.
The subcommittee supports the
proposal because it provides more flexibility for institutions to schedule
exhibition contests against Division I or II opponents without extending the
playing season or overall number of competition opportunities in basketball. The subcommittee also noted that the
student-athlete experience could be positively impacted through the unique
exhibition opportunity against Division I or II institutions.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
1. New Playing and Practice
Subcommittee In-person Meeting and Teleconference Format. The subcommittee recognized the value in
adding teleconferences to its schedule in order to engage in subcommittee
business prior
to
the Management Council meetings, which provide NCAA staff sufficient time to
summarize subcommittee business and prepare the subcommittee’s report to
Management Council. The
subcommittee intends to keep its in-person meetings on an as-needed basis, noting
that the in-person meetings provide an opportunity to more fully identify and
discuss playing and practice season issues in Division III.
2. Defining playing season segments for men’s and women’s golf and tennis. The subcommittee discussed the tennis and golf sport committees’ feedback on defining the playing season segments in men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis, noting that although weather influences the scheduling in golf and tennis, other sports like baseball and softball, which currently have defined playing season segments, also face weather-related challenges. The subcommittee recognized the lack of alternative indoor competition sites for golf competition due to inclement weather. The subcommittee also noted that the flexibility provided to golf and tennis may be warranted based on a collection of issues unique to these sports, including staffing one coach for both the men’s and women’s golf or tennis team. The subcommittee recognized that it would be premature to recommend any legislative changes to the golf and tennis playing season segments at this time. The subcommittee requested that the NCAA staff provide an update by July 2007 on the impact of automatic qualification on golf and tennis and then to fully revisit the issue of legislatively defining playing segments in golf and tennis in July 2008 after two full years of the impact of automatic qualification on golf and tennis can be evaluated.
3. Membership
Education on Foreign