REPORT
OF THE
NCAA
OLYMPIC SPORTS LIAISON COMMITTEE
ACTION ITEMS.
1. Legislative
Action Items.
Division
I only.
a. Review
of NCAA Bylaw 16.11.1.13 (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coaching
Career Educational Program).
(1)
Recommendation. The committee recommends
the cabinet sponsor legislation to amend NCAA Bylaw 16.11.1.13 to permit an
institution or conference to provide student-athletes, who are entering the
fourth year (seventh semester or tenth quarter) of collegiate enrollment and
thereafter, actual and necessary expenses to attend coaching and athletics
administration career educational programs.
(2) Rationale. Coaching and athletics administration
career educational programs present an opportunity for student-athletes to
learn more about the coaching profession and athletics administration positions
and to explore the possibility of these career options. Such programs should provide seminars
and workshops that provide instruction on coaching and administrative skills
and principles, as well as provide mentoring programs for the
participants. Programs should also
be designed to instruct participants on the creation of a coaching and
administrative philosophy, the roles and responsibilities of a coach and/or
athletics administrator, effective communication skills, teaching techniques,
safety issues, development of practice plans, skill analysis, skill development
and physical preparation of players.
Changing this legislation would allow institutions and conferences to
provide expenses for student-athletes to participate in programs similar to the
“So You Want to be a Coach” sponsored by the Women’s Basketball
Coaches Association.
(3) Budget
Impact. Minimal.
(4) Student-Athlete
Impact. The legislation would
increase opportunities for student-athletes to receive coaching education and
gain valuable experience that could lead to the expansion of female coaches in
intercollegiate athletics.
b.
Review
of Bylaw 11.7.1.1.1.3 (Replacement for
(1)
Recommendation. The committee recommends
the cabinet sponsor legislation to amend Bylaw 11.7.1.1.1.3 to include the
phrase “or the national or Olympic team of another nation.”
(2)
Rationale. Bylaw 11.7.1.1.1.3
indicates that an institution may
replace a coach temporarily or on a limited basis when that coach takes a leave
of absence to participate on or to coach either the U.S. national team or U.S.
Olympic team, provided the replacement is limited to a one-year period and the
coach who is replaced performs no recruiting or other duties on behalf of the
institution.
The committee’s recommendation would extend the bylaw to allow institutions
to replace coaches who are coaching national or Olympic teams of another
nation. This would afford coaches
the same opportunity to coach national or Olympic teams, regardless of the
nation represented, without penalizing institutions.
(3)
Budget Impact. None.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. The legislation would
increase opportunities for student-athletes to receive elite-level coaching
from international coaches by making it possible for coaches to maintain both
collegiate and foreign national team coaching positions simultaneously.
c.
Review of Bylaw 14.2.3.5 (Participation after 21st
birthday).
(1)
Recommendation. The committee
recommends the cabinet sponsor legislation that creates an exception to Bylaw
14.2.3.5, which would prevent participation in elite tennis and swimming and
diving events (i.e., Olympics, Pan Am, World Championships, World Cup and World
University Games) triggering the application of the bylaw.
(2)
Rationale. Bylaw 14.2.3.5 indicates
that in sports other than tennis, swimming and diving, any participation
as an individual or a team representative in organized sports competition by a
student-athlete during each 12-month period after the student-athlete's 21st
birthday and prior to initial full-time enrollment in a collegiate institution
shall count as one year of varsity competition in that sport.
Participation in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, World Cup or World University Games is a unique and enriching experience for student-athletes. Charging prospective student-athletes with seasons of competition and requiring them to fulfill an academic year in residence for participation in such elite events is inappropriate. This change is consistent with the proposal put forward by the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee, creating an exception to the tennis and swimming and diving rule (Bylaw 14.2.3.2).
(3)
Budget Impact. None.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. Limited.
d.
Review of Bylaw 20.9.5.1.1.
(1)
Recommendation. The committee recommends
the cabinet sponsor legislation to amend Bylaw 20.9.5.1.1 to include wrestling.
(2)
Rationale. Bylaw 20.9.5.1.1 indicates
that in men's swimming and diving and men's indoor and outdoor track and
field, an institution shall schedule and play at least 50 percent of its
contests against NCAA Division I opponents to satisfy the minimum number of
contests specified in Bylaw 20.9.4.3. The committee believes the addition of
wrestling to this exception will ease the budgetary burden many sponsoring
institutions face when scheduling contests. In many regions of the country, the only
nearby institutions are classified in a different division or are members of
the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Specifically, institutions will have the
ability to schedule contests against nearby institutions, regardless of their
division, in order to decrease travel costs. Furthermore, the committee believes this
would provide many institutions the budgetary relief needed to maintain the
sponsorship of wrestling.
(3)
Budget Impact. None.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. None.
2. Non-Legislative
Action Item.
·
None.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
Association-Wide.
1. Update from Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) regarding emerging sports for women. Janet Kittel, chair of the CWA, provided the committee with an update on the current initiatives being reviewed by CWA related to emerging sports for women. Ms. Kittel provided an overview of CWA’s recent discussion regarding the sunset clause of Bylaw 20.02.6.2.
2. Update
from the
3. Meeting
with National Governing Body (NGBs).
The committee met with representatives from USA Swimming, USA Field
Hockey, USA Volleyball, U.S. Bowling Congress, USA Cycling, USA Wrestling, USA
Water Polo and U.S. Team Handball Association. The committee listened to issues
presented and provided the NGBs with relevant information regarding the NCAA.
a.
USA Field Hockey. The committee met with Sheila
Walker and Kate Reisenger.
(1)
The main focus of the conversation with USA Field Hockey was
on its ability to field the most competitive teams for its elite events. To this end, it is USA Field
Hockey’s desire to include NCAA student-athletes on such teams as
appropriate; however, there are two factors hindering this decision: (1) field
hockey elite competitions take place during the NCAA field hockey season; and (2)
not all coaches are supportive of releasing their student-athletes from regular
season NCAA competition to participate in these events.
(2)
Another aspect of this desire that was discussed involved
coaches. Several coaches were
released from their NCAA teams to help support/coach the national teams. It is believed these coaches’
involvement helped the teams perform as well as they did. There was some additional conversation regarding
the financial burden that is potentially placed on the institutions that had to
backfill for these coaches during their absence.
(3)
The representatives of field hockey requested the committee’s
assistance in securing the ability to recognize elite event teams at the NCAA Division
I Field Hockey championship. The
committee supports this type of recognition and will refer this issue to the NCAA
championships staff.
(4)
The representatives of field hockey provided information
about a new education program initiated to help coaches and participants learn
more about the game and the appropriate way to play it. They also discussed a talent link
program (an online recruiting service).
USA Field Hockey requested more information regarding why institutions
can use video services for regular season competition but not for skills and
drills. The committee will request feedback
from the recruiting subcommittee regarding the ability of prospective student-athletes
to send videos of off season activities, while video services cannot provide
such footage.
b.
(1)
USA Volleyball discussed its support of Division I Proposal
No. 2006-77 and thanked the committee for the input and help it has provided
for this piece of legislation.
(2)
The group also touched on its support of the potential
legislation to add a thirteenth scholarship. They feel it would definitely help volleyball
in that scholarship availability significantly impacts the growth of the sport. The committee updated USA Volleyball on
the status of this proposal.
(3)
USA Volleyball familiarized the committee with some NCAA
crossover instances with the paralympics programs. The committee was updated on a collegiate
grant program, which is an incentive for NCAA institutions to add/support
volleyball championships.
(4)
Finally, USA Volleyball discussed its desire to move the
Molten Division III championship to the NCAA level by getting the three to four
additional schools needed to qualify.
They believe this move would help spur the movement of club programs
around the country up to the varsity level (across all divisions), especially
in areas like
c.
(1)
U.S. Bowling Congress (USBC) worked
with the committee last year to grandfather scholarships that were part of the Scholarship
Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins (SMART) program prior to USBC oversight
of the program and its becoming a NGB for bowling in 2005.
(2) USBC requested assistance
from the committee in two additional areas: allowing financial aid from NGBs in NCAA
Division III and the opportunity for prospective student-athletes to transfer
any scholarship dollars received outside of the SMART program into the SMART
program (e.g., transfer into the SMART program would impact the ability of
prospective student-athletes to accept and use such funds).
(a) Currently
in Division III, Bylaw 15.2.3.6 indicates that financial aid from the USOC is
permissible under certain conditions.
USOC believes, based on anecdotal evidence, that this creates a
disadvantage for Division III institutions attempting to compete in the bowling
championship, which is a national championship (e.g., Divisions I, II and III). Currently in NCAA Divisions II and III,
it is permissible, under certain conditions, to receive financial aid from the
USOC or the NGB. The committee will
refer this issue to the Division III financial aid committee to determine if
any amendment should be made to include NGBs in Bylaw 15.2.3.6.
(b) USBC
requested that the committee establish a window of opportunity for scholarship
dollars earned and held outside of the SMART program to be deposited into SMART
program so that it would be permissible for student-athletes to use the
scholarship dollars. [As a note
– USBC has put into place measures (as of August 1) that require all
competitions sanctioned by the USBC to put their scholarship dollars into the
SMART program.] USBC believes one
year would be enough time to open the window of opportunity for these
organizations to move the funds.
The committee recommended a blanket administrative review subcommittee (ARS)
waiver be filed to allow an 18-month period during which bowling scholarships held
outside of the SMART program could be transferred into SMART and thereby come
under the control of the USBC.
d.
(1)
The group provided general
information to the committee about the USA Cycling organization. The update included an overview of various
types of competition (road, track, mountain bike, cycle-cross, and BMX - new
for 2008); highlights of the growth cycling has experienced in the United
States over the past five years - contrary to other countries; discussion of squad
size, competition format, gender breakdown, sponsorship; and an overview of their program to train officials
and provide insurance for the races.
There are 60,000 members in USA Cycling, specifically, and over 100,000
members when counting other groups not under its specific governance/heading. Individual members pay
dues that provide the majority of USA Cycling’s basic income.
(2)
Twenty-one years ago, USA Cycling
started a collegiate program within the U.S. Cycling Federation at 310 schools
across the country. More emphasis
is placed on these programs because it is a great way to identify women who
participate in the sport. Most women
get into cycling later in life and are a crossover from other sports.
(3)
The majority of programs at the
collegiate level are clubs. Clubs
solicit sponsors from the community to raise the funds needed to participate in
racing events.
(4)
One issue discussed was that
crossover student-athletes cycling seem to attract from other NCAA sports. USA Cycling is not currently educating these
student-athletes (who are NCAA eligible in other sports but join the cycling
club in the off season) about the potential eligibility implications of
aligning themselves with sponsors or accepting prize money. The NCAA staff agreed to provide
USA Cycling with an educational piece to use to help inform constituents about
NCAA eligibility implications and guidelines.
(5)
USA Cycling was referred
to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association as a
resource for development on the collegiate club level and to the National High
School Athletics Federation for assistance with its high school programs.
e.
(1)
Wrestling expressed some
confusion and concern about consistent application of Bylaw 16.8.1.2 based on its
experience leading up to this year’s Sunkist event. On further examination and discussion,
it was revealed that this apparent inconsistency was due to misapplication of
the bylaw by conferences, which indicated that it was permissible for
institutions to provide expenses for student-athletes to participate in various
events.
(2)
Wrestling asked the committee to
consider creating a reference document to use/share with NCAA coaches and
compliance officers. Wrestling also
requested a consistent resource within the NCAA to receive interpretations in
order to ensure consistency. Wrestling
feels this is something that has not occurred to date and have asked the
committee to help. The committee
referred these issues to membership services to be addressed.
(3)
Wrestling also provided the committee with a list of other specific
issues. The committee will put
these issues on the next agenda for discussion.
f.
(1) The key issue facing USA Water
Polo currently is the difficulty determining how to best prepare its national teams
without violating NCAA rules.
(2) Speedo Top 40 (women) and
the Premier League (men) are two events, in addition to other scouting and
review, which water polo indicated were vital to USA Water Polo’s success
at elite events. Speedo Top 40 and
the Premier League occur during the academic year. It was determined by the Division I Legislative
Review/Interpretations Committee (LRIC),
based on information submitted by LRIC, that these events do not meet the
outside competition exception related to national team tryouts and
participation [Bylaw 14.7.3.1(d)], these events do not result in a student-athlete
being selected to a national team.
These events are one of the ways in which a student-athlete may be
designated for further review for invitations to training programs and
selection camps. Based on the
description of the Premier League and the fact that student-athletes will not
miss class, the committee was generally supportive of finding a means for participation
in this event to be permissible. The
committee suggested USA Water Polo look at other NCAA sports and identify any
existing models that might be applicable to USA Water Polo. In addition, the committee asked the NCAA
staff to work with USA Water Polo to determine if an ARS waiver could be filed
or tweaks made to their program to meet the legislation. If needed, the committee agreed to
submit
a blanket ARS waiver to cover these events to help address the issue in the
short term.
g.
(1)
U.S. Team Handball still exists as a sport within the USOC;
however, the NGB is no longer recognized by the USOC, as it was recently decertified. U.S. Team Handball is being run by the
USOC.
(2)
U.S. Team Handball is currently focused on running pipeline
events to develop Olympic athletes through the USOC.
(3)
Mr. Cavanaugh shared a general update with the group regarding
current teams, competitions, development programs, and U.S. Team Handball Association’s
national collegiate program.
Division I.
1. Athletics-Activity
Waiver. The committee reviewed the trends in the use of athletics-activity
waivers throughout the last two years in order to identify any potential abuses
within the waiver. The athletics-activity
waiver was adopted in 1991 and provides an opportunity for Division I
student-athletes to earn a one-year extension of their five-year period of
eligibility based on their inability to participate in intercollegiate
athletics because of involvement in elite-level competition. The committee determined it was not
necessary to propose any changes at this time but noted it is important to
track on the issue in order to identify any alarming trends that may arise in
the future.
2. NCAA Proposal Nos. 2006-63-A and 2006-63-B Eligibility – Criteria for Determining Season of Eligibility – Tennis and Swimming and Diving – Participation in Elite Events. The committee strongly supports NCAA Proposal No. 2006-63-A, which specifies that a student-athlete's participation in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, World Cup and World University Games is exempt from application of the legislation governing seasons of competition and residency in tennis and swimming and diving. The committee agrees with the position of the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet. Participation in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, World Cup or World University Games is a unique and enriching experience for student-athletes. Charging student-athletes with seasons of competition and requiring them to fulfill an academic year in
residence for
participation in such elite events is inappropriate. This change is consistent with the
treatment of elite events as it relates to the use of a season of competition
for enrolled student-athletes.
Additionally, should Proposal No. 2006-63-A be defeated, the committee
supports Proposal 2006-63-B, which specifies that a student-athlete’s
participation in the Olympic Games is exempt from application of the
legislation governing seasons of competition and residency in tennis and
swimming and diving.
3. Use
of the Student-Athlete
4. Review
of Bylaw 13.11.3 (Involvement of institutional coaching staff in contests
involving prospects). The committee discussed whether to propose a legislative exception within
Bylaw 13.11.3 for certain events and sports, specifically, gymnastics, which
would allow coaches to assist in the administration of such events in only
noncoaching roles (e.g., setting up equipment, keeping statistics). The committee chose to refer to the
gymnastics committee and recruiting subcommittee as well as USA Gymnastics for more
information before making a recommendation to the cabinet. Specifically, the committee requests
that the recruiting subcommittee consider what unintended consequences could
arise by allowing coaches to participate in only noncoaching activities in all
sports and the gymnastics committee to assess any safety concerns. On receipt of input from these
committee’s comment, the committee will discuss whether to recommend
sponsorship of a proposal, which would provide such an exception solely for
gymnastics or be broader in scope.
Committee
Chair: Christine Hoyles, Pacific-10
Conference
Staff
Liaisons: Jennifer F. Strawley,
Student-Athlete Reinstatement
Wendy
A. Walters, Membership Services
Jennifer
Henderson, Membership Services
Heidi
Clarke, Corporate and Broadcast Alliances