REPORT OF THE
NCAA DIVISION III
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
1.
ACTION ITEMS.
a.
Waivers
of the NCAA Convention Attendance Requirement for Provisional Member Chief Executive
Officers (CEOs).
(1)
Recommendation. Approve waivers of the Convention
attendance requirement for the CEOs from Dominican University and Huntingdon
College.
(2)
Rationale. The committee agreed to entertain
waivers of this requirement if a CEO was unable to attend. However, the committee also agreed that
waivers should only be granted if a senior-level institutional administrator
(i.e., dean of students, provost), preferably the individual to whom the athletics
department reports, attends the Convention in the CEO’s absence. Both requests satisfy that this
provision.
b.
Waiver
of Sports Sponsorship Requirements per NCAA Constitution 3.2.4.10.5.
(1)
Recommendation. Approve a waiver of the sports
sponsorship requirement per Constitution 3.2.4.10.5 for men’s sports at
Emmanuel College.
(2)
Rationale.
The institution is in the process of transitioning from single gender to
coeducational. During the 2001-02
academic year, approximately 100 men attend the institution. The committee agreed to grant this
waiver for the current academic year and, possibly, during the 2002-03 and
2003-04 academic years (school must reapply) but would not recommend granting
the waiver beyond that period of time.
This time line is consistent with the three-year time line set forth in
the recently adopted noncontroverisal legislation (NC-2 in the 2001 Convention
Official Notice). The school does
not meet that legislation in that the waiver was not applied for prior to
beginning the transition process.
c.
Provisional
Member Violations.
(1)
Recommendation. Sponsor
noncontroverisal legislation to permit the committee to take more of an
"educational" approach rather than the perceived "punitive"
approach when reviewing instances of noncompliance by Division III provisional
members.
(2) Rationale. The creation of this legislation would give the committee options other than only "move forward" or "repeat." The committee can treat minor noncompliance issues as secondary violations and move the institution forward "with or without conditions." It also enables the committee to treat major noncompliance issues (or a pattern of minor issues) as a major violation and require the institution to repeat or be reclassified to corresponding membership. The provisional membership process should be an educational process for its members. However, many provisional members view the process as punitive rather than educational. It should be noted that Division II has adopted similar legislation. The committee recommends that this legislation be applied to the first postmoratorium class of provisional membership. The committee has developed a list of “major” and “minor” violations that will assist the committee to make a determination as to the severity of the noncompliance.
d.
Division
III Institution Revoking Multidivisional Classification – Modification Based on
Intent.
(1)
Recommendation. Sponsor intent-based legislation to
require a Division III institution revoking multidivisional classification
(moving one or more sports from Division I back to Division III) to complete a
two-year reclassification process prior to being eligible for competition in
Division III Championships.
(2)
Rationale. The legislation clarifies that
an institution currently holding multidivisional classification with a sport in
Division I would be required to complete a two-year reclassification process
prior to being eligible for the Division III championship in that sport. This recommendation is based on prior
precedent and the intent of NCAA Bylaws 20.4 and 20.6.
e.
Division
III Institution Revoking Multidivisional Classification – Timing of Two-Year
Reclassification Period.
(1)
Recommendation. Prohibit Ursinus College from counting
the 2001-02 academic year as the first year of the two-year reclassification
period.
(2) Rationale. Ursinus has competed at the Division I level for the past several years. This past year, their Division I conference terminated their membership. This notification came after the June 1 deadline to notify the NCAA of a change of division. The institution asked to count the 2001-02 academic year as the first of the two-year reclassification period because of the late notice of their conference’s decision. The committee did not feel sufficient evidence existed to grant this waiver. The institution competed in the Division I conference with all Division I schedule during the 2001 field hockey season. Further, the committee agreed that the two-year period permits the institution to operate its field hockey program as a Division III program philosophically and practically (e.g., recruiting Division III prospects, scheduling issue). [See attachment for appeal.]
g.
Entering
the Random Selection Process.
(1)
Recommendation. Approve the principle that a school
that does not sponsor the minimum number of sports during the 2003-04 academic
year could not be selected to start the provisional membership process until
the 2004-05 academic year (must complete one full year of competition in the
minimum number of sports sponsored).
(2)
Rationale.
The committee was asked to decide whether a school that does not sponsor the
minimum number of sports at the time of the 2003 random selection process could
enter the 2003 or 2004 random selection pool. The committee agreed that a school could not be placed in
the random selection pool until one full year of competition in the minimum
number of sports.
2. INFORMATIONAL
ITEM.
a.
Educational
Sessions for Provisional Members.
The committee has scheduled educational sessions for year-two,
year-three and year-four provisional members at the 2002 Convention. These sessions are designed for
provisional member athletics directors and cover Division III legislation and
provisional membership requirements.
The year-four provisional members will be asked to provide feedback on
the current provisional membership process and ways it can be improved.
In
addition, a session for provisional member chief executive officers (CEOs) will
be conducted during the Convention.
This session will include participation by four active member CEOs, all
of whom are members of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council and NCAA
Division III Management Council.