NCAA DIVISION III INTERPRETATIONS AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Summary of Recommendations

ACTION ITEMS – MANAGEMENT COUNCIL ONLY

1. ISSUE:		Bylaw 13.13.1.4 (Employment of Prospects/No Free or Reduced Admission Privileges).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to permit prospective student-athletes to be employed at institutional sports camps after the prospect's high-school graduation and paid acceptance of the institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
2. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2002-64, Permissible Benefits – Miscellaneous Benefits (Bylaw 16.12.1.11).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to permit a student-athlete to retain frequent flier points and/or miles earned during team travel.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
3. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2002-65, Awards and Benefits – Team Entertainment – Vacation Periods (Bylaw 16.7.1).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to permit an institution to pay reasonable entertainment costs associated with required practice during vacation periods (e.g., preseason period), provided such entertainment occurs within a 30-mile radius of the institution’s campus or practice site and classes are not in session.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.

4. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2003-1, Recruiting – Complimentary Admissions – Official and Unofficial (Bylaw 13.7.1.4).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to permit an institution to conduct an official visit at an off-campus location within a 30-mile radius of the campus. Further, for official and unofficial visits, to permit an institution to provide three complimentary admissions to a prospect for any regular-season home contest that has been scheduled at an off-campus facility, provided the facility is located within a 30-mile radium of the institution.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
5. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2003-2, Recruiting – Unofficial Visits – Complimentary Admissions (Bylaw 13.8.2.2).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to permit an institution to provide any prospective student-athlete on an unofficial visit three complimentary admissions to any regular-season home contest at an off-campus facility.
Management Council Recommendation:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
6. ISSUE:		Interpretation of Admissions Office Announcements (Bylaw 13.11.7).
Committee Recommendation:
	Approve the following interpretation relating to admission office announcements. "The provisions of NCAA Bylaw 13.11.7 (announcement of acceptance) do not apply to admissions office announcements of all prospective students who will attend the institution, regardless of whether the paid acceptance of an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid has been received, provided the prospective students identified in the announcement are not identified as prospective student-athletes and the institution's athletics department is not involved in arranging the publicly. [Reference: Bylaw 13.11.7]"

Management Council Action:
Approved the interpretation.
7. ISSUE:		Interpretation of Preseason Football Practice Formula Exemptions (Bylaw 17.11.2.1.1).
Committee Recommendation:
	Approve the following interpretation relating to preseason football practice formula exemptions. "If an institution has an official policy that precludes any athletics or other extracurricular activities from occurring on Sunday, the institution may exempt Sundays prior to the first day of class from counting in the preseason practice formula to determine the first permissible practice date in football. [Reference: Bylaw 17.11.2.1.1]."
Management Council Action:
Approved the interpretation.
8. ISSUE:		Editorial Revision – Bylaw 17.14.5.3 – Annual Contest Exemptions – Women's Ice Hockey.
Committee Recommendation:
	Editorially revise Bylaw 17.14.5.3 to extend the exemption in women's ice hockey to include all Winter Olympic Games.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt legislation, as recommended.
9. ISSUE:		Editorial Revision – Bylaw 17.11.6 – Out-of-Season Athletically Related Activities.
Committee Recommendation:
	Editorially revise Bylaw 17.11.6 to replace "nontraditional segment" with "outside of the regular playing season."
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt legislation, as recommended.

10. ISSUE:		Editorial Revision – Bylaw 14.7.1 – Outside Competition.
Committee Recommendation:
	Editorially revise Bylaw 14.7.1 to reflect the outside competition regulations for National Collegiate Championship sports.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt legislation, as recommended.
11. ISSUE:		Modification Based on Intent –Bylaw 15.4.3 – Written Offers of Financial Aid.
Committee Recommendation:
	Modify Bylaw 15.4.3 to preclude institutions from providing verbal offers of financial aid to a prospective student-athlete prior to the prospective student-athlete being accepted for admission to the institution.
Management Council Action:
Deny the recommendation. The Council referred the issue to the Division III Financial Aid and Awards Committee for consideration of legislation, noting it is not viewed as a modification.
12. ISSUE:		Modification Based on Intent – Bylaw 14.5.4.1 – Two-Year College Transfers to Division III Institutions.
Committee Recommendation:
	Modify Bylaw 14.5.4.1 to clarify that a student-athlete with exhausted junior-college athletics ability is permitted to use the transfer exception if the student-athlete was otherwise academically and athletically eligible for competition at the junior college.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to modify Bylaw 14.5.4.1, as recommended.

13. ISSUE:		Bylaws 13.12.2.5.1 (Medical Examinations During Campus Visit) and 13.12.2.5.2 (Medical Examinations After Signing or Acceptance for Enrollment).
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to eliminate Bylaw 13.12.2.5.1 and modify Bylaw 13.12.2.5.2 to remove reference to the National Letter of Intent.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
14. ISSUE:		Bylaw 12 Deregulation.
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor legislation to: (a) Amend Bylaw 12.4.1 and remove Bylaws 12.4.1.1 and 12.4.1.2 to streamline employment legislation and treat all types of employment in a similar manner; (b) Amend Bylaw 12.5.1.1 and eliminate Bylaw 12.5.1.1.1 to remove the 100-mile radius restriction related to promotional activities; (c) Eliminate Bylaws 12.3.4.1 and 12.3.4.2 to grant institutional autonomy to campuses for the appointment and composition of professional sports counseling panels; (d) Permit institutions to receive donations from professional sports organizations for institutional fundraisers; and (e) Permit individuals to engage in modeling and nonathletically related promotional activities subsequent to full-time enrollment.
Management Council Action:
	Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
15. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2002-46-1, Amateurism – Professional Draft – Baseketball – Two-Year College Prospects.
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor noncontroversial legislation to eliminate, in basketball, the 30-day requirement for a two-year college prospect to declare his or her intention to resume intercollegiate competition.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.
11. ISSUE:		Sponsorship of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2202-49, Playing and Practice Seasons – Annual Exemptions – Softball.
Committee Recommendation:
	Sponsor noncontroversial legislation to exempt, in softball, both games of a doubleheader between a member institution and a foreign team played in the United States.
Management Council Action:
Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation, as recommended.

ITEMS OF INFORMATION

1. ISSUE:		Incorporations of Interpretations.
Committee Action:
	The committee reviewed interpretations issued since April 1, 2002, as well as the March 19, 1987, official interpretation regarding institutional club teams and determined that the following interpretations should be incorporated into the NCAA Division III Manual to clarify existing legislation. (1) Institution's Club Team – Case No. 291, 3/19/87 official interpretation. (2) Football – Strength and Conditioning Activities During the Nontraditional Segment (III), 2/27/03 official interpretation, Item No. 3. (3) Running Pass Patters/Drills During Football Strength and Conditioning Training Sessions (III), 2/22/02 official interpretation, Item No. 4-(f). (4) Academic Year-in-Residence Requirement is Sport-Specific (III), 4/22/02 official interpretation, Item No. 4-(f).

Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
2. ISSUE:		Definition of an Outside Team (Bylaw 17.02.10).
Committee Action:
	The committee reviewed Bylaw 17.02.10 as a result of a request from the NCAA Division III Administrative Review Subcommittee. The committee agreed to include the term "club team" in the Division III Manual glossary of terms and index.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
3. ISSUE:		Pool Workouts.
Committee Action:
	The committee discussed whether pool workouts are counted in the hourly practice limitations for preseason football. The committee agreed that pool workouts are to be considered on-field activities for purpose of applying the legislation, inasmuch as the only exception to the hourly limitations identified in the legislation is weightlifting. Further, the committee agreed that the issue was not interpretive in nature and can be addressed by the NCAA membership services staff.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
4. ISSUE:		Breaks in the Five-Day Acclimatization Period.
Committee Action:
	The committee discussed whether an institution could take a day off (i.e., no athletically related activities take place) during the required five-day acclimatization period in preseason football and agreed including a day off is permissible, provided the five-day period resumes following the day(s) off. The committee agreed that the issue is not interpretive in nature and similar questions may be addressed by membership services staff.

Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
5. ISSUE:		Eligibility Standards and Good Academic Standing.
Committee Action:
	The committee discussed Division III eligibility standards and the definition of good academic standing. Specifically, the committee discussed institutional autonomy in interpreting and applying good academic standing at the institution. It was the sense of the committee that not all institutions understand the application of Bylaw 14.01.2.1, thus a Legislative Assistance Column will be issued on this topic. The column will include a question and answer section.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
6. ISSUE:		Election of New Chair.
Committee Action:
	Travis Feezell was selected as chair-elect to succeed Garnett Purnell. Mr. Feezell's term will begin at the close of the 2004 NCAA Convention.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information. [It was subsequently determined that Mr. Feezell was not eligible to serve as chair and that committee member Sandra Slabik would assume that role at the close of the 2004 Convention.]