October 26, 2006 Presidents Council agenda

REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL MEETING

October 16-17, 2006

NCAA DIVISION III PRESIDENTS COUNCIL MEETING

October 26, 2006

			*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 1* *AW – COMMITTEE ON COMPETITITVE SAFEGUARDS AND MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS* *Staff Liaisons: Klossner, Wilfert* *Council Rep: Wilson*
			*ISSUE: 2008 NCAA Convention Legislation – Extension of Committee Service.*
			*Management Council Recommendation:* To sponsor legislation for the 2008 Convention that would allow for an exception to extend by one year the service of the chair of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), if the chair becomes chair with only one year left of the four years of committee service, effective August 1, 2008. Service on CSMAS is a true learning experience. Though there is a mechanism for a rising chair, that person generally is not identified until the completion of two years of service. After the rising year (third year of service), the new chair then has only one year of the four years of committee service to act as chair. The complexities and impact of the issues before this committee, and the need for consistent, learned leadership, require a chair that has had the opportunity to “learn” the position and to provide continuity of service. This option would be enacted only when circumstances warrant the extension, i.e., the chair enters in the fourth year of committee service.
			*Presidents Council Action:*

			*ISSUE:* *Division III Academic Year Round Drug Education and Testing Pilot.*
			*Management Council Action:* The Council reviewed the information presented regarding the drug pilot, noting that 140 institutions have responded to date. Those 140 institutions include 138 active members, one reclassifying member and one provisional member, representing 40 conferences and five independents. The Council discussed the following details regarding the pilot: · All sports will be included in some way, but sports with higher incidence of drug use will be targeted for greater participation (e.g., football, basketball and track and field). · To measure effectiveness of the pilot, the NCAA will administer an assessment tool prior to education and testing and after those efforts. · Student-athlete selection: The National Center for Drug Free Sport will request a roster for those sports chosen to be tested. A selection will be made from that roster to produce a representative sample. · The final summary will reveal only the institution’s number of positive results. All other information will be confidential. · Results data will be given participating institutions on an aggregate level for all teams at the institution. National results will report usage by sport, as well as demographic breakdowns such as public or private affiliation, enrollment and geographic region. · January 2007 Convention discussion session will update membership on program details, including information regarding pool of participating schools. · Institutions should be reminded to discuss pilot participation with institutional legal counsel. · Recommended that the final list of pilot participants not be released to the membership. The Council also discussed whether to allow institutions that already have a program in existence to participate by using their information for a separate analysis. The sense of the meeting was this would be permissible.

			*ISSUE: Testing and Sanctions for Street Drugs.*
				*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the committee is exploring a recommendation to test for street drugs in the Division I and II year-round testing program and to apply a distinct sanctioning tract for the use of street drugs that is appropriately responsive to the health issues presented when street-drug use is identified – as opposed to the response to cheating through the use of performance-enhancing drugs – and to test for all banned substances in the year-round program, including street drugs. Under this recommendation, the sanctions for a positive test for a street drug would involve a withholding from 50 percent of competition in all sports for a first positive, withholding for a year for a second positive and permanent loss of eligibility for a third positive. In addition, reinstatement would require a negative NCAA exit test, documentation provided by the institution identifying the results of scheduled institutional drug tests during the withholding period and documentation of an assessment and education or treatment plan conducted with the student-athlete. Student-athletes will have the right to appeal a positive drug test for a street drug but the option to reduce the penalty will not be available within this new tract.

			*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 3* *AW –* *NCAA PLAYING RULES OVERSIGHT PANEL* *Staff Liaisons: Halpin and Perry*
			*ISSUE: 2007 NCAA Convention Legislation – Secretary-Rules Editor Nomination Approval.*
			*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation that will allow the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) to oversee the selection process, approve the nominations for secretary-rules editor candidates and review waiver requests for secretary-rules editor term limits, as specified in NCAA Bylaws 21.3.1.1.1 and 21.4.1.1.1. PROP was created to streamline the oversight of playing rules issues, which are Association-wide. The current bylaw language does not include the appointment of the secretary-rules editors within the oversight parameters, and there is no established process for selection of these positions. The secretary-rules editor serves as the national rules interpreter for the playing rules committee and is charged with answering questions from coaches, officials, administrators and the general public, as well as editing the rules book annual. The secretary-rules editors are not required to be from a specific division nor associated with an NCAA member institution or conference. Because the post is highly specialized and unique, the approval authority should be maintained by the members of PROP, who are all administrators with playing rules experience.

		*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 7* DIII – CONVENTION-PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE Staff Liaisons: Dutcher, Peal and Kresge *Council Rep: Slabik*
		*ISSUE: 2007 NCAA Convention Schedule.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information regarding the 2007 NCAA Convention, noting the following changes: (a) Saturday, January 6 – CIC videoconference has been scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. (b) Sunday, January 7 – Sunday Issues Forum has been moved to start at 8:30 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. due to the number of discussion topics. (c) Sunday, January 7 - President Brand’s breakfast has been adjusted to 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.

		*ISSUE: Association-Wide Educational Topics.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the subcommittee reviewed the myriad association-wide educational programs. Staff indicated that the schedule is developed for all divisions.

		*ISSUE: Division III Specific Sessions.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the subcommittee discussed the agenda and presenters for the following sessions: Sunday Issues Forum; Chancellor/President Luncheon and Issues Forum; and the Division III Business Session.

		*ISSUE: 2007 Convention Timetable.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the subcommittee reviewed its planning timetable and noted that a conference call will be scheduled for early November to identify planning responsibilities related to various sessions; review Management Council/Presidents Council actions related to program/session recommendations; discuss involvement and communicate with affiliated groups, the governance structure and staff.

		*MC SUPPLEMENT NO.* 8 *DIII –* *STRATEGIC-PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE* Staff Liaisons: Dutcher, Nilsson, Kresge *Council Rep: Cushman*
		*ISSUE: Strategic Planning and Finance Committee.*
		*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation to merge the Division III Budget Committee and the Division III Strategic-Planning Subcommittee, into a renamed Strategic Planning and Finance Committee. The new committee composition is to include four members of the Presidents Council, four members of the Management Council, one member of the Championships Committee and two members at-large.

		*ISSUE: 2006 Spring Conduct Program Executive Summary.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information the subcommittee submitted regarding the Spring Conduct Foul Program Executive Summary.

		*ISSUE: Division III Executive Summary.*
		*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information regarding the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Executive Summaries of the Division III Initiatives along with the 2005-06 Strategic Initiatives Annual Compilation.

	*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 11* *DIII –* *BUDGET COMMITTEE* Staff Liaisons: Barnett *Council Rep: Cushman*
	*ISSUE: 2005-06 Budget-to-Actual.*
	*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the fourth quarter results include $16,600,000 in revenue and $16,219,107 in expenses. Expenses have increased approximately 19 percent from the prior year. This is a result of the team automatic qualification enhancements and the $5 per diem increase that were in effect for this fiscal year. Council noted that these results are not final because the national office finance staff has not closed out the 2005-06 fiscal year. However, based on the actual results thus far, the reserve balance looks to be approximately $11 million. This is $1.5 million greater then anticipated based on the 2005-06 budget. It was also noted that the Student-Athlete Leadership Conference has been over budget consistently and the staff will reevaluate the base budget for the upcoming year.

	*ISSUE: 2006-07 Budget.*
	*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year includes $17,903,400 in revenue and $20,103,284 in expenses. In 2006-07, championship initiatives include $188,000 for participant awards; $111,000 for an increase in travel parties for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s rowing; $30,000 for Web casting; $20,000 for predetermined sites for softball; $16,000 for an increase in football officiating crews; $24,000 for an increase in the men’s and women’s tennis squad size; $174,0000 for an increase in men’s and women’s cross country field size; $15,000 for an internship for the indoor and outdoor track championships; and $15,000 for other initiatives. Non-championship initiatives include $163,000 for additional staff and reclassification of staff to better support Division III; $325,000 for a voluntary two-year drug testing pilot program; and $6,000 for student-athlete reinstatement content added to the “Bet in the Game” CD-Rom. This is the first fiscal year for the new Strategic Initiative Conference Grant program which combines several individual grants into one, paid to conferences on an annual basis. This is also the first year for the new reserve policy, maintaining 10 percent of the Division III revenue allocation as a mandated reserve level.

	*ISSUE: Six-year Projections.*
	*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that this schedule includes the actual results from 2004-05 only and budget projections from 2005 through 2010. With the inclusion of approved budget initiatives for 2006-07 and 2007-08, the projected reserve balance in 2010 is $3 million. In 2008-2010, there are no new initiatives included in the budget figures, so any approved future initiatives will further reduce the reserve balance. The projections reflect the new reserve policy starting in 2006-07 which mandates a minimum reserve balance of 10 percent of the Division III revenue allocation.

*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 12* *DIII – CHAMPIONSHIPS COMMITTEE* Staff Liaisons: Fagan, Krah and Williams *Council Rep: Resch*
*ISSUE: Institutional Policy – Notification Date – NCAA Bylaw 31.1.4.1.*
*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation to amend NCAA Bylaw 31.1.4.1 to adjust the notification date to the national office by institutions with a policy against competition on a particular day due to religious reasons. The notification deadline would change from September 1 for the current year to May 1 for the upcoming year and that process would incorporate a period of two years (e.g., May 1, 2007 for 2007-08 and 2008-09). The switch to requesting information in May for an upcoming year is consistent with other championships related documents (e.g., automatic-qualification forms). Prior notice will allow NCAA staff and sports committees more time to adjust to potential challenges and changes to accommodate the request.

*ISSUE: Composition of Men’s Water Polo Committee – Bylaw 21.4.7.*
*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 21.4.7 to specify that the composition of the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Committee shall consist of two representatives from the East region, two representatives from the West region and one at-large representative, and that an additional member shall be designated secretary-rules editor. The current legislation requires one member represent each of the two water polo regions, with four at-large members. The proposed change will create balance between the regions; during the 2005-06 year there was an inequitable balance between the two regions (e.g., four members from the East region and one member from the West region).

*ISSUE: Official Traveling Party – Men’s Volleyball, Men’s Water Polo and Women’s Water Polo – Bylaw 31.4.6.4.*
*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation to increase the official traveling party for which expenses shall be provided for participation in the NCAA National Collegiate Championship. Proposed increases are as follows: men’s volleyball from 18 to 21; men’s water polo from 19 to 20; and women’s water polo from 19 to 20. The initial request for this initiative has been supported by the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and funding will be provided by Division I. Approval must be granted by all three divisions as they are National Collegiate Championships.

*ISSUE: In-Region Game Determination – 200 Miles.*
*Management Council Action:* Approved that NCAA staff be allowed to review mileage issues due to the change in software programs (Microsoft Streets and Trips to Microsoft MapPoint) to determine mileage between institutions for designation of in-region contests for championships selection purposes. The committee believes that institutions that previously scheduled games outside of the sport specific region, but within the permissible 200 mile radius of their institution (according to Streets and Trips, yet over 200 miles according to MapPoint), have been adversely affected by the late change in software programs implemented by the national office and should be allowed to count those games as in-region contests for the 2006-07 year. This action may prevent student-athletes from being negatively impacted during the selection process due to loss of in-region games if their institution is under consideration for an at-large championship berth.

*ISSUE: Single-Sport Conference – Virtual Focus Group (VFG).*
*Management Council Recommendation:* Distribute to VFG in 2007 the issue of automatic qualification (AQ) for single-sport conferences. Council suggested that staff investigate further the demographics of single-sport conferences prior to drafting VFG language. The committee would like membership feedback on the current moratorium on AQ related to the formation and change in membership of single-sport conferences, especially as it relates to emerging, geographically isolated sports and those sports that are not sponsored by a large percentage of the membership.

*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 13* *DIII – FINANCIAL AID COMMITTEE* *Staff Liaisons: Banker and Hartung* *Council Rep: McHugh*
*ISSUE: Noncontroversial Legislation – Division III Bylaw 15.2.3.6 (educational expenses – U.S. Olympic Committee).*
*Management Council Action:* Adopted noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 15.2.3.6 (Educational Expenses – U.S. Olympic Committee) to permit a national governing body to provide educational expenses to student-athletes per specified criteria. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is currently permitted to provide educational expenses to student-athletes. This exception for the USOC was premised on providing an alternative source of financial aid for student-athletes and to demonstrate the goodwill between the USOC and NCAA in reaching its collective goal of encouraging athletes to further their formal education in preparation for a worthwhile career upon retirement from competitive athletics. National governing bodies are in a position similar to the USOC in terms of amateur athletics hierarchy and should be permitted to provide educational expenses under a similar exception. This may be a possible reduction in institutional gift aid awarded to student-athletes and could impact the student-athlete with additional financial-aid resources.

*ISSUE: 2006-07 Division III Financial Aid Reporting Process.*
*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the committee will review approximately 115 institutions during the Level I review process. The committee also discussed the impact of the three new filters on the management of the reporting process, noting that of the three new filters implemented for this year’s reporting process, the filter comparing sports teams need levels met by institutional gift aid produced the most Level I reviews. The committee reviewed and endorsed a written justification template form that will be made available to institutions moved into the Level II review process to ensure a consistent solicitation of information by all schools required to submit written justifications. The committee will consider posting a sample Level II response for institutions to reference as they prepare their Level II written justifications.

ISSUE: Impact of Early Admissions, Early Decisions and Slotting on Financial-aid Packaging at Division III Institutions.
*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the committee discussed the impact of early admissions and slotting of student-athletes in admissions and its potential impact on financial aid packaging at Division III institutions. The committee agreed that admissions criteria, including slotting prospective student-athletes into early admissions spaces, are permissible under Division III legislation and that early admissions, early decisions and slotting of student-athletes during the admissions process is not necessarily providing an advantage for student-athletes’ financial aid packages. The committee noted that any institution that is advantaging a student-athlete in terms of financial aid packaging through the admissions process can be detected during the review process.

*ISSUE: Division III Financial-aid Education Sessions and Outreach to Third-party Associations.*
*Management Council Action:* Accepted the information that the committee reviewed the educational outreach efforts by NCAA staff and committee members regarding division financial aid legislation and the reporting process. The committee noted the importance of continued outreach and communication to the communities’ financial-aid administrators, admissions officers, and other third-parties impacted by the financial aid reporting process. The committee noted the importance of continued communication with the Division III membership, including the 2007 NCAA Convention session on the financial aid reporting process to be held the morning of the Division III business session.

October 16-17, 2006

DIII – CONVENTION-PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE

Staff Liaisons: Dutcher, Peal and Kresge

Staff Liaisons: Dutcher, Nilsson, Kresge

Staff Liaisons: Barnett

Staff Liaisons: Fagan, Krah and Williams