NCAA Division III
MONTHLY UPDATE // ISSUE NO. 127 // APRIL 2016

This update is a tool to enhance communication between the NCAA national office and the Division III membership, with distribution to athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives, presidents, national SAAC, conference commissioners and the NADIIIAA list serve.  We encourage athletic directors to share this communication with their athletics department members.  Please contact Louise McCleary at lmccleary@ncaa.org to include an item or share comments, and remember to check out the Division III governance homepage for the latest news and information.


HOT TOPICS

Division III Week

Join us next week, April 4-10, for the fifth annual celebration of Division III Week by calling attention to the unique student-athlete experience at your campus or conference.  Division III members are asked to highlight the activities and achievements of current student-athletes by scheduling an academic, athletics, co-curricular or extracurricular/community service activity.  The Division III Week Communications Kit serves as a planning guide, and further information about Division III Week is available online.  Please let us know, in advance, all planned Division III Week activities, either by submitting information via the online form, or sending it to d3identity@ncaa.org.  Join the social conversation using #D3Week, #whyD3, and #myD3. Please contact Kate Broshears with questions.

Diversity Database

The governance staff has been working with the NCAA Offices of Inclusion and Leadership Development to identify a cohort of all past female and ethnic minority intern and grant participants, as well as participants in any other Division III diversity programming.  To date, we have identified over 300 individuals.  In addition to establishing the cohort, staff has created a database that will provide names and contacts to any Division III institution or conference office that is looking to diversify its candidate pool.  If you want access to this database, please email odi@ncaa.org.

HIGHLIGHTS

Hot Topics

FAR Updates

SSI Updates

CoSIDA Updates

Diversity Spotlight

Special Olympics

AMA Updates

Educational Information

Championships Updates

Committee Updates

Key Dates

Graduation Rate Collection

The data collection portal for the federal graduation rates and enrollment data opened March 8. The submission deadline is June 1.  Institutions can access the site through the NCAA's Single Source Sign-On (SSSO) system.  In addition to the required student-body reporting, Division III members are strongly encouraged to provide the voluntary graduation success rate data for the 2009 student-athlete cohort.  Please contact Maria DeJulio or Eric Hartung with any questions.

Technology Users Group Update

On a recent teleconference, the Division III Technology Users Group discussed access to the CommitteeZone and Championships Portal via the MyApps portal within Single Source Sign-On (SSSO).  Due to the current championships bid process, the information technology staff established the following target deadlines: June 2017 for migrating the championships portal; and September 2016 for moving the CommitteeZone access to the MyApps portal.

The users group also heard an update on the new NCAA Eligibility Center registration process.  Currently, primarily Division I and II prospective student-athletes (PSAs) register with the Eligibility Center.  Those prospective student-athletes pay a $75 registration fee ($125 for international PSAs), which funds both the academic and amateurism certification required by legislation in each of those divisions.  Soon a free registration fee will be available for PSAs who want to simply create a profile (e.g. intend to attend Division III or unsure if they need certification).

Establishing a registration process for prospective Division III student-athletes would allow them to receive education and information during the recruiting process on being an NCAA student-athlete.  Registration will also provide an NCAA ID prior to their enrollment at a member institution.    NCAA IDs are required to use a number of different free NCAA technologies (e.g. waivers, reinstatement requests and online compliance forms).  The users group believes this new registration process could save Division III compliance administrators hours of time. 

It's On Us Video Contest Update

Nearly 30 Division III institutions and conferences participated in the National SAAC's It's On Us video contest.  A sincere thank you to those who submitted a video for consideration! The winning video will debut at the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, which will be April 4 during Division III Week and in conjunction with the Women's Final Four in Indianapolis. An award of $500 will also be provided to the institution with the winning video. 

Regional Rules Seminars

Registration for the 2016 NCAA Regional Rules Seminars is now open.  Seminars will be conducted May 23-25 in Orlando and June 13-15 in Dallas.  Go to the Regional Rules Seminar webpage to find the registration link, daily schedule, grid and session descriptions.  Division III specific sessions will be held Tuesday afternoon and all day on Wednesday.

NCAA Constitution 3.2.4.15 (Convention and Regional Rules Seminar attendance) requires all Division III institutions to attend a Regional Rules Seminar at least once in every three years. Under this requirement, the three-year window for attendance included the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Regional Rules Seminars.  Any institution that did not send a representative in 2014 or 2015 should plan to be in attendance at one of the 2016 seminars.  Click here to see which institutions are required to attend in 2016. These institutions will also be sent a specific notification via email.  Please note: to ensure that you are properly credited for your institution's once-in-three-years attendance requirement, when registering to attend, please do not register as "staff." That category is for seminar staff only, and those attendees are not recorded for attendance at the seminar.

Questions about the Regional Rules Seminars should be directed to the academic and membership affairs staff at regionalrules@ncaa.org.

FACULTY ATHLETICS REPRESENTATIVE (FAR) UPDATES

The Division III governance staff will host the seventh annual Division III Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Fellows Institute October 14-16, 2016, at the NCAA national office.  The Institute will differ from the FARA Annual Meeting and Symposium by focusing on the leadership skills of experienced FARs.  This three-day professional development program, inclusive of all expenses, empowers FARs to more effectively carry out their responsibilities at the campus, conference and national levels. 

New for 2016, the nominations process has been incorporated into Program Hub and expanded to allow for FAR (self), athletics director and presidential nominations in addition to commissioner nominations. The nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern time May 31.  Please visit the FAR Institute page for additional information, and direct any questions to Leah Kareti.

SPORT SCIENCE INSTIUTE (SSI) UPDATES

Cardiac Health

Sudden cardiac death claims the lives of more NCAA student-athletes than any other sport-related trauma. The SSI and leading sports medicine groups have crafted an inter-association statement on cardiovascular care in hopes of keeping athletes safer.  The statement was spurred by a two-day summit in September 2014 that brought together more than two dozen experts. Those discussions led to recommendations for both preventing and reacting to cardiac arrest among student-athletes.  Among these potentially lifesaving protocols are seven important takeaways, found here.

CoSIDA UPDATES

Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award

The Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award is a partnership between the Division III governance staff and the Division III College Sports Information Directors of America (D3SIDA) to honor the best human interest story or video produced by Division III campus and conference athletics communication offices.  Each top honoree, named three times annually, will receive a $1,500 credit to attend Division III Day at the CoSIDA Convention.  Participants can self-nominate or be nominated by peers via email, and the first deadline is May 1.  Please contact Kate Broshears with questions.

Division III Day at the CoSIDA Convention

We invite athletics communication personnel to join us in Dallas during the CoSIDA Convention for the third annual Division III Day Monday, June 13. Programming will feature sessions on social media, helpful NCAA rules for athletics communicators, managing a part-time workforce, a hands-on Photoshop session, and a keynote speaker. Click here for more information and to register and contact Kate Broshears with questions.

DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT INITIATIVE

Augsburg College is the recipient of the March Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative.  In response to a shift in demographics, the college has created and launched a diversity certificate program to provide students, faculty and staff the opportunity to complete targeted and specific diversity, equity and inclusion training.  One of the core requirements of the program is an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a cross-culturally validated assessment of an individual's intercultural competence.  Click here to read the full story.

The Diversity Spotlight Initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity related projects, programming and initiatives that are occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices.  Each month, the program recognizes an institution or conference in regard to a diversity related event, program or initiative.   All recipients receive $500 towards their next diversity initiative.  To submit an initiative for consideration for April, please email Jessica Duff or Jaime Dicks, with a brief statement (no more than 500 words) as to why your institution or conference office deserves to be the spotlight recipient. Attach a photo if applicable. The nomination deadline is April 21.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Spotlight Poll

The NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll is a story-telling initiative located on ncaa.org/D3SpecialOlympics .  It features new stories each month that highlight a Division III and Special Olympics joint activity or event.  The story with the highest number of votes on the 25th day of each month is the winner. That institution or conference receives $500 to use for its next Special Olympics event. Both written and digital submissions are accepted.  Featured stories are selected based on inclusion of the student-athlete perspective and Division III messaging. To submit a story for consideration, please email d3specialolympics@ncaa.org.

March Winner

After 3,283 total votes, Massachusetts Maritime hosts Special Olympics basketball community game won the March Special Olympics Spotlight poll with 59 percent (1,938) of the votes! Massachusetts Maritime will receive $500 to use for their next Special Olympics event!

April Nominees

•   Salem State hosts Special Olympics basketball tournament
•   UMAC SAAC bowls with Special Olympics
•   SCAC welcomes Special Olympics to swimming & diving championship

Click here to vote starting Friday, April 1. The winner will be selected April 25, 2016.

ACADEMIC AND MEMBERSHIP AFFAIRS UPDATES (AMA)

Compliance Educational Video for Coaches

Click here for a short educational video that highlights two important areas of the eligibility, membership and playing seasons legislation - postseason participation after graduation, and counting contest maximums and minimums.  To view the video with closed captioning, users must turn on the closed captioning setting within YouTube.

Rule of the Month

Financial Aid. Per Bylaw 15.2.3.5, a student-athlete may receive financial aid through an established and continuing program for the recognition of outstanding high school graduates, which may consider athletics leadership, ability, participation or performance. Here is a list to check when monitoring financial aid awards from outside sources that consider athletics leadership, ability, participation or performance as a major criterion. (Note: This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a guide to consider during the process of checking outside scholarships. An institution's financial aid office is required to ensure that all outside awards that consider athletics are awarded consistent with Bylaw 15.2.3.5.)

•  The program providing the outside aid is an established and continuing program (i.e., not created for a one-time disbursal for a prospect).
•  The award is for a student initially enrolling in a collegiate institution (not a continuing student).
•  The award is not renewable based on any factors that consider athletics.
•  The award is not restricted by the donor of aid (e.g., not restricted to a given state).
•  There is no direct connection between the donor and the student-athlete's institution.

If the institution is unable to check each item listed above, the institution may need to request additional information to determine if the outside aid is permissible.  If a student-athlete receives impermissible financial aid, the student-athlete is ineligible for all intercollegiate athletics participation.

Academic Portal Update (Division III)

Work continues on the development of the Academic Portal, which is intended to serve as a single point of entry and process for all NCAA institutions on academic related requirements.  The development of this portal will not impact the way that institutions develop and submit voluntary academic information, such as NCAA Division III Academic Success Rate data, until spring 2017.  A communication plan has been developed that will ensure the membership, committees and other constituent groups are informed of and provided regular updates on this initiative.  Please email academicportal@ncaa.org with any questions, comments or concerns.

Official Interpretation

Reservation of Facility During the Summer by Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (III).  Date Issued: March 17, 2016.  Date Published: March 17, 2016.  Type: Official Interpretation.  Item Ref: 2a.  The Interpretations and Legislation Committee confirmed that, outside the playing and practice season, an institution's certified strength and conditioning coach may only reserve an athletic facility for voluntary workouts that he or she will conduct.  Because a certified strength and conditioning coach is only permitted to conduct voluntary workouts during the academic year, the certified strength and conditioning coach may not reserve an athletic facility during the summer.  A student-athlete, however, may access a weight room designated exclusively for student-athletes at any time, including during the summer. [References: NCAA Division III Bylaw 17.02.1.1.1(Exceptions)]

Division III Management Council Subcommittee or Legislative Relief (SLR) Approves Blanket Waiver for NCAA Bylaw 17.1.4.1 (required day off, all sports).  March 3, 2016

SLR approved a blanket waiver to allow Division III institutions to apply the required day off legislation to individual track and field student-athletes, as opposed to applying the legislation to the team as a whole, through the  conclusion of the 2017 NCAA Convention.  In granting this waiver, SLR noted:

•  Division III indoor and outdoor track and field teams have increased difficulty in accommodating the number of different disciplines within the sport and different training regimens;  and
•  Division III institutions and conferences intend to sponsor legislation at the 2017 NCAA Convention to provide an exception to allow indoor and outdoor track and field teams to apply the required day off individually.

See Case No. 872381 in Requests/Self-Reports Online (RSRO) via the search tab. Additional information regarding blanket waivers can be found on the Subcommittee for Legislative Relief homepage.  [References: Bylaw 17.1.4.1 (required day off, all sports.)]

ISSG Reminder

Constitution 6.3.1 requires all Division III institutions to conduct a comprehensive self-study and evaluation of their athletics programs at least once every five years.  The full Institutional Self-Study Guide (ISSG) and requirements for supporting documentation are now available for completion.  Click here for the user manual.  This information must be entered into the electronic ISSG by all institutions; fax, hard copy or email submissions of the ISSG will not be accepted.

The ISSG can be accessed via the MyApps link on NCAA.org (if access has been granted by the institution's single-source sign-on administrator).  Institutions that need technical assistance are asked to send questions via email to Susan Roseman.

Click here to see which schools are required to complete this year's ISSG and supporting documentation by June 1, 2016.  Check out the NCAA Directory to see when your institution's next ISSG is due for completion.

RSRO Enhancements Coming April 2016

Enhancements to RSRO will be available in early April, 2016.  A few highlights include:

• Reporting tab that allows users to create custom reports;
• Ability to pay secondary violations through RSRO;
• A warning message has been added to cases where a de minimis bylaw is being referenced; and
• The ability for institutions to view case cover sheets while on the case management screen that display the decision and case summary.

A complete list of enhancements will be available on the resources tab in RSRO in early April. For questions, please email rsro@ncaa.org.

SAR Update

Requests to waive a student-athlete's 10-semester period of eligibility (Bylaw 14.2.2) are subject to a two-prong analysis. The first prong focuses on whether a student-athlete was denied two seasons of participation for reasons beyond the control of the student-athlete and institution. The second prong focuses on whether the student-athlete had four seasons of participation opportunity during his or her 10-semester period of eligibility. For cases in which a student-athlete has two denied participation opportunities, the reinstatement staff may consider an extension request as early as when the student-athlete has entered his or her eighth full-time semester of enrollment, conditioned on the student-athlete maintaining full-time enrollment during his or her ninth and tenth semesters.

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION

NCAA Inclusion Forum

The Inclusion Forum, April 16-18 in Indianapolis, will bring together intercollegiate athletics leaders passionate about improving the educational and professional environment for student-athletes, coaches and staff. Sessions will engage on a broad range of topics related to policy, research and best practices for racial and ethnic minorities, women, international student-athletes, LGBTQ and disability-access to sport.  Tamika Catchings (@Catchin24) will deliver the closing keynote address.  Registration is still open and the preliminary agenda can be found here.  For questions, please contact Richard Zhu.

Honors Awards

The Honors awards recognize current and former student-athletes who have brought distinction to themselves, their schools and intercollegiate athletics. The awards will be presented at the Honors Celebration during the 2017 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Submit your nominations for the following awards by 5 p.m. Eastern time Friday, May 6, through the NCAA Program Hub

Theodore Roosevelt Award
Silver Anniversary Award
Award of Valor
Inspiration Award

Nominations for the Today's Top 10 Award will be accepted from late May to early August for student-athletes who ended their athletics eligibility in the 2015-16 academic year.  Tip: To be eligible for the Silver Anniversary Award, the nominee must have completed his or her athletics eligibility in the 1991-92 academic year. (For example, if your nominee competed in his final season of football in fall 1991, he would be eligible for the award.)  For questions about the Honors awards, contact Sharon Tufano, NCAA committee coordinator.  Click here to learn about the honorees from the 2016 NCAA Honors Celebration.

Effective Facilitation Workshop

The Effective Facilitation Workshop teaches the practice of active learning, a skill set the coaches and administrators participating may implement with student-athletes at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum and also apply on their campuses. The next workshop will be conducted in Baltimore on June 23-26. The application is currently open and the deadline to apply is Wed., April 27.  Go here for more information.

Leadership Institute

The Leadership Institute will take place July 9-15, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. The application is now open via the NCAA Program Hub, and the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 15. The institute provides tailored programming to assist ethnic minorities in strategically mapping and planning their careers in athletics administration by providing professional development programming over the course of a calendar year, which includes two, one-week programs at the beginning and conclusion of that year. Go here for more information.

DiSC Assessments Still Available

Use of the DiSC is strongly encouraged on member campuses. Participants gain personalized feedback on their specific leadership style, and student-athletes, coaches and administrators gain valuable understanding of each individual's unique behavioral style. Applying this knowledge can develop effective team dynamics, leadership, and communication among the group as a whole. In 2015-16, each Division III school interested in utilizing the DiSC resource will be provided assessments for up to 50 student-athletes, as well as 30 coaches or administrators, at no cost. Funding is limited and requests will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more about the DiSC resource, visit www.NCAA.org/leadershipdevelopment or click here.

CHAMPIONSHIPS UPDATES

Championships Bid Process

The NCAA championships staff recently announced the commencement of the next Championship Site Selection campaign. The NCAA is looking for hosts and sites for 83 of the 90 championships each year over four academic years, spanning 2018-19 through 2021-22.

The timeline of the bid process is as follows:

Feb. 1 Bid specifications published (NCAA.org/bids).
June 6 Bid portal opens.
June 27 Bid intentions due.
Aug. 12 Bid responses due.
Sept./Oct. Committee deliberations.
Nov. Committee recommendations.
Dec. Hosts/sites announced.

NCAA championships staff will be supplying updated communications throughout the process.  If you have questions, please contact Liz Suscha.

COMMITTEE UPDATES

One committee conducted an in-person meeting in March. 


Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, March 23


KEY DATES FOR APRIL THROUGH JUNE


2016
Dates Meeting/Championships Location 
April 4Women's Basketball ChampionshipIndianapolis, Indiana
April 4-10Division III Week Celebration
April 7-10Student-Athlete Leadership ForumPhoenix, Arizona
April 10-11Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Meeting Indianapolis, Indiana
April 10Men's Volleyball SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
April 14-16 Committee on Women's AthleticsIndianapolis, Indiana
April 15-16Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
April 16-18Inclusion ForumIndianapolis, Indiana
April 18-19Management Council MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
April 22-24Men's Volleyball ChampionshipRochester, New York
April 27-28Presidents Council Meeting Indianapolis, Indiana
May 2   Men's and Women's Golf Selections   Indianapolis, Indiana
May8 Men's and Women's Lacrosse SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 8Men's and Women's Tennis SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 8Softball SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 9Women's Rowing SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 10-13Men's Golf ChampionshipRochester, New York
May 10-13Women's Golf ChampionshipHouston, Texas
May 15Baseball SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 17-18Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement Meeting Indianapolis, Indiana
May 22Men's and Women's Outdoor Track SelectionsIndianapolis, Indiana
May 23-28 Men's and Women's Tennis ChampionshipsKalamazoo, Michigan
May 26-29Men's and Women's Outdoor Track ChampionshipsWaverly, Iowa
May 26-31Softball ChampionshipSalem, Virginia
May 27-28Women's Rowing ChampionshipSacramento, California
May 27-31Baseball ChampionshipAppleton, Wisconsin
May 28-29Women's Lacrosse Championship Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 29Men's Lacrosse ChampionshipPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
June 1-2 Championships Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 6-7Baseball Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 6-8Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 8-10Men's Volleyball Committee Meeting Indianapolis, Indiana
June 13-14Women's Lacrosse Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 13 Division III Day at CoSIDA ConventionDallas, Texas
June 13-15Regional Rules SeminarDallas, Texas
June 15-17Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 15-17Competitive Safeguards & Medical Aspects of Sports Committee Meeting Dallas, Texas
June 16NADIIIAA Summer ForumDallas, Texas
June 22-23Softball Committee Meeting Indianapolis, Indiana
June 23-24Membership Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 27-29 Men's Golf Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana
June 28-30Women's Golf Committee MeetingIndianapolis, Indiana


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