It is an exciting time as a new academic year has arrived! Good luck to everyone for a smooth and successful start to 2019-2020.  This update highlights the August 2019 Division III Presidents Advisory Group (PAG) and Presidents Council meetings. I encourage you to review and discuss relevant issues with your presidential colleagues and commissioner at your next conference meeting.

The Presidents Council reviewed potential 2020 NCAA Convention proposals that have been identified as presidential in nature.  

Proposal sponsored by the governance structure:

For more information on other governance sponsored proposals, click here. 

The following proposals have been fully sponsored by the membership:

• PRACTICE EXPENSES - EXCEPTION FOR GOLF AND SWIMMING AND DIVING.  To allow an institution to provide practice expenses in the sports of golf and swimming and diving during an official vacation period regardless of competition.
• LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMING OUT OF SEASON.   To allow student-athletes serving in a team leadership capacity to voluntarily participate in leadership programming involving general, athletics-related content/information outside of the declared playing season with any member of an institution's coaching staff, provided the content of the programming does not include any: (1) Field, floor, or on-court activity; (2) Setting up offensive or defensive alignment; (3) Chalk talk; (4) Lecture on or discussion of strategy related to the specific-sport of the student-athlete(s); (5) Activities using equipment related to the sport; (6) Discussion or review of game films, motion pictures or videotapes related to the sport; or (7) Any other athletically related activity.
• APPLICATION PROCESS - PROVISIONAL INSTITUTION - REDUCE WAITING PERIOD FROM FOUR YEARS TO THREE YEARS.  To reduce the provisional process to become a new DIII member from four to three years.
• APPLICATION PROCESS - RECLASSIFYING INSTITUTION - REDUCE WAITING PERIOD FROM FOUR YEARS TO TWO YEARS.  To reduce the  process from a Division I or Division II school reclassifying to Division III from four to two years.

A subgroup of Division III conference commissioners, in collaboration with NCAA national office staff, developed the Conference Office Business Management Resource to assist conference offices and oversight bodies in establishing procedures and key topics related to the business management of a Division III conference office.  The presidents and chancellors discussed this resource during our recent meetings, and I encourage you to review and take advantage of this helpful information.

The 2020 NCAA Convention will take place in Anaheim, California from Jan. 22-25.  Click here for a presidential NCAA delegates schedule.

The Council reviewed the recently adopted legislation that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of chancellors, presidents and athletics directors with respect to the annual attestation and certification of rules compliance.  The attestation of compliance course and form submission now occur through the NCAA Learning Portal housed within MyApps on ncaa.org.  A video explaining the legislative requirement, followed by the attestation form, is a part of the course.  The completion deadline for presidents and chancellors to complete is October 15.  Noncompliance results in the institution's individual student-athletes and teams not being eligible for championships in 2019-20, and institutional staff members unable to serve on NCAA committees.  If you need assistance accessing the NCAA Learning Portal, contact your institution's Single Source Sign-On administrator (e.g., the athletics director).

Earlier this year, the governance staff launched Division III University, a new online learning platform.  The platform contains educational modules related to an overview of Division III, student-athlete well-being and compliance.  Division III athletics directors, senior woman administrators, head coaches and conference commissioners were the initial target audience.  Now, assistant and associate athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives, athletics trainers, and compliance officers have access to Division III University.  Each chapter contains an interactive course that educates users on everything from compliance and governance to improving student-athlete health and safety.  Two modules of emphasis within Division III University are sexual violence prevention and mental health.

 

The goal of the working group is to examine issues highlighted in recently proposed federal and state legislation related to student-athlete name, image and likeness.  The group will focus on solutions that reinforce the educational goals of student-athletes; sports; and further align student-athletes with the general student body.  The working group invites you to provide written feedback.  Please submit your responses by clicking here no later than Friday, August 30.