PAG Roundtable

On August 6, Dr. Katrice Albert, NCAA Executive Vice President of the Office of Inclusion and Human Resources, joined the PAG and led a roundtable discussion on the Board of Governors' Presidential Pledge.  She specifically encouraged all presidents and chancellors to commit to developing a diverse candidate pool with all athletics searches. For additional information on the recommendations for advancing the Presidential Pledge, click here.

Commission on College Basketball

On August 7, the Board of Governors unanimously agreed to sponsor legislation to add five independent voting members to its group. These new members will provide objectivity and fresh perspective as the NCAA works toward restoring trust and confidence in college sports.  At the 2019 NCAA Convention, there will be an Association-wide vote during Thursday's Plenary Session on this proposal. 

 

At the Board's recommendation, the Presidents Council also adopted noncontroversial legislation that will require the president or chancellor to join all athletics staff members each year in personally affirming that the school's athletics program meets the membership obligations for institutional control and rules compliance - an existing practice in Division III.  You can read more about both changes here.

Injury Surveillance Program

For the past six months, NCAA Division III staff, in coordination with the Sport Science Institute, has been reviewing participation in the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (ISP).  The ISP can help institutions answer questions about student-athlete injury trends and track and analyze medical illnesses and injuries that result from sport participation.  Although 75 percent of Division III is able to submit information to this program, less than 10 percent participate. The Presidents and Management Councils have endorsed a strategic plan to increase Division III participation in the ISP, and request that each institution report data on two intercollegiate varsity teams, of its choosing, during the 2018-19 academic year.  

LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Policy and Toolkit

The Presidents Council approved a recommendation from the Division III LGBTQ Working Group to provide one-time funding to create and distribute an LGBTQ identity promotion kit. Recent survey feedback, as well as input from members at the 2018 Convention, indicates that a majority of Division III members would be receptive to displaying LGBTQ-centric banners and other materials on campus. The working group also has released an LGBTQ nondiscrimination policy guide  to help member institutions and conferences establish and maintain welcoming environments on their campuses.

SSI Interassociation Guidelines - Catastrophic Injury

The Presidents Council reviewed a draft of the most recent Sport Science Institute's Interassociation guidelines on preventing catastrophic injury and death in college student-athletes .  The guidelines have a sportsmanship focus; protective equipment section; acclimatization and conditioning; an emergency action plan; and strength and conditioning personnel guidelines.  SSI anticipates the release of the final guidelines in 2019.

2019 NCAA Convention: Presidential Legislation

The President's Council formally identified the following legislative proposals (two governance sponsored and one from the membership) as presidential in nature, which will be subject to a membership vote at the 2019 NCAA Convention in Orlando.

 

The governance proposals include:

• Student-Athlete Graduation Rate Reporting. Require that all Division III member institutions submit on an annual basis student-athlete graduation rate data for the academic success rate (ASR), and to establish that annual championships eligibility is contingent upon submission of the ASR.
• Football Preseason.  Establish the first permissible practice day as 23 days before the institution's regular season contest.  The proposal also calls for a day off from physical athletically related activity during each week of the preseason following the five-day acclimatization period.

The membership proposal:

• Field Hockey and Soccer Preseason .  Add three additional days to the preseason practice period and require that those three days serve as an acclimatization period.  The proposal also limits the number of practices and duration of practices following the three-day acclimatization period.

2019 Convention Schedule

The 2019 NCAA Convention will take place in Orlando from Jan. 23-26.  Click here for a presidential NCAA delegates schedule. 

CONCLUSION

It is my intent that the quarterly update provides the necessary and critical information you need to assist you in the oversight of Division III athletics on your campus. You can find a full recap of the August Presidents Council meeting here in addition to the Summary of Actions that highlights all recent Council actions. As always, I welcome any comments or questions.