ACTION ITEM:  Division III Financial Reporting System

The Division III Financial Reporting System (FRS) data is due Jan. 16, 2018. More than half of Division III institutions voluntarily submitted athletics finance data via the FRS last year.

This data is important for the following reasons:

• It forms the basis for the financial component of your institution's Division III Institutional Performance Program (IPP), a valuable research and benchmarking tool.  Click here to learn about the benefits of the IPP.
• It forms the basis for the Division III Revenues and Expenses report, an annual report of Division III athletics departments' financial information.  The latest report can be found here.

At the recently concluded FARA Annual Meeting and Symposium, the assembled FARs reviewed the 2018 Division III legislative proposals and developed their final positions.  To view a pdf of the positions, click here.

NCAA and D3SIDA Recognition Award

The next submission round for the NCAA Division III and D3SIDA recognition award is now open.  The recognition program seeks to honor the best work - including news releases, feature articles, videos, blogs and other materials - produced by Division III campus and conference athletics communication offices.  Each top honoree will receive a $1,500 credit to attend DIII Day at the annual CoSIDA convention. A panel of D3SIDA members will select the recipients, with winners publicized through ncaa.org and social media platforms. Participants can self-nominate or be nominated by peers. Entries should be submitted via email to d3identity@ncaa.org with "NCAA Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award Nominee" as the subject line. In addition to the story URL or Word document, the nominee's name, institution, and email address should be included.  All submissions must be received no later than Feb. 15.  Click here for more details.

Appointments Available at the 2018 NCAA Convention

All 360 Proof users are invited to book a one-on-one appointment with a 360 Proof alcohol prevention expert at the 2018 NCAA Convention.  To schedule your session, email a request to ExpertHelp@360proof.org  and include your name and institution, your phone number, and the topic or questions you want to discuss.

Webinar Series

Remaining dates and topics for this academic year are:

• Jan. 31, 1 p.m. Eastern time: Norms - Spring Break and 21st Birthday Interventions (Clayton Neighbors, Ph.D.).
• March 13, 3 p.m. Eastern time: Parent-Based Intervention (Rob Turrisi, Ph.D.).
• April 11, 1 p.m. Eastern time: Getting Wasted: Why College Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard (Tom Vander Ven, Ph.D.).

Registration emails are sent to all 360 Proof account holders 10-14 days before each webinar.  All events are free to Division III and NASPA Small College and University members.

Prevention Tip

If students set New Year's resolutions related to drinking, or if you, as a campus, are planning to approach a new year with new strategies, set yourselves up for success.  Re-watch the 360 Proof webinar from Nov. 30, 2016, with national expert Elizabeth Miller to consider your best game plan.

2018 NCAA CHOICES Alcohol Education Grant Application

The 2018 NCAA CHOICES Alcohol Education Grant Program provides funding for NCAA member schools and conferences to integrate athletics into campus-wide efforts to reduce alcohol abuse. For more information, including grant guidelines, a guide for writing a grant proposal and abstracts from past winners, visit ncaa.org/choices. Member schools and conferences may apply for the CHOICES Grant now via the NCAA Program Hub.  Applications are due not later than 5 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018.

Join the SSI at the 2018 NCAA Convention

Will you be attending the 2018 NCAA Convention? The Sport Science Institute welcomes you to attend the following health and safety workshops and menu sessions: 

• Jan. 17, 1 to 5 p.m.: Supporting Student-Athlete Health and Well-Being: Putting Policy into Action Workshop 
• Jan. 18, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.: Athletics Health Care Administrators: Emerging Roles, Responsibilities and Recommendations
• Jan. 18, 9:45 to 11 a.m.: Student-Athlete Substance Abuse: Trends, Concerns and Effective Intervention
• Jan. 18, 2:30 to 4 p.m.: Sport Technology and its Role in Health, Safety and Performance: Where Are We Now? 

SSI Welcomes Two New Staff Members

The Sport Science Institute welcomes two new staff members to its team: LaGwyn Durden, director of sports medicine, and Jennifer Smith, assistant coordinator. Durden will join the SSI in January, after serving as a long-time member of the University of Texas at Austin sports medicine staff. In leading the SSI sports medicine line, she will serve as the membership point of contact for a broad portfolio of topics including concussion, cardiac health, nutrition, overuse injuries and periodization. Smith comes to the SSI from Goodwill's Nurse Family Partnership where she served as a data coordinator. Smith will begin her position in early December. 

September CSMAS Teleconference Report

The September 2017 Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports teleconference report is now available. To read the full report, click here.

SSI Hosts Task Force to Advance Mental Health Best Practice Strategies

On Nov. 9 and 10, the SSI hosted a task force of nearly 40 presidents, athletics directors, sports medicine staff, coaches, student-athletes and mental health professionals to discuss models of mental health care, cross-campus collaboration, educational programming and athletics department policies to support the implementation of the Mental Health Best Practices. Tools and resources developed from this meeting are targeted to be available for member schools in summer 2018. 

Ripon College is the recipient of the November Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative. The athletics department provided a safe zone training seminar for its coaches, athletics trainers and student-athletes.  The seminar challenged student-athletes to be fearless leaders in the community and allies to teammates and peers.   Click here for more information and a photo gallery. 

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.  All selected recipients receive $500 toward their next diversity initiative.  To submit an initiative for consideration for February, please email Louise McCleary , 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 video or photo if applicable. The nomination deadline is Jan. 21.

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.

November Winner

After 4,613 total votes,  Averett student-athletes, Special Olympians build friendships during 'Fall Fun Day' won the November Special Olympics Spotlight Poll by gathering 49 percent (2,292) of the total votes! Averett will receive $500 to use for its next Special Olympics event. To submit a story for consideration, please email d3specialolympics@ncaa.org.

December/January Nominees

•  Hilbert Baseball Partners with Special Olympics
•  2017 Loras Special Olympics
•  Calvin Volleyball Volunteers with Special Olympics

Click here to vote starting Friday, Dec. 1. The winner will be selected Jan. 25, 2018.

Rules of the Month

Certification Between Terms. NCAA Division III student-athletes are permitted to participate in practice and competition between terms under two types of conditions.  Per Bylaw 14.1.8.1.6.6 (Eligibility Between Terms -- Practice or Competition), if a student is continuing enrollment at the certifying institution, he or she must have been registered for the required minimum full-time load at the conclusion of the term immediately before the date of competition to be permitted to compete.  

If a student-athlete was ineligible during the previous term, but regained eligibility during said term, the earliest he or she may participate in competition is the day following the institution’s final exam (See Bylaw 14.1.10 Change in Eligibility Status). 

In a situation when a student-athlete was not enrolled during the regular term immediately before participation, such as a transfer student-athlete or a student-athlete who is continuing enrollment at the institution after taking time off from school, he or she would need to be accepted for enrollment as a regular full-time student for the regular term immediately after the date of competition.  

In addition, Bylaw 14.1.8.1.6.5 (Before Initial Enrollment -- Practice or Competition) permits an individual to participate during the official vacation period immediately before his or her initial enrollment at an institution if the student-athlete has been accepted by the institution for enrollment in a regular, full-time program of studies at the time of the individual's initial participation; the individual is eligible under all institutional and NCAA requirements; and he or she is no longer enrolled in his or her previous educational institution. 

Bylaw 14.1.10 (Change in Eligibility Status) addresses situations involving continuing student-athletes whose academic eligibility changes at the end of a term. In such a scenario, the student-athlete becomes eligible or ineligible on the date he or she is officially certified by the appropriate institutional authority at the institution. The earliest an institution may officially certify a student-athlete who is becoming eligible is the day after the last scheduled exam on the institution’s academic calendar for that term. For a student-athlete who will become ineligible, the latest the institution may officially certify that student is the first day of classes for the next term. However, institutions should follow the normal certification policies and procedures applicable to all students.

For any additional questions about eligibility between terms, please submit them to AMA staff via Requests and Secondary Reports Online (RSRO).

Division III Diversity Grants

The annual window to submit proposals for the Division III diversity grant programs is now open in the NCAA Program Hub. Eligible schools and conferences are encouraged to start planning their submission as soon as possible. The deadline to submit proposals is 5 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.

NCAA Hosts Common Ground III

The NCAA hosted Common Ground III on Nov. 1-2. This program brought together administrators from faith-based institutions and administrators of faith to engage in dialogue with allies and members of the LGBTQ community. Goals of the think-tank event were to build relationships across differences of sexual orientation, gender identity and religious faith, and to identify policies and best practices for athletics departments that enable students, coaches, administrators and other staff of all sexual orientations, gender identities and religious perspectives to participate fully and openly in a climate of respect and inclusion. The focus was to find common ground, while acknowledging and respecting the different perspectives each brought to the topic of religion and LGBTQ inclusion in athletics. For more information on Common Ground III, click here. 

For the latest hires, promotions, retirements and to find out who is going where in college athletics check out the NCAA Record which includes regularly updated transactions.  To inform the NCAA of any new hires, retirements, promotions and death notices, please email transactions@ncaa.org.

Several committees conducted in-person meetings in December and January. 

Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, November 2

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, November 12-13
Financial Aid Committee, November 13-14
LGBTQ Working Group, November 14
Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, November 28-29