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 listserv. We encourage athletics directors to share this communication with their athletics department members. Please contact Adam Skaggs
to include an item or share comments, and remember to check out the Division III governance homepage for the latest news and information.
The annual LGBTQ OneTeam Recognition Award nomination and application is now open. The recognition award is an opportunity to recognize those who foster inclusive environments. Celebrate student-athletes, coaches and staff who self-identify as members of the LGBTQ community, as well as athletics departments or conference offices that make collegiate athletics a welcoming space for everyone. Visit the NCAA Program Hub to submit nominations until June 1. The recipients will be announced at the 2022 NCAA Convention.
NCAA Inclusion Forum
With excitement and anticipation, the NCAA office of inclusion is delighted to announce registration is now open for the 2021 NCAA Inclusion Forum, to be held virtually June 2 – 4!
Inspired by award-winning author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou and civil rights icon and statesman John Lewis, this year’s theme is “A Vision for Change: Empowering Voices and Rising to Action.”
Visit the 2021 NCAA Inclusion Forum Registration Webpage to register for this virtual event. Please note there will be no registration fee to the NCAA membership, but space is limited. Register early to ensure your spot.
The NCAA Inclusion Forum brings together higher education and intercollegiate athletics leaders and student-athletes passionate about improving the educational and professional environment for student-athletes, coaches and staff.
Join us for this virtual ninth-annual gathering, which offers dynamic programming, useful knowledge, engaging dialogue and practical takeaways to empower participants’ efforts on equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives on their campuses for student-athletes and those that teach and lead them.
Programming will focus on each of the office of inclusion’s five core areas of disability, international, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity and women. In addition, the 2021 Inclusion Forum will feature keynote presentations from Dr. Johnetta Cole, Caylin Moore and Howard Ross and unique programming for student-athletes, presidents and chancellors and Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designees (ADIDs). Contact the office of inclusion at odi@ncaa.org with questions.
Division III University
Division III University, an online learning platform, is available on the NCAA Learning Management System. Division III University contains educational modules related to the following areas: NCAA Division III overview, student-athlete well-being and compliance. Each chapter contains an interactive course or series of courses that will educate users on topics from compliance and governance to improving student-athlete health and safety. The NCAA Sport Science Institute developed the sexual violence prevention and mental health modules — two student-athlete health and safety priority areas for Division III. Last year’s virtual
Division III Regional Rules Seminar sessions also are located within the compliance chapter.
Access to Division III University is through NCAA MyApps on ncaa.org. To access Division III University, open the NCAA Learning Portal app (once it is assigned to you by your Single Source Sign-On administrator) and click on the Division III University icon. Please note that you can launch the Division III University modules with any web browser except Internet Explorer.
Campus Sexual Violence Attestation
The 2020-21 attestation form to comply with the NCAA Board of Governors Policy on Campus Sexual Violence opens March 1. The form will be available until May 15 in the assigned NCAA Learning Portal module for the membership and on ncaa.org. All NCAA member schools must complete and upload their form into the NCAA Learning Portal module by May 15. Schools that are unable to attest their compliance with the policy will not be eligible to host NCAA championships during the next applicable academic year. For frequently asked questions, please see the Board of Governors Policy on Campus Sexual Violence FAQ.
Academic Portal
The Academic Portal will open in early March for schools to enter the required federal graduation rate and Academic Success Rate data. Data will be entered under the “Graduation Rates” tab in the portal and is due June 1. Please contact Maria DeJulio or Eric Hartung with any questions.
Division III Webinars
Webinars will be from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on the following dates and topics:
March 2 — SAAC Student Voice Presentation.
April 6 — Mental Health Resources.
May 4 — Name, Image and Likeness.
All past webinar PowerPoints are on the Division III website.
2021 Division III SAAC Mental Health Social Media Campaign
Save the date for the Second Annual Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Mental Health Social Media Campaign to be held May 3-6. For more information, click here.
If your school is having a traditional spring break, consider that for those students who go on a road trip, this week can be the single heaviest drinking week of the academic year. What spring break tips can you pass on to students? What are protective behavioral strategies students can use to reduce harms? Rewatch the March 19, 2017, webinar with national expert Matt Martens (whose protective behavioral strategies survey is the “gold standard”) and consider harm reduction strategies that could make a difference during this high-risk time of year. Also check out the Jan. 31, 2018, webinar from national expert Clayton Neighbors on spring break
interventions and the role that norm perceptions play.
Next Webinar Feature
360 Proof offers a monthly webinar series to bring current prevention research to a Division III and NASPA Small College and University audience. The final session for 2020-21 is:
1 p.m. Eastern time April 14: “Beyond Compliance: Honest Conversations With Students About Alcohol & Sex,” Jen Jacobsen, Macalester, and Amaura Kemmerer, Northeastern.
All 360 Proof account holders will receive an invitation to attend these webinar sessions. Please contact Leah Kareti with any questions about 360 Proof.
At the NASPA Virtual Conference, the Division III governance staff will host a session, “Curate Opportunity Through the Leadership and Social Justice Lab of Athletics,” 4:15-5:05 p.m. Eastern time Monday, March 22. Please join us!
The Division III 2020-21 New FAR Orientation took place virtually Feb. 18-20. Thirty-six Division III faculty athletics representatives
participated in the event, exploring the role of the FAR and creating an action plan to enhance their effectiveness as FARs in the next year. 2021-22 is another orientation year, with the event set to return to the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association Annual Meeting. Confirmed dates and application details are coming soon. Contact Leah Kareti with any questions.
In partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Virginia Tech, the NCAA Sport Science Institute invites you to save the date for the Fourth Annual NCAA-Department of Defense Grand Alliance Concussion Conference: A New Era of Scientific Collaboration. This daylong event, consisting of both live and prerecorded presentations as well as live Q&A sessions, will be held virtually Friday, April 30
. During the event, concussion experts and researchers will share preliminary and recently publicized data from the NCAA-U.S. Department of Defense Grand Alliance, the largest concussion study and educational grand challenge ever conducted.
NCAA member schools will be able to attend this conference at no cost. More information and registration details will be emailed to member schools in the coming weeks. Physicians and athletic trainers have the option to receive continuing education credit. For more information about previous conferences, including agendas, click here.
Congratulations to Miles Roberts, Wellesley director of physical education, recreation and athletics communications and new media, on receiving the 2021 Winter Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award. The selection committee of
Division III Sports Information Directors of America members chose Roberts’ series: “My Story Matters.” The series and efforts throughout the NCAA’s Third Annual Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign were exceptionally well done, and Division III and D3SIDA applaud the work and overall performance. Award winners receive a $1,500 credit to attend Division III Day, held in conjunction with the annual 2021 CoSIDA convention.
The next submission round for the NCAA Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award is March 15 to May 1. Click here for more details. The award is a partnership between the Division III governance staff and the Division III College Sports Information Directors of America. The recognition program is part of the Division III Identity Initiative. It seeks to honor the best news releases, feature articles, videos, blogs and other materials produced by Division III campus and conference athletics communication offices to portray the Division III identity and student-athlete experience.
Action Item: Division III Week
The 10th annual celebration of Division III Week, scheduled for April 5-11, is a great opportunity to call attention to the unique student-athlete experience enjoyed at our member schools. Division III members are asked to highlight the activities and achievements of current student-athletes through scheduling an academic, athletics, co-curricular or extracurricular/community service activity. The Division III Week Communications Kitserves as a planning guide, and further information about Division III Week isavailable 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. Providing this information in advance will assist the NCAA national office’s promotion of the full array of planned activities. If you have questions, please contact Adam Skaggs.
Division III Identity Initiative Celebration
Division III’s Identity Initiative 10-Year Anniversary Celebration is now underway. Division III will continue to recognize the impact of this initiative with the help of the membership from mid-January to the conclusion of Division III Week in April 2021. To find out more about this initiative and its history, click here. On ways to celebrate, click here.
Pacific Lutheran is the recipient of the February Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative. The rowing programs hosted a virtual meeting with Arshay Cooper, the author of the book that was the basis of the documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing,” to discuss racism and being anti-racist. The movie is about the first all-black high school rowing team from Chicago. Approximately 150 student-athletes and coaches watched a "free" screening of the movie, engaged in team discussions, and participated in a Q&A event with the author. Click here for more details.
To submit an initiative for consideration for March, email Louise McCleary, with a brief statement (no more than 500 words) as to why your school or conference office deserves to be the spotlight recipient. Attach a video or photo if applicable. The nomination deadline is March 21.
Diversity Tip of the Month - Diversity Database
The governance staff has a database 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 400 individuals. If you are looking to diversify candidate pools and want access to this database, please emailDIIIGovernance@ncaa.org.
Special Olympics Virtual College Championship Week will challenge schools to complete a series of virtual and socially distant activities the week of April 12-16. You can register through the link below.
If you need assistance in hosting a Special Olympics event, check out the Division III SAAC Virtual Event Flyer. If you want to connect with your local Special Olympics program in other ways, please email sgeorge@specialolympics.orgfor information and assistance.
Spotlight Poll
The NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll is a story-telling initiative 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 school or conference receives $500 to use for its next Special Olympics event. Written and digital submissions both are accepted. Featured stories are selected based on inclusion of the student-athlete perspective and Division III messaging. To submit a story for consideration, email
d3specialolympics@ncaa.org.
With the cancellation of NCAA championships for winter sports, some schools are considering participating in a tournament/event that occurs after their conference tournament.As a school determines whether to participate in the tournament/event it should be aware of the implications relative to the team’s playing and practice season:
Per Bylaw 17.1.3 (g) each day the team participates in athletically related activity leading up to and during the tournament/event count against the 114 days under the alternative model. For example, if the team practices for 10 days before the tournament/event and then participation in the tournament/event takes another three days, the team will use 13 of its 114 days.
Participation in the tournament/event may be exempted from counting against the maximum number of contests/dates of competition if the tournament/event is considered a “Season-Ending Tournament” as defined in Bylaw 17.1.4.5.1 (b). Whether participation in the tournament is exempt is only necessary to determine if the team and/or student-athlete have participated in their NCAA maximum number of contests/dates of competition.
Sports Wagering
As we approach the upcoming NCAA basketball tournaments, remember that sports wagering is not allowed under Bylaw 10.3. The Association and its member schools and conferences oppose all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering due to its threat to the well-being of college athletes and the integrity of college sports. Student-athletes, coaches, conference staff members, athletics administrators and nonathletics staff members who have responsibilities within or over athletics departments may not participate in sports wagering or provide information to anyone gambling on sports. NCAA members have defined sports
wagering as putting something at risk – such as an entry fee – with the opportunity to win something in return.
Student-athletes risk their eligibility if they participate in sports wagering of any kind by putting something at risk (i.e., money, entry fee or tangible item) for the opportunity to win something. That would include participation in fantasy leagues, online sports betting, March Madness brackets, Super Bowl pools, and sports parlay cards. The staff would like to stress the importance of educating individuals on this prohibition. In this regard, the enforcement staff has created a Sports Wagering Resource page and Don’t Bet On It poster geared toward student-athletes for schools to display in athletics facilities and on campus.
The Regional Rules Seminar provides an opportunity for the membership, affiliate members and others across all three divisions to discuss NCAA rules, policies and procedures; share best practices; and connect with peers. Participation in the virtual 2021 Regional Rules Seminar is open to all NCAA-member schools, conference offices and affiliate members. Registration for the seminar will be released in mid-April. Additional updates regarding the 2021 Regional Rules Seminar will be posted on our event webpage.
During its January 12 meeting, the Division III Management Council approved a proposal in final legislative format to increase the composition of the men’s and women’s tennis committees. More information can be found on LSDBi.
NCAA Leadership Collective Now Accepting Applications
The NCAA is committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion across college athletics. The NCAA Leadership Collective serves as a tool to progress toward an environment of diverse representation in collegiate coaching and athletics administration. The Leadership Collective is an interactive and user-friendly platform, which highlights the vast professional accomplishments of ethnic minorities within college sports through customizable, in-depth personal profiles.
For more information about this exciting new initiative, visit here.
Due to challenges resulting from COVID-19, a playing rules change and several waivers have been granted for the 2021 spring season. Click here to access the rules change and waivers found under "Playing Rules Resources" on the NCAA Playing Rules
page on ncaa.org. The playing rules change and waivers are consistent with the guidance included in the previously published NCAA Resocialization of Collegiate Sport documents. In this regard, the NCAA playing rules committees and staff will continue to monitor any additional developments and make adjustments as appropriate. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact Rachel Seewald, associate director, NCAA playing rules and officiating.
This email was sent to NCAA Division III presidents and chancellors that serve on Division III committees, athletics direct reports, directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, sports information directors, directors of compliance, commissioners, assistant/associate commissioners, national SAAC, provisional, reclassifying and exploratory members based on contact information in the NCAA Directory.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, 700 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 US