The Division III Presidents Council supported three membership-sponsored legislative proposals Wednesday in preparation for the 2022 NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
Division III member schools with Division I sports could soon apply all Division I legislation, including Bylaw 15 (financial aid), to their Division I sports. The Presidents Council supported the proposal that would provide consistent framework to the 2% of Division III schools sponsoring a Division I sport. Currently 10 schools in the division sponsor a sport in Division I, with five of them able to offer athletics aid dating back to a waiver granted in 2004.
The council also backed a proposal that specifies only competition would trigger the use of a season. If adopted, student-athletes would be provided flexibility to maximize seasons of participation. A student-athlete would only be charged with a season of eligibility if the student-athlete competes at any point during the traditional season.
A proposal to use the NCAA Eligibility Center in certifying the amateur status of international student-athletes to provide more consistency and efficiency to the certification process was supported, as well.
"As we are gearing up for what will be a historic Convention for the NCAA, we had great dialogue surrounding how we are best supporting our student-athletes," said Fayneese Miller, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Hamline. "The DIII membership includes a variety of types of institutions and athletic experiences. It is therefore expected that sometimes difficult, but always thoughtful conversation will arise with any proposal submitted for consideration. And with any proposal that we believe will positively impact our student-athletes, we found good reason to support the three proposals from our membership at the Division III Business Session."
Gender equity report
The Presidents Council heard from Kaplan, Hecker & Fink on its second gender equity report, which was released Tuesday at the Board of Governors meeting. The second phase of the review looked at the equity of all NCAA championships (except basketball). The report noted the student-athlete experiences in Division III championships were overall more equitable than other NCAA championships, but some disparities existed concerning the venues for final rounds of the tournaments. As it did after the release of the first gender equity report, the council will request key governance groups review the report and provide feedback and recommendations as needed.
Constitution Committee
The Presidents Council approved a recommendation to establish the legislative timeline for divisional constitutional provisions after the NCAA Special Convention on Nov. 15. The recommendations are consistent with the established Board of Governors timeline and allow Division III to consider proposals regarding the constitution at the 2022 NCAA Convention.
Chair, vice chair elected
Troy Hammond, president at North Central (Illinois), was selected as the next chair of the council while Jim Schmidt, chancellor at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was voted in as the next vice chair. Their terms will begin after the Division III Business Session at the Convention in January.
