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Division III Legislative and Convention Amendment Procedures

Division III member schools and conferences may participate in the NCAA legislative process through resolutions, amendments and Convention proposals. The following procedures outline how legislative items are submitted, reviewed and considered during the Division III governance process and NCAA Convention cycle.

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Understanding the Legislative Process

The following is a summary of the procedures and deadlines for submitting amendments for consideration at the 2027 NCAA Convention to be held January 12-15, 2027, in Anaheim, California. Information regarding the convention will be distributed to the membership as soon as possible. Please review the amendment procedures set forth in NCAA Division III Bylaw 9.3 of the NCAA Division III Manual. Please note the initial deadline for the submission of amendments sponsored by the membership is not later than 5 p.m. Eastern time, July 1. The submission should include the intent statement, rationale and impacted bylaws. [Note: At least one conference for a conference-sponsored amendment or at least 10 institutions for an institution-sponsored amendment must meet the July 1 deadline.]

As a reminder, the minimum number of active member institutions required to fully sponsor an amendment not sponsored by the NCAA Division III Management Council or Presidents Council is 20. Additionally, two member-conferences, on behalf of their active members, may sponsor an amendment. Alternatively, amendments that do not meet the July 1 deadline may still be submitted by September 15 by four conferences or 20 institutions representing four conferences. All amendments must be in final legislative form no later than 5 p.m. Eastern time September 15. The effective date of the proposed legislation shall be August 1, 2027, unless an alternative date is given. Any legislation that has an immediate or alternative effective date must include in the statement of rationale why such an effective date is necessary.

The attachment describes the procedures related to the electronic submission of proposed legislation. Please pay special attention to the procedures for submitting amendments through the LSDBi website. Legislative amendments must be submitted electronically and must include proper chancellor or president approval as noted in the procedures.

2027 Division III Legislative Activity Calendar
2027 Procedures for Amending NCAA Division III Legislation

Procedures for Sponsoring Resolutions

For consideration at the 2027 NCAA Convention, resolutions must be received at the NCAA national office not later than 5 p.m. Eastern time, November 1.

In addition, the following procedures should be observed:

  1. Resolutions for the Convention may be submitted by active members by the November 1 deadline, in accordance with the provisions of NCAA Bylaw 9.4.2.
  2. Institution Submissions: Any 20 or more NCAA Division III member institutions may sponsor a resolution(s), provided all sponsoring institutions are active members with voting privileges. Resolutions must be submitted in the name of the institution by the chancellor or president or the designated representative. [Note: The chancellor or president must provide written notification (not later than the November 1 deadline) to the national office of any individual designated to assert sponsorship of a legislative proposal on behalf of the institution.]
  3. Conference Submissions: At least two member conferences with voting privileges may sponsor a resolution(s), provided the resolution(s) is submitted by the chief elected or executive officer of the conference on behalf of each conference’s active member institutions and signed by the chairs of the conference’s official presidential administrative groups or at least two chancellors or presidents of a conference’s member institutions if a conference has no presidential administrative group.
  4. Legislation enacted through resolutions shall be of a temporary nature, effective only for a limited period of time as specified in the resolution itself.
  5. The sponsors of each proposed resolution that, if adopted, would result in significant expenditures from the Association’s budget and/or by member institutions, may be required by the NCAA Division III Presidents Council to provide written documentation of the estimated costs to the division and/or member institutions.
  6. It is not necessary to submit statements of intent and rationale with resolutions; rather, such information should be reflected within the body of the resolution itself.
  7. Resolutions must be submitted through the Legislative Services Database for the Internet.
    1. Access LSDBi
    2. Click on “Membership” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and click on “My Apps.” Login using your previously established username and password. If you do not already have a username and password, click on “register” and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have forgotten your previously established password, click “Forgot your password?”.
    3. Click on “LSDBi” in the NCAA Applications Links box.
    4. Hover over the Legislative Process tab.
    5. Click on “My Proposals” option.
    6. Click on “Add a Proposal” option.
    7. Select “Resolution” as the category.

Procedures for Sponsoring Amendments to Amendments

For consideration at the 2027 NCAA Convention, amendments-to-amendments must be received at the NCAA national office not later than 5 p.m. Eastern time, November 1.

In addition, the following procedures should be observed:

    1. Amendments to proposals contained in the 2027 NCAA Convention Division III Publication of Proposed Legislation may be submitted by active members in accordance with the provisions of NCAA Bylaw 9.3.4.
    2. Institution Submissions: Twenty or more Division III institutions may submit amendments-to-amendments, provided all sponsoring institutions are active members with voting privileges. An amendment-to-amendment must be submitted in the name of the institution by the chancellor or president or the designated representative. [Note: The chancellor or president must provide written notification (prior to the November 1 deadline) to the national office of any individual designated to assert sponsorship of a legislative proposal on behalf of the institution.]
    3. Conference Submissions: Two or more member conferences with voting privileges may submit amendments-to-amendments on behalf of each conference’s active member institutions. Conference submitted amendments-to-amendments must be signed by the chair of the conference’s presidential administrative group or at least two chancellors or presidents of the conference’s member institutions if the conference has no presidential administrative group.
    4. Indicate the specific proposal to be amended by using the number of the proposal as designated in the POPL for the Convention.
    5. All amendments-to-amendments shall include a statement of intent.
    6. All amendments-to-amendments may include a statement of rationale that shall not exceed 50 words in length.
    7. All amendments-to-amendments shall designate a primary contact person.
    8. An amendment-to-amendment may increase the modification of the proposal only when it is submitted by Management Council or Presidents Council, all sponsors of the original proposal, twenty or more active member institutions from four or more member conferences, or four or more member conferences and provided it is still germane to the intent of the original proposal.
    9. An amendment-to-amendment that does not increase the modification of the original proposal may be submitted by Management Council or Presidents Council, two or more active member institutions or two or more member conferences.
    10. The sponsors of each proposed amendment-to-amendment that, if adopted, would result in significant expenditures from the Association’s budget and/or by member institutions, may be required by the NCAA Division III Presidents Council to provide written documentation of the estimated costs to the division and/or member institutions.
    11. Amendments-to-amendments must be submitted through the Legislative Services Database for the Internet.
      1. Access LSDBi
      2. Click on “Membership” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and then click on “My Apps.” Login using your previously established username and password. If you do not already have a username and password, click on “register” and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have forgotten your previously established password, click “Forgot your password?”.
      3. Click on “LSDBi” in the NCAA Applications links box.
      4. Click the “Legislative Process” tab.
      5. Click on “Amend a Proposal”.

Questions?

Please contact Corey Berg (cberg@ncaa.org) or Jeff Myers (jmyers@ncaa.org).