The Division II Presidents Council during its NCAA Convention meeting Thursday approved the Division II Implementation Committee's areas of review and priorities.
The Implementation Committee's work will be done in a phased approach using designated priority items. The Implementation Committee will focus on Priority 1 items, with Priority 2 and 3 items to be reviewed and discussed by the governance structure. The timeline is as follows:
- Priority 1 — Completed by Aug. 1, 2022; or legislation sponsored by Sept. 1, 2022, for a January 2023 Convention vote; and/or legislation/policy adopted and effective Aug. 1, 2023.
- Priority 2 — Recommendations by spring/summer 2023 for review and consideration.
- Priority 3 — Items to be discussed and reviewed, with an action date to be determined.
To effectively address these items, the Implementation Committee will be divided into six subcommittees that will address the following Priority 1 items, among others:
- Budget subcommittee: Assessment of Division II distributions to the membership to ensure the distributions are meeting the needs of conferences, schools and student-athletes. Also will assess recommendations of the Implementation Committee that may have a budget impact.
- Championships subcommittee: Review of NCAA Bylaws 18 and 31 related to national championships to determine what should remain as legislation and what can be moved to championships policy. This review will also include working with Division I and Division III on National Collegiate Championships, where appropriate. Outcomes from this review may be directed to the Division II Championships Committee for further review and discussion.
- Enforcement and Infractions Process subcommittee: Review of Bylaws 19 and 32 related to the enforcement and infractions process to determine what should remain as legislation and what can be moved to policy. When that determination is made, the panel will work to combine the bylaws. Finally, members will review the recommendations that were made last year by the Division II Enforcement and Infractions Task Force and make recommendations for review and action.
- Governance subcommittee: Assessment of the Division II committee structure, to include a review of the composition and duties of the Division II Presidents Council, Management Council, Planning and Finance Committee and committees within the substructure.
- Legislative Process and Compliance subcommittee: Assessment of the Division II legislative process to determine ways the process can be streamlined and simplified.
- Membership subcommittee: Assessment of what is required to be an active Division II institution and conference, including the role of the national office, conference and schools. Also will review current Constitution 3 and Bylaw 20 and determine what is duplicative and how to combine them. Finally, will monitor membership discussions by Division I and Division III and discuss multidivisional classification.
The Implementation Committee, which held its first meeting virtually on Jan. 5 and will meet again on Feb. 7-8 in Indianapolis, comprises 28 voting members: one representative from all 23 Division II conferences and five current and former student-athletes.
Co-chaired by Wisconsin-Parkside Chancellor Debbie Ford and Delta State President William LaForge, the committee will review the division's rules and policies and make recommendations to ensure that changes are consistent with the principles agreed upon in the new constitution. The committee will communicate and gather feedback from the Division II membership at large, as well as provide regular updates to the division's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Management Council and Presidents Council. Following initial work and recommendations by the Implementation Committee, the governance structure will be tasked with completing the review.
"This is a historic opportunity for Division II to build on a strong foundation, which includes our pillars of the Life in the Balance philosophy, the one institution, one vote governance process and the student-athlete experience provided across the division," said Steven Shirley, president at Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "This committee is well represented and positioned to strengthen the division even more for the future."
Planning and finance recommendations
The Division II Presidents Council approved a recommendation from the Division II Planning and Finance Committee on how to allocate more than $12 million in surplus from the 2020-21 budget. The surplus is more than expected due to additional Association revenue and insurance claims received, as well as expense savings in Division II championships and initiatives.
Part of the recommendation includes using $3 million for a supplemental distribution to eligible Division II schools — nearly $10,000 each.
The recommendation also allocates nearly $8 million to the Division II reserve fund, while another $450,000 in unused funds from Division II's Identity Workshop ($150,000) and SAAC Super Region Convention ($300,000) will be rolled over to the 2021-22 budget, so cancelled events in 2021 can occur this year. Additionally, $1.25 million will be added to championships travel to account for anticipated increased costs in this space.
The Presidents Council also approved a recommendation from the Planning and Finance Committee to adopt a revised reserve policy for the Division II budget. The recommendation states that the division's cash reserve maintains a balance of at least 60% of the operating revenue for the division. The current reserve policy requires a balance of at least 70% of the operating revenue, including potential insurance money.
Presidents Council, Management Council and SAAC joint meeting
Earlier on Thursday, the Division II Presidents Council, Management Council and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held a joint meeting to discuss a few key topics. These included a summary of the Division II SAAC's work the past year, which included member schools raising nearly $200,000 for Make-A-Wish, its national community service partner, during the 2020-21 academic year.
Committee members also received an update on the Division II Implementation Committee and its next steps. The joint meeting included roundtable discussions specific to a few items on the Constitution Committee's review: the Division II governance structure, including the composition and duties of committees and councils; the roles and responsibilities of the national office, conferences and schools; and other suggestions for the Implementation Committee to consider reviewing as a Priority 1 item.
Additionally, the committee members shared best practices, initiatives and ideas from their schools and conferences in several areas, including mental health; diversity, equity and inclusion; professional development; and education modules.
Transgender policy change
The Presidents Council received an update on the NCAA Board of Governors' decision on Wednesday to change the Association's transgender participation policy. The policy, effective immediately, aligns college sports with recent policy changes from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and International Olympic Committee.
In its decision, the board urged the divisions to provide flexibility to allow for additional eligibility if transgender student-athletes lose eligibility based on the policy change, provided they meet the newly adopted standards.
