The Division III Management Council this week approved a new option for Division III schools to meet the requirements for submitting athletics finance information to the NCAA on an annual basis.
Member schools now have two options to meet the requirements set forth in the new NCAA constitution. Schools may submit data per the policies and procedures of the established NCAA Member Financial Reporting System. Schools now also may meet the requirement by attesting to the submission of data per the policies and procedures of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act reporting program. This new option is intended to allow for schools to meet the requirement while minimizing administrative burden.
In its review of the Division III bylaws, policies and initiatives chart, the council discussed the Division III Advisory Council's recommendation to review the composition, duties, responsibilities and nomination process of the Management Council and select governance committees. A subgroup of Management Council members will start this review, looking at 2022 Division III membership survey feedback and exploring the value of serving in the governance structure. The subgroup will report back to the full council during its July meeting.
"During this transformational period of governance, it's particularly important that Division III committees are fully representative of our membership," said Michelle Morgan, chair of the Management Council and senior director of athletics at John Carroll. "Every voice matters as we try to create better support for all Division III college athletes."
The Management Council also approved additions to the Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief policies and procedures, outlining a process for reconsiderations of staff denial decisions and specifically including language on the 30-day window to request an additional review. The changes align the subcommittee's policies and procedures with those of the Division III Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. Â
Campus sexual violence policy
At its January meeting, the Management Council requested further study of the campus-level legal implications, the penalty for noncompliance, and the administrative burden of the additional requirements, effective in 2022-23, of the NCAA campus sexual violence attestation policy in relation to the policy's original intent. To better communicate the new policy requirements, a task force consisting of council members provided talking points intended to complement the existing FAQ document. NCAA staff will distribute the NCAA sexual violence policy, including the timeline to comply with the new requirements, the task force's talking points and the existing FAQ to Division III members.
2023 NCAA Convention legislation
The Management Council supported sponsoring 2023 Convention legislation to add stunt as an emerging sport. The Emerging Sports for Women program was created in 1994 as a pipeline to support the advancement of women's sports to NCAA championship status. A sport must have a minimum of 20 varsity teams and/or competitive club teams that have competed in a minimum of five contests to be considered for the program. The sport must be sponsored by 28 varsity programs in Division III to move forward to the NCAA governance structure for Division III championship consideration or be sponsored by 40 schools across all three divisions for a National Collegiate Championship.
Based on recent recommendations from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the council approved, in concept, noncontroversial legislation to update the penalty structure for student-athletes who test positive for cannabinoids during NCAA drug testing. It also supported, in concept, noncontroversial legislation to update relevant terms and simplify the structure of Bylaw 15 (Financial Aid) without altering its application.
