The Division III Management Council this week approved several measures at a meeting at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.
Division III's strategic plan, championship budget initiatives and governance-sponsored legislative proposals for the 2023 NCAA Convention were on the agenda during the two-day meeting.
"Over two productive days, Management Council continued progress on supporting Division III student-athletes, institutions and conferences," said Michelle Morgan, chair of the Management Council and senior director of athletics at John Carroll. "The sustained success and vitality of the student-athlete experience was the guiding principle for our discussions."
Championships budget initiatives
The council approved the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee's recommendations from its June meeting, which were aimed at better supporting student-athletes. The championship initiatives include per diem increases in all sports, reimbursement for local ground transportation, a day of rest for select sports, and the expansion of some brackets and travel parties. The Presidents Council will consider final approval during its early August meeting.
The Management Council also approved a recommendation from the Championships Committee to amend an administrative regulation to remove the current restriction that only student-athletes counted as part of the official squad size may be in uniform on the bench. All student-athletes will be allowed to participate in practices and warmups at championship events. However, the council noted no changes are being made to the current bench size limits.
Recommendations for 2023 NCAA Convention
The council voted to sponsor several legislative proposals for the 2023 NCAA Convention. As a result of the 2022 Division III membership survey and feedback specific to governance committees, the council will sponsor a proposal that adjusts the composition of the Presidents Council, Management Council and six governance committees.
This proposed structure includes:
- Representation from each active multisport conference on either the Presidents or Management Council.
- Consistency in size and regional representation on the governance committees.
- A broader pool of athletics administrators to participate in the governance structure.
- Student-athlete, faculty athletics representatives and conference office voices on governance committees where that representation is not currently present.
Another proposed recommendation is the restructuring of playing and practice seasons for all sports except football. The proposal would eliminate weeks as a measure for defining the season, establish the fall and spring traditional segments with a start and end date, increase nontraditional segment interaction for fall and spring sports from 16 to 24 days, and measure winter sports season by 114 days, with the flexibility to use eight of those days before or after the season. In addition, the proposal would measure period sports like golf, rowing and tennis seasons by 114 days.
By eliminating the weeks structure, the proposal offers more flexibility to interact with student-athletes outside the traditional season while still upholding the philosophical tenets of Division III regarding the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and additional collegiate opportunities.
Other notable governance proposals would:
- Provide partial social media deregulation in recruiting to allow for changes in institutions' public communications.
- Remove the requirement for Division III active member schools and conferences to submit a self-study to the NCAA every five years.
- Require an institution to have a legitimate invitation from an active Division III conference before applying for new Division III membership (i.e., provisional and reclassifying).
- Provide the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee one vote at the Division III business session.
The council also reviewed membership-sponsored proposals that were properly submitted before the July 15 deadline.
Strategic plan
The council approved the 2021-24 strategic plan, in addition to a new format for year two (2022-23). The plan has been updated to better reflect the initiatives, programs and resources to support the student-athlete experience.
Council leadership
The council elected Holly Sheilley, vice president of athletics at Transylvania, as chair and Michelle Walsh, director of athletics and physical education at Vassar, as vice chair effective with the close of the 2023 NCAA Convention.
