The 2023 NCAA Convention wrapped on Saturday, capping a week of awards, governance and education sessions. Here are some of the highlights from San Antonio:
State of College Sports
NCAA Board of Governors chair and Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone hosted the annual State of College Sports with NCAA President Mark Emmert and incoming NCAA President Charlie Baker. The event was Emmert's last in the role, with Baker scheduled to assume the presidential role March 1.
Baker concluded his remarks, "March is six weeks from now. I look forward to jumping in with both feet and having a chance to work with you to make college sports continue to be the envy of the world when it comes to developing and providing support and opportunities for young people. I can't wait to get started."
Livingstone emphasized the need for congressional engagement to preserve the future of college sports, outlining the Association's legislative needs and calling on membership to engage in the issues.
Woman of the Year
MIT's Karenna Groff was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. The All-America soccer player and biological engineering major was recognized among nine finalists at a celebration for the Top 30 honorees.
"I'm incredibly grateful to be recognized in this way," Groff said. "Having gotten to meet the other incredible nominees and getting to know them, I feel pretty confident that we're in good hands."
Divisional governance
The Division I Board of Directors endorsed the Division I Transformation Committee's final report and recommendations. Many of the concepts have been referred to respective Division I committees to create specific proposals to move those recommendations forward for implementation no later than August.
Division II delegates approved 11 of 12 legislative proposals at the division's business session. The legislation approved included providing more season-of-competition flexibility and spring scrimmage opportunities in football, making significant changes to some of the division's highest governance bodies, and eliminating the standardized test score requirement (SAT or ACT) from the division's initial-eligibility requirements.
Division III approved several measures at its business session, including adjusting the composition of the division's Management and Presidents Councils and six other legislative committees, altering the playing season for all sports besides football, providing the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee one vote starting at next year's NCAA Convention and a resolution to establish a hardship waiver process specific for mental health.
The NCAA Board of Governors approved revised strategic priorities for student-athlete mental and physical health, safety and performance to better align with responsibilities outlined in the new NCAA constitution.
And the winners are …
The Association recognized honorees from across college sports throughout the week. Profiles on several of the awardees are linked here. Divisions II and III also named award winners, with Minnesota State University Moorhead being named the Division II Award of Excellence winner. The Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Recognition Award went to Elise Morris, a Middlebury women's soccer student-athlete; Courtnie Prather, UC Santa Cruz senior associate director of athletics and recreation; and the Centennial Conference.
Visit ncaa.org/convention for more highlights from the 2023 NCAA Convention. The 2024 NCAA Convention will be Jan. 10-13 in Phoenix.
Gallery: (1-15-2023) 2023 NCAA Convention
