DII Management Council supports aligning minimum contest and participant requirements

The Division II Management Council this week approved in concept two recommendations to better align the minimum contest and participant requirements for sports sponsorship and championship selection for five sports: football, men's golf, women's golf, men's lacrosse and men's soccer.

The Division II Presidents Council will review the recommendation specific to the championship minimums at its April 26 meeting. The Management Council will review the legislative form of the sports sponsorship recommendation in July. After final approval, these changes to the championship minimums and sports sponsorship requirements would be effective with the 2023-24 academic year. 

The recommendations (see chart below for specifics) stemmed from a referral from the Division II Implementation Committee, which requested the Division II Championships Committee and Division II Membership Committee collaborate to arrive at numbers that provide a simpler, consistent and equitable process among sports. The review included feedback from the five sport committees that currently have different standards. 

*No changes were recommended to these minimums. 

NIL guidance

The Management Council adopted a policy to provide schools guidance for their involvement with enrolled student-athletes' name, image and likeness opportunities. The guidance, recommended by the Division II Legislation Committee, is meant to help provide clarity on the level of involvement permitted between schools and student-athletes under current legislation, including in areas such as education, monitoring and the support of student-athletes and collectives. 

Transfer exception 

The Management Council approved noncontroversial legislation, effective immediately, for student-athletes transferring for the 2023-24 academic year, and thereafter, to specify that the June 15 written notification-of-transfer date is not applicable to student-athletes transferring from a non-Division II school (e.g., Division I, Division III or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). 

Federated playing rules

The Management Council approved noncontroversial legislation recommended by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel that allows each NCAA division to have some differences in playing rules. The recommendation follows the adoption of a new NCAA constitution in January 2022 that allows for divisional flexibility. Moving forward, PROP will continue to have oversight of proposed differences in playing rules and may overrule proposed changes if it determines those changes would harm the image of the games or create an unsafe environment for participating student-athletes.

The council also discussed in depth how a Division II process for review of playing rules should work in a federated model. The council will continue to gather feedback on the potential federated process, which is expected to be finalized in the summer.