During its two-day meeting this week in Indianapolis, the Division III Presidents Council elected Jim Troha as its new Board of Governors representative. Troha is the president of Juniata and is the current chair of the Presidents Council. He will serve a two-year appointment from the close of the 2025 NCAA Convention through the 2027 Convention.
"There are obviously some really important issues facing the NCAA over the next several years, and I am eager to be part of these conversations. We continue to discuss and find solutions that will sustain intercollegiate athletics for the foreseeable future. At the end of the day, I am excited to represent our division and serve our student-athletes to ensure they have a memorable and meaningful experience," Troha said.
Several other topics were discussed during the meeting Monday and Tuesday at the national office:
Joint meeting with Presidents Advisory Group
On Monday, the Division III Presidents Council had a joint meeting with the Division III Presidents Advisory Group. The group consists of one president or chancellor from each Division III voting conference not currently represented on the Presidents Council.
The groups met with NCAA leaders, including President Charlie Baker and Chief Medical Officer Deena Casiero. Baker highlighted key Association-wide topics, including the Division I settlement, fan database, officiating partnership with RefQuest and the purchasing collective. Casiero detailed the Sport Science Institute's vision, priorities and initiatives, including cannabis education resources, the health and safety impact of sports betting and the NCAA Training and Performance Advisory Group.
Sports betting
The council discussed the implications of sports betting for Division III student-athletes, building off a recentNCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports meeting in which the NCAA's harm reduction strategies were discussed in detail. The council discussed whether to allow student-athletes to bet on professional sports and will continue to review this topic at its January meeting.
2025 Convention legislation
The Presidents Council discussed the 2025 Division III Convention proposals and identified three for the presidential grouping and three for the general grouping. It referred one governance proposal back to the Management Council for further consideration. The council identified the following proposals for the presidential grouping:
- Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Change in Composition: The council supports a membership-sponsored proposal that would establish a primary representative on the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for each multisport conference and the group of independents. This proposal aims to provide more clarity and consistency in the role of committee members.
- Multisport Conference Membership Size Minimum Requirement: The council supports a membership-sponsored proposal that would reduce the minimum size requirement of a multisport conference from seven to six members.
- Legislative Cycle: This governance-sponsored proposal includes a package of concepts that would amend the legislative process.
In addition, the council referred the graduate student eligibility exemption proposal back to the Management Council for further review. Generally, the council supported the effort to address the changing higher education landscape but highlighted concerns about the proposal's application and impact. The proposal would create an exception to allow students who have graduated from a Division III school to maintain their athletics eligibility for that school while enrolled at an accredited nonmember school without a varsity athletics program, provided there is a formal institutional academic relationship between the schools.
Athletic Trainer Working Group
The council commended the Athletic Trainer Working Group for its yearlong efforts resulting in the Athletic Trainer Recruitment and Retention resource.
