DII Management Council adopts proposal to allow student-athletes, staff to bet on pro sports

The Division II Management Council on Wednesday approved noncontroversial legislation to permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports. The rule change required approval by all three divisions and will be effective Nov. 1. It applies to any sports betting activities that occur on or after Nov. 1.

The change was approved by the Division I Cabinet earlier this month and by the Division III Management Council this week.

The NCAA prohibition against betting on college sports — and sharing information about college competitions with other bettors — remains in place. The change also would not impact rules prohibiting advertising and sponsorships associated with sports betting for NCAA Championships.

The council emphasized in approving the rule change that the action is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes. It further emphasized the importance of schools using harm reduction strategies and resources provided by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and the Sport Science Institute. The NCAA already engages in significant efforts to provide educational resources available to student-athletes about the impact of sports betting, which are detailed on its sports betting page.

"Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports," said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council. "This change recognizes the realities of today's sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes."

Convention proposals

The council took formal positions on the 10 membership-sponsored proposals that will be voted on at the Division II business session of the 2026 NCAA Convention. Those positions are noted below.

Members also reviewed the six governance-sponsored proposals for the 2026 Convention. In particular, the council highlighted a question-and-answer resource recently released on a proposal that would permit Division II student-athletes to participate in up to five seasons of competition during their first 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time enrollment. The Management Council also issued a blanket waiver, contingent on the adoption of the proposal, that would permit student-athletes, regardless of sport, who would have used their final season of competition during or at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year, to receive athletics aid for the 2026-27 academic year without counting toward team equivalency limits. Relief will only apply if the student-athletes remains at their original institution.

The 16 proposals will be voted on via the division's one-school, one-vote legislative process. For a proposal from the Division II membership to be voted on at an NCAA Convention, it must have at least 15 active Division II schools or two Division II conferences on behalf of 15 or more of their member schools as sponsors. 

The council supported the following membership-sponsored proposals:

• In football, to specify the following as recruiting dead periods: Dec. 22-Jan. 1, the Monday through Wednesday during the week of the annual convention of the American Football Coaches Association, and the Saturday prior to Memorial Day through Memorial Day. The Division II Football Committee and Division II Legislation Committee also supported this proposal.
• To permit schools to provide retroactive athletics aid during an academic year. The Division II Legislation Committee also supported this proposal.
• In basketball, to specify that a school's first contest (game or scrimmage) with outside competition cannot occur prior to the Monday that is 17 weeks before the Division II men's and women's championship selection dates. The Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Committees and the Division II Legislation Committee also supported the proposal, and the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no position.

The council opposed the following membership-sponsored proposals:

• In baseball, to limit a student-athlete's participation in countable athletically related activities to a maximum of four hours per day and 18 hours per week during the nonchampionship segment. The proposal would also permit an intrasquad scrimmage to exceed the four-hour daily limit, provided a baseball student-athlete does not exceed the limit of 18 hours per week. The Division II Baseball Committee supported this proposal, while the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no position.
• In baseball, to increase the school and student-athlete playing season maximum limitation to 52 contests (games and scrimmages). The Division II Baseball Committee supported this proposal, while the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no position.
• In soccer, to specify that preseason practice shall begin with a four-day acclimatization period for both first-time participants and continuing student-athletes. Additionally, the proposal specifies that schools cannot begin practice sessions any sooner than 21 days before the first permissible contest or nine days before the school's first day of classes, whichever is earlier. The Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Committees supported the proposal, while the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no position.
• In softball, to specify that a school or student-athlete's playing season is limited to 56 contests (games and scrimmages) during the segment that concludes with the NCAA championship and four dates of competition (games and scrimmages) during the nonchampionship segment. The Division II Softball Committee supported the proposal, while the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no position.

The council took no position on the following membership-sponsored proposals:

• In golf, to increase the school and student-athlete playing season maximum limitation to 24 dates of competition and specify that a school may participate in no more than 10 regular-season events. The Division II Men's and Women's Golf Committees supported the proposal, while the Division II Legislation Committee took no position.
• To exempt women's field hockey and women's rowing from maintaining the minimum number of sponsoring schools required to maintain a Division II championship. The Division II Championships Committee, NCAA Division II Women's Field Hockey Committee and the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Committee supported the proposal.
• To permit conferences to count schools in the final year of the membership process toward the minimum of six schools needed to satisfy the sponsorship requirement for automatic qualification. The Division II Championships Committee took no position on the proposal.

Division II operating plan and long-range budget

The council recommended the Division II Executive Board approve a proposed new six-year operating plan that will be launched at the 2026 NCAA Convention and extend through 2031-32, which aligns with the remainder of the NCAA's current broadcast agreements. The new plan outlines five broad focus areas: academics, athletics, health and wellness, governance, and operations and positioning.

Additionally, the council recommended the Executive Board approve a proposed long-range budget through 2031-32, which was developed specifically to support the new operating plan. In the revised long-range budget for Division II, the division allocated new revenue and reserves to three core areas: championships, revenue distribution and initiatives.

Other items

• The council voted to sponsor a proposal for the 2027 NCAA Convention that would eliminate the limit of 60 total awards in all men's sports other than football and basketball in any academic year. This proposal does not change team equivalency limits, and schools will remain responsible for adhering to Title IX requirements.
• The council adopted, in concept, several noncontroversial proposals impacting Bylaw 15, which covers financial aid legislation. If adopted in legislative form in January, the proposals would be effective Aug. 1, 2026.
• The council  adopted, in concept, noncontroversial legislation to eliminate the June 15 deadline for when student-athletes must provide their school with written notification of transfer. If adopted in legislative form in January, the proposal would be effective immediately.

Make It Yours campaign

Division II staff provided an update on the division's fall marketing campaign that launched Oct. 3 focusing on the Make It Yours brand. The campaign includes a targeted paid media strategy among prospective student-athletes and parents that is aimed at strengthening the perception and understanding of Division II nationally by increasing awareness that the division offers balance between athletics, academics and community engagement. Division II is using paid media on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok; using paid search; utilizing video on YouTube and over-the-top streaming services; and creating geofences around select high school competitions to promote the division to prospective student-athletes and parents.