At the 2026 NCAA Convention in the Washington, D.C., area, the Division III Management and Presidents Councils discussed the Presidents Council's analysis of the division.
At the Convention, the councils, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Presidents and Chancellors Forum attendees, and the delegates at the Issues Forum engaged in initial discussions of the analysis.
On Wednesday, Presidents Council Chair Jim Troha, NCAA President Charlie Baker and NCAA Senior Vice President for Business Performance Brian Higgins led the Presidents and Chancellors Forum attendees in a roundtable discussion that provided feedback on the organization of the analysis (e.g., timeline, oversight body approval and implementation processes).
During the Issues Forum, delegates identified tension points created by current legislation and policies. Additionally, the Presidents Council noted that while campus budget constraints, staff recruiting and retention issues, and an ever-evolving higher education landscape are important issues, the division's governance structure is not designed to solve these issues and, therefore, will not be the focus of the analysis.
The councils also discussed additional key Division III topics, noted below.
Dues assessment
The Management and Presidents Councils approved the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee's request to continue to pause the Division III membership dues assessment through fiscal year 2027.
Due to the state of the division's reserves, coupled with the tight campus and conference budgets, the committee previously recommended, and the councils approved, pausing the division's dues assessment ($1,100 for schools and $550 for conferences) for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
This new approval allows Division III schools and conferences to continue experiencing cost savings for fiscal year 2027.
Livestreaming championships
Similar to last year, Division III will again livestream more than 800 championship games free to fans for the 2025-26 academic year. This streaming initiative continues to enhance the visibility and brand of Division III. This fall, Division III championships on ncaa.com had an almost 10% increase in minutes watched, with 12.4 million. In late January, data will become available for the volleyball quarterfinals, semifinals and championship and every round of the football championship that was streamed on ESPN+.
2026 proposals
Click here for the 2026 legislative proposals, which were scheduled to be voted on Friday at the Division III business session.
Council member changes
Additionally, following the Convention, the current Presidents Council vice chair, Marc Camille of Albertus Magnus, is assuming the role as chair. Suzanne Davis of Greenville will be vice chair.
It is anticipated that Troha, of Juniata, will be elected vice chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and will serve as an ex-officio member of the council through the 2027 NCAA Convention.
For the Management Council, Luther's Rob Larson, current vice chair, becomes the chair. Crystal Gibson, of St. Mary's (Maryland), will be vice chair.
