Effort to decentralize oversight follows Decision-Making Working Group recommendation
The Division I Cabinet on Tuesday introduced a package of proposals intended to decentralize oversight of certain rules for all sports. The proposals ― which would result in changes to coaching limits, playing season start and end dates, and recruiting rules, among other areas ― could be adopted by the Cabinet as early as January.
“Last year, we restructured Division I to streamline our self-governance, increase student-athlete representation and more nimbly respond to challenges facing college sports, and one of our top priorities for that new structure was to reconsider which rules need to be regulated at a national level and which could be regulated more locally, either at the campus or conference level,” said Josh Whitman, athletics director at Illinois and chair of the Cabinet. “If adopted in January, these changes would represent a first step toward achieving that broader goal.”
The proposals most notably would result in changes to the following rules:
- Coaching limits: Sports would no longer have limits to the number of countable coaches, with limits being placed only on off-campus recruiters, which would be determined by respective sport oversight committees.
- Recruiting rules: Schools would be permitted to arrange transportation and provide accommodations and entertainment for a prospect and four accompanying individuals for an official visit, within reasonable modes of transportation and in accordance with school transportation policies.
- Playing seasons: Playing seasons would have standardized dates for starting practices, starting regular-season competitions and ending the regular season, rather than relying on the school’s academic calendar to determine playing seasons. The changes could also result in the elimination of rules that govern how often a school can participate in foreign competition during the season.
At the direction of the Division I Board of Directors, following the Decision-Making Working Group’s recommendations in August 2025, the Cabinet will continue to review potential options to decentralize rules on a variety of other topics, with a final target date for these efforts to be concluded by summer.
