NCAA Division III Management Council tweaks federated playing rules process
During a recent two-day meeting in Indianapolis, the NCAA Division III Management Council examined the findings of a review of the division's federated playing rules process, which was adopted in the summer of 2023.
The council initiated the review to ensure the process was being implemented and to identify any areas for improvement. The review confirmed that the process was implemented as designed. Three key points of emphasis:
• The process should include more Division III input.
• The process should encourage common rules.
• To the extent possible, the process should work within the current rules-making framework.
The council adopted two changes to enhance the process: a standard orientation for the Division III committee members involved in the process and the creation of a resource outlining policies and procedures.
The council also acknowledged that involving additional voices beyond the Division III members of the sport rule committees and sport championships committees would be beneficial, so it will create a subcommittee to provide guidance when a rule has a financial impact or impacts a fundamental Division III principle. These changes will be implemented immediately and used for any new rule introduced into the playing rules cycle.
"Last year, the Division III Management Council created a federated playing rules process to increase the Division III voices in the process. The additional changes to the process will allow for meaningful and representative Division III input on playing rules changes. It is through these collaborative efforts that we can continue to support the growth and success of our division," said Jason Verdugo, chair of the council and athletics director at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Several other topics were discussed during the meeting at the national office in Indianapolis:
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.
Athletic Trainer Working Group
The council sunsetted the Athletic Trainer Working Group, whose work culminated in the publishing of itsrecommendations. The council agreed to continue to assess the effectiveness of the working group's recommendations in addressing the hiring and retention of athletic trainers.
Convention preview
The council supported the three membership-sponsored proposals for the 2025 NCAA Convention. The proposals would provide the Management Council the authority to exempt the division from certain playing rules, reduce the minimum size of multisport conferences to six schools and allow each multisport conference to have a primary representative on the division's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Streamlining DEI efforts
The council approved, in concept, a recommendation from the NCAA Board of Governors to all three divisions to restructure the NCAA diversity, equity and inclusion committees and task force. The recommendation would establish one committee to focus on Association-wide issues regarding diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
If approved in legislative form in January, the following groups would be dissolved: the Committee on Women's Athletics, the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, the Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and the Gender Equity Task Force. The proposal would be effective immediately, with the committee composition to be determined in spring 2025 and full implementation in fall 2025.
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