Category: NCAA Legislation

D3- Legislative Updates

Posted on by Sheila Rinozzi

Link to DIII – Q and A Document ( Last updated May 11, 2020)

Link to D3 Legislation Tracking Document

 

DIII Administrative Committee makes additional COVID-19 decisions

Championships banquets canceled, sport committees move online for 2020-21 academic year

The Division III Administrative Committee on Thursday approved a recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to cancel championships banquets and move all sport committee meetings to digital platforms for the 2020-21 academic year.

The Championships Committee examined potential budget cuts at the request of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee in response to the budget shortfall caused by the cancellation of the remaining 2019-20 winter and spring championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to meet the division’s mandated reserve policy (50% of the annual revenue) through the end of the current CBS/Turner contract (2023-24).

By canceling the banquets for the upcoming academic year and moving all sport committee annual meetings to a virtual format, the Championships Committee is projecting a total savings of $440,000. The Championships Committee and sport committees will work with staff to explore ways to recognize award winners typically honored at the banquets. Adjustments are occurring in all three divisions.

The Administrative Committee also heard from the Championships Committee regarding other potential reductions in the division’s “supplemental spend,” which are championships expenses that are not part of the base budget, in the areas of ground transportation and a pilot program to avoid preliminary-round conference matchups. The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee will consider these reductions at a future meeting.

NADIIIAA request

The Administrative Committee approved a limited partnership grant of $10,800 to the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. NADIIIAA requested the limited grant to cover organizational management costs that will allow for continued services and benefits to Division III administrators.

Article: April 2, 2020 ( Approved)

NCAA Division III Management Council Subcommittee for Legislative Relief Approves Blanket Waiver for NCAA Bylaws 13.02.10 (Telephone Calls), 13.02.11 (Electronic Transmissions) and 13.10 (Publicity). –

The NCAA Division III Management Council Subcommittee for Legislative Relief approved a blanket waiver to allow Division III member institutions to use virtual platforms to conduct recruiting activities that would normally take place on campus for the remainder of the 2020 spring term through August 1, when relief will be reconsidered.

Under this waiver, institutions may conduct recruiting activities that:

  1. Are delivered on a virtual platform (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, conference calls), including those platforms with an enabled public chat function;
  2. Involve multiple prospective student-athletes, regardless of grade level, and their families at one time;
  3. Replace athletics recruitment-specific presentations (e.g., junior days, open houses) that would normally be taking place on campus during the spring and summer of 2020; and
  4. Include content delivered by institutional athletics and coaching staff, currently enrolled student-athletes and other members of the campus community (e.g., admissions, financial aid).

In issuing this waiver, the subcommittee noted that these are permissible on-campus recruiting activities, but they are not possible in their traditional format due to the COVID-19 health crisis.  Additionally, continued athletic recruitment is essential for successful enrollment management at many Division III institutions.  See Case No. 1097634 in Requests/Self-Reports Online via the search tab. Additional information regarding blanket waivers can be found on the Subcommittee for Legislative Relief homepage.

[References:  NCAA Division III Bylaws 13.02.5.1 (Permissible Recruitment Activities for Enrolled Student-Athletes), 13.02.10 (Telephone Calls), 13.02.11 (Electronic Transmissions), 13.1.1.1 (High School Prospective Student-Athletes), and 13.10 (Publicity)].

D2 Legislative Updates (5.15.20)

Posted on by Sheila Rinozzi

DII provides blanket waiver for progress-toward-degree requirements

The division also will move into quiet recruiting period from June 1-30

Corbin McGuire

The Division II Administrative Committee on Wednesday approved a blanket waiver for the 2019-20 academic year regarding progress-toward-degree requirements for all continuing Division II student-athletes due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee also voted to move into a quiet recruiting period for all sports from June 1-30. Division II is currently in a recruiting dead period through May 31.

Progress-toward-degree

Within its decision to issue a blanket waiver for progress-toward-degree requirements for the 2019-20 academic year, the Administrative Committee waived the following requirements:

  • NCAA credit-hour (term-by-term, academic year and annual) requirements.
  • Grade-point average requirements.
  • Transferable nine semester/eight quarter hours for student-athletes whose last full-time term of attendance was spring 2020.
  • Average of 12 transferable credit-hour requirement for transfers with one season or two semesters/three quarters remaining, provided the student-athlete was on track to meet that requirement before the spring 2020 term.

Student-athletes must still be in good academic standing to be eligible for competition in the fall 2020 term, per institutional policy, and also meet all applicable progress-toward-degree requirements during the 2020-21 academic year. Institutions are still required to complete an eligibility list form for the 2020-21 academic year.

“We did not anticipate anything like COVID-19 impacting Division II this term, which is why we believe this scale of immediate relief is necessary now,” said Chris Graham, commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and chair of the Management Council. “Meeting progress-toward-degree requirements is still a priority for Division II’s mission. We remain committed to the established requirements moving forward.”

Recruiting

The Division II Administrative Committee’s action to enter a quiet period differed from the Division I Council Coordination Committee’s decision Wednesday. Division I extended its temporary recruiting dead period for Division I coaches until June 30.

During a quiet period, a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents on the college’s campus. Coaches also may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time.

With the decision to move to a quiet period, Division II institutions will be permitted to host camps and clinics in June.

The Division II Administrative Committee emphasized that schools will still be subject to local and state health guidance and institutional and conference decisions regarding holding camps and clinics. As institutions begin to allow on-campus recruiting for all prospective students as their respective COVID-19 restrictions loosen, the committee stressed the importance that similar recruiting opportunities in athletics are allowed.

“While schools in some parts of the country will inevitably be able to open and bring prospective student-athletes on campus sooner than others, this decision was made in the interest of assisting our institutions with enrollment management during a challenging time for higher education,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the Division II Presidents Council.

The committee also issued a blanket waiver to permit a committed prospective student-athlete and current student-athletes to participate in voluntary, nonphysical team entertainment activities at the direction of a coaching staff member until the start of the institution’s fall 2020 term. A committed prospective student-athlete is someone who has signed a National Letter of Intent or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or for whom the institution has received a financial deposit in response to its offer of admission.

The Administrative Committee is composed of the chairs and vice chairs of the Division II Presidents Council and Management Council and one additional member of the Presidents Council. The committee is tasked with handling important Division II business in between quarterly meetings of the Presidents Council. It will meet next by teleconference May 20 to consider further action in response to COVID-19 impacts.

 

All Actions Approved by the Division II Administrative Committee Related to Regulations and Policies Impacted by COVID-19 (May 13, 2020) –> D2GOV_COVID19ImpactApprovedActions-5

COVID19 Q&A Document Updates

Posted on by Sheila Rinozzi

There are quite a few updates to the D1 COVID Q & A, as well as a couple to both D2 and D3, so take the time to review. 

In D1 here are some main points: (there is a whole page of questions pertaining to the financial aid exemption, so please refer to the site for those updates)

Question No. 6: May an institution’s coach participate on a podcast with a scholastic or nonscholastic coach?

Answer: No. An institution’s coach may not participate on a broadcast, including a podcast, that involves a prospective student-athlete or a prospective student-athlete’s coach, regardless of the content of the broadcast.

 

Question No. 7: If a team meeting involving student-athletes is recorded, may an institution’s coach send a copy of the recording to a prospective student-athlete?

Answer: Yes. An institution may send a prospective student-athlete a recording of countable athletically related activities in accordance with the audio/video materials exception in Bylaw 13.4.1.10.1. However, Bylaw 14.2.1.1.1 does not permit a committed prospective student-athlete to engage in individual or team meetings with the coaching staff (e.g., review of playbook, chalk talk, film review).

 

Outside Competition.

Question: From April 20 through May 31, may student-athletes participate in outside competition?

Answer: No. In all sports, from April 20 through at least May 31, student-athletes are not permitted to participate in outside competition because all sports are considered out of season. This analysis applies regardless of the institution’s academic calendar. As a reminder, except during the period from one week before the start of the institution’s final examination period through the conclusion of the institution’s academic term, institutions may require up to eight hours per week of virtual nonphysical countable activities (e.g., film review, chalk talk, team meetings) and are required to provide each student-athlete at least one day off per week.

 

D1 Q and A Document  – updated may 8

D2  Q and A Document – updated may 8

D3  Q and A Document  -updated May 4

D2GOV_COVID19ImpactApprovedActions-2 (updated May 6)

Recruiting Updates ( Effective as of 5/11/20)

Posted on by Sheila Rinozzi

Any school staff member may participate on recruiting calls between a countable coach and a recruit. In normal circumstances, only coaches, and a few others in limited situations, may communicate with uncommitted prospective student-athletes via telephone or video calls.

 

The committee lifted the restriction on the number of uncommitted prospective student-athletes (and their family members) who may participate in a recruiting call with a countable coach.

 

Current student-athletes may now participate in recruiting calls with coaches, as long as that time counts against the eight hours of countable athletics related activity that the committee permitted in all sports earlier this spring.

 

Finally, committed prospective student-athletes may participate in virtual team activities after completion of all academic requirements for high school graduation or transfer to a Division I school.  Uncommitted prospects could on one occasion observe such activities but not participate.

 

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-council-coordination-committee-approves-blanket-waiver-requests