2017 NCAA Convention Legislation: Division II

2017-1: Competition-related expenses from an outside sponsor

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee: Support

• Would permit a student-athlete to receive competition-related expenses from an outside sponsor other than an agent, a representative of an institution’s athletics interests or a professional sports organization for participation in an outside event.

2017-2: Prize money from amateur team or event sponsor in individual sports

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would allow a student-athlete, after initial full-time collegiate enrollment, to accept prize money in individual sports in an open event, provided the competition occurs outside the school’s declared playing season during the school’s official summer vacation period; the prize money is provided only by the sponsor of the event; and the prize money does not exceed the student-athlete’s actual and necessary expenses of the event.

2017-3: Professional team tryouts

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would permit a student-athlete to try out for a professional athletics team and permit a professional athletics team to conduct medical examinations at any time, provided the student-athlete does not miss class.

2017-4: Promotional activities: Monetary and educational requirements

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would eliminate the requirement that all money gained from a permissible promotional activity must go directly to the member school, the conference or a charitable, educational, nonprofit or government agency.
• Would eliminate the requirement that an authorized representative of the agency must sign a release statement.
• Would require the school to provide educational material to the agency about proper use of a student-athlete’s name, image or likeness.

2017-5: Requirement to obtain permission to contact from NAIA institution

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would eliminate the requirement for a Division II school to receive permission to contact an NAIA student-athlete before initiating recruiting.
• Would require Division II schools to send a courtesy notification to the NAIA school before contact.

2017-6: Institutional pre-enrollment fees

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would allow a school to waive, pay in advance or guarantee payment of any institutional pre-enrollment fee for a prospective student-athlete who has committed to the school.

2017-7: Missed class time for competition in nonchampionship segment: Team sports

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would permit student-athletes in team sports to miss class during the nonchampionship segment once every four years for competition against member schools in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Canada.
• Would likewise permit student-athletes on team sports at schools in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Canada to miss class for competition on the United States mainland once every four years during the nonchampionship segment.

2017-8: Minimum contest requirements: Women’s lacrosse and women’s volleyball

Presidents Council (Management Council; Membership Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would increase the minimum number of contests required each year to meet sports sponsorship for women’s lacrosse from eight to 10.
• Would increase the minimum number of contests required each year to meet sports sponsorship in women’s volleyball from nine to 15.

2017-9: Division II philosophy statement

Presidents Council (Management Council; Management Council Identity Subcommittee)

SAAC: Support

• Would amend the Division II philosophy statement to reflect the refreshed “Make It Yours” brand.

2017-10: Academic misconduct

Presidents Council (Management Council; Academic Requirements Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would clarify when academic misconduct involving student-athletes falls within the purview of the NCAA and when it should be strictly an institutional matter. 
• Would expand the academic misconduct legislation’s reach to any situation in which a college or university staff member who performs work for the athletics department is involved. 

2017-11: Independent medical care

Presidents Council (Management Council; Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports); Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference; Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association; Gulf South Conference

SAAC: Support

• Would require schools to establish an administrative structure where the primary athletics health care providers (team physicians and athletic trainers) would have unchallengeable authority on medical management and return-to-play decisions.
• Would also require schools to designate an athletics health care administrator to oversee the school’s administration and delivery of athletics health care and ensure best practices are followed.  

2017-12: Financial aid: Institutional athletics aid only

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would count only athletics aid toward individual and team equivalency limits, exempting other forms of institutional aid such as academic and need-based aid.

2017-13: Financial aid: Term-by-term awards

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would eliminate the ability to issue term-by-term financial aid awards, but would establish certain exceptions for when a term-by-term award is appropriate.

2017-14: Financial aid: Increase for any reason at any time

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would permit increases in athletically related financial aid at any time, for any reason.

2017-15: Conference recruiting materials

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• Would eliminate conference restrictions on providing recruiting materials to prospective student-athletes, their parents, legal guardians and/or coaches.

2017-16: Football recruiting calendar

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association; Northeast-10 Conference

Championships Committee: No position; Football Committee: Support; Legislation Committee: Support; Management Council: Support; Presidents Council: Support;

SAAC: Support

• Would revise the football recruiting calendar to begin the winter contact period on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

2017-17: Hardship waivers and season-of-competition waivers

Presidents Council (Management Council; Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement)

SAAC: Support

• Would increase the maximum number of contests or dates of competition in which a student-athlete could compete and remain eligible for a hardship waiver or a season-of-competition-while-eligible waiver. The new maximum would be three contests or dates of competition or 30 percent of the playing season.
• Would also require that the student-athlete’s participation occur in the first half of the playing season.

2017-18: Nonchampionship segments

Presidents Council (Management Council; Legislation Committee)

SAAC: Support

• In all sports with a nonchampionship segment, would prohibit all countable athletically related activity for two days each week.
• In all sports with a nonchampionship segment other than golf, rowing and tennis, would limit a student-athlete’s participation in countable athletically related activity to four hours per day and 15 hours per week during a 45-consecutive-day period, with exceptions for school vacations, exams and closures.
• In golf and tennis, would limit student-athlete participation in countable athletically related activity to four hours per day and 20 hours per week during a 60-consecutive-day period, with the above exceptions.
• In rowing, would limit student-athlete participation in countable athletically related activity to four hours per day and 15 hours per week during a 65-consecutive-day period, with the above exceptions.