At its quarterly meeting Wednesday, the Division III Presidents Council reviewed several Association-wide issues, including the upcoming constitutional convention and recently released gender equity report.
The Presidents Council also looked at the potential proposals for the 2022 NCAA Convention, finalized the budget for 2021-24, and approved the strategic positioning platform document.
"Division III members will play an active role as the Association faces several key issues examining the landscape of college sports," said Fayneese Miller, chair of the Division III Presidents Council and president at Hamline. "We will continue to work within our governance structure and leadership to insert our division's representation around the constitution review, gender equity report and ongoing conversations surrounding name, image and likeness."
Presidents Advisory Group
The Presidents Council received a report from the Presidents Advisory Group, which met Monday. In the meeting, the advisory group discussed name, image and likeness, the impact of COVID-19 on the fall season, campus sexual violence attestation requirements, and the Board of Governors' recent decision to hold a constitutional convention.
Constitution Committee
The council received an update on the division's process to select the Division III representatives to the newly created Association-wide Constitution Committee. The committee's charge includes redrafting the NCAA constitution, identifying the core principles that define college sports and proposing a new governance model that works for every division and allows for nimble change without sacrificing identified principles.
Gender equity report
Representatives from Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP met with the Presidents Council to discuss the gender equity reportreleased Tuesday that addressed men's and women's basketball. The report noted that overall there is equity between the Division III basketball championships but did recommend increased communication between the men's and women's basketball committees and an awareness of final site venue capacity to ensure similar experiences for both genders. The Presidents Council endorsed a process to refer the report and recommendations to the appropriate committees in the Division III governance structure, such as the Management Council or the Championships Committee.
2022 NCAA Convention potential proposals
The NCAA Division III Presidents Council and Management Council Joint Legislative Steering Subcommittee shared the current slate of 13 potential proposals for the 2022 NCAA Convention. The deadline to fully sponsor a membership proposal is Sept. 1. There are five governance proposals already sponsored by the Management Council or Presidents Council. The council identified which proposals are presidential in nature. During its October meeting, it will take a formal position on all fully sponsored membership proposals.
2021-24 budget
The Division III budget for 2021-24 was approved. The Presidents Council made the final approval on the recommendation from the Division III Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and the Management Council. Effective Sept. 1, 75% of the budget is allocated to fund the division's 28 national championships. Specific budget priorities for the budget triennium cycle include bracket expansions for field hockey, women's lacrosse and women's golf. The budget accounts for the new regional realignment in effect Sept. 1. Non-championships initiatives and programs, such as the strategic initiatives conference grant program and diversity grants, will maintain their current funding levels. The council also approved a strategic plan that aligns the division's priorities with the approved funding levels.
Strategic positioning platform
The Presidents Council approved the updated Division III Strategic Positioning Platform document recommended by the Division III Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and recently approved by the Management Council. Division III anticipates releasing the updated platform to the membership this month for use both internally (athletics, faculty, trustee meetings) and externally (admissions and recruiting). A subgroup of the committee reviewed the existing platform's language and updated it to align with the Association's new strategic priorities and properly reflect Division III.