At its NCAA Convention meeting on Wednesday in Indianapolis, the Division II Management Council endorsed the Division II Implementation Committee's priorities and supported recommendations from the division's Planning and Finance Committee.
Implementation Committee
The Management Council endorsed the Division II Implementation Committee's areas of review and priorities. The committee, which held its first meeting virtually on Jan. 5 and will meet again on Feb. 7-8 in Indianapolis, comprises 28 voting members: one representative from all 23 Division II conferences and five current and former student-athletes.
During its Convention meeting on Thursday, the Division II Presidents Council will take final action to charge the Implementation Committee on the specific areas to review. The Implementation Committee's work will be done in a phased approach using designated priority items. The Implementation Committee will focus on Priority 1 items, with Priority 2 and 3 items to be reviewed and discussed by the governance structure. The timeline is as follows:
- Priority 1 — Completed by Aug. 1, 2022; or legislation sponsored by Sept. 1, 2022, for a January 2023 Convention vote; and/or legislation/policy adopted and effective Aug. 1, 2023.
- Priority 2 — Recommendations by spring/summer 2023 for review and consideration.
- Priority 3 — Items to be discussed and reviewed, with an action date to be determined.
To effectively address these items, the Implementation Committee will be divided into the following six subcommittees:
- Budget.
- Championships.
- Enforcement and Infractions Process.
- Governance.
- Legislative Process and Compliance.
- Membership.
The Implementation Committee, co-chaired by Wisconsin-Parkside Chancellor Debbie Ford and Delta State President William LaForge, will review the division's rules and policies and make recommendations to ensure that changes are consistent with the principles agreed upon in the new constitution. Following initial work and recommendations by the Implementation Committee, the governance structure will be tasked with completing the review.
Planning and Finance recommendations
The Management Council also recommended the Division II Presidents Council approve a recommendation from the Division II Planning and Finance Committee on how to allocate more than $12 million in surplus from the 2020-21 budget. The surplus is more than expected due to additional Association revenue and insurance claims received, as well as expense savings in Division II championships and initiatives.
Part of the recommendation, which the Division II Presidents Council will consider at its Thursday meeting, includes using $3 million for a supplemental distribution to eligible Division II schools — nearly $10,000 each.
The recommendation would also allocate nearly $8 million to the Division II reserve fund, while another $450,000 in unused funds from Division II's Identity Workshop ($150,000) and SAAC Super Region Convention ($300,000) would be rolled over to the 2021-22 budget. Additionally, $1.25 million would be added to championships travel to account for anticipated increased costs in this space.
The Management Council also recommended the Presidents Council approve a recommendation from the Planning and Finance Committee to adopt a revised reserve policy for the Division II budget. The recommendation states that the division's cash reserve maintains a balance of at least 60% of the operating revenue for the division. The current reserve policy requires a balance of at least 70% of the operating revenue, including potential insurance money.