The Division III Presidents Council approved a recommendation from the Division III Management Council to sponsor a proposal that would alter the composition and representation of the Management and Presidents Councils and six additional standing Division III governance committees in preparation for the 2023 NCAA Convention.
The council voted to sponsor the Convention proposal, which includes the following alterations to the existing legislation:
- Representation from each multisport conference on either the Presidents Council or the Management Council. The Presidents Council would not exceed 20 members, and the remaining conferences would be represented on the Management Council.
- Consistency in size and regional representation on the six governance committees. The proposal recommends the Championships Committee and Strategic Planning and Finance Committee have 12 members and the Interpretations and Legislation, Financial Aid, Membership, and Nominating Committees have 10 members. It also requires a minimum of two members from each legislated geographic region.
- Opportunities for a broader pool of athletics administrators to participate in the governance structure.
- The addition of student-athlete, faculty athletics representative and conference office voices on governance committees where such representation is not currently present.
"Our approval to alter the composition of Division III's committees is grounded in a decision to be more inclusive with student-athlete and diverse voices while simultaneously balancing conference and regional representation," said Jim Schmidt, chair of the Presidents Council and chancellor at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Review of membership and governance proposals
The council also sponsored these measures:
- A proposal that would require a non-Division III school to receive an offer of membership in a Division III multisport conference as a condition of being accepted into the Division III provisional or reclassifying membership process.
- A proposal that would grant the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee a vote at the Division III Business Session at the Convention.
The council also agreed that the following membership-sponsored proposals impact the governance structure and should be a focus for presidents at the Convention:
- A proposal that would alter the composition of the Presidents and Management Councils to allow for representation of each multisport conference on either council.
- A proposal that would increase the Nominating Committee composition to 10 members based on sport region alignments.
Budget enhancements and strategic plan
The council approved the following three recommendations from the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee:
- Enrichment Fund (formerly nonchampionship initiatives) budget enhancements for fiscal year 2023 and beyond, including additional conference grant funding to support the division's diversity, equity and inclusion strategic priorities and an increase of the Division III Ethnic Minorities and Women's Internship salary effective Sept. 1, 2023.
- Championship enhancements for fiscal year 2023, including a day of rest in select sports, local ground transportation, no conference opponents in the first round of the NCAA championships and per diem increases.
- The 2022-23 strategic plan to better reflect the initiatives, programs and resources to support the student-athlete experience.
New council appointments
Richard Lapidus, president at Fitchburg State, was selected for a two-year term as a replacement for Frank Sanchez, who is departing Rhode Island College. Additionally, the council approved Douglas Lee, president at Waynesburg, for a four-year term to replace Troy Hammond, who is leaving North Central (Illinois). Both appointments are effective immediately.
Presidents Advisory Group roundtable
The Division III Presidents Advisory Group held a meeting Monday and examined the philosophy statement in a roundtable discussion. Breakout conversations centered on Division III's philosophy statements and possible changes to modernize the guidelines. The Presidents Council tasked the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee with overseeing the review, which may include a membership survey in the fall and roundtable discussion and feedback during the Division III Issues Forum at the 2023 NCAA Convention.