The Division II Management Council this week supported a membership-sponsored proposal that would automatically qualify football-sponsoring conferences for championships. The council also opposed a membership-sponsored proposal and took no position on two others.
At the Division II business session of the 2025 Convention, eight proposals — four membership-sponsored proposals and four that came from the division's governance structure — will be voted on via the division's one-school, one-vote legislative process. For a proposal from the Division II membership to be voted on at an NCAA Convention, it must have at least 15 active Division II schools or two Division II conferences on behalf of 15 or more of their member schools as sponsors.
Membership-sponsored proposals
The council supported a proposal to provide automatic-qualification privileges for championships to all conferences that sponsor football, eliminating the current earned access legislation. The council agreed with the rationale provided by the Division II Championships Committee, which also supported the proposal. The Championships Committee noted that this proposal resembles the representational model it supported last year via the earned access proposal, which wasnarrowly defeated on the Convention floor in January. This proposal is sponsored by the Northeast-10 Conference and co-sponsored by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
The council opposed a membership-sponsored proposal that specifies that a medical examination must be administered within one year, instead of the current six months, prior to a prospective student-athlete's or a student-athlete's participation in any tryout, practice, competition or out-of-season conditioning activities. In its opposition, the council agreed with the rationale provided by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, which also opposed the proposal. CSMAS noted in its opposition that a medical examination should ideally be performed within six weeks before the start of any physical activity, but the current six-month period was adopted to provide schools with reasonable flexibility. This proposal is sponsored by the Northeast-10 Conference and co-sponsored by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Peach Belt Conference, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and South Atlantic Conference.
The council took no position on the following proposals:
- To permit Division II men's wrestling student-athletes in their first year of collegiate enrollment to participate in up to four dates of competition without using a season of competition. The proposal is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and co-sponsored by three other conferences.
- To permit a team participating in practice or competition during the championship segment to engage in countable athletically related activities on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, provided student-athletes are given a day off from countable athletically related activities to participate in civic engagement activities and programming within 15 days of that date. The proposal also requires a school to develop civic engagement policies through a collaborative process involving student-athletes, coaches and senior athletics department staff members to ensure student-athletes are provided adequate opportunities, resources and programming to engage in such activities. The proposal is sponsored by the South Atlantic Conference and co-sponsored by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Peach Belt Conference and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
(Note: Members of the council who are part of a conference or school that sponsored a proposal are permitted to take part in the discussion on the council's position but are required to recuse themselves from the vote.)
National Letter of Intent
The council adopted a noncontroversial proposal related to NCAA signing rules that transition National Letter of Intent program protections into signing and recruiting rules, effective immediately. The change was made at the recommendation of the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, which previously had administrative oversight of the NLI program.
Moving forward, written offers of athletics aid will replace the NLI, and the previous formula for determining signing dates will be applied to those offers. Division I and Division II four-year college transfer prospects may be signed by a new school once their names are permissibly entered into the Transfer Portal. After a prospect signs a written offer of athletics aid, other schools that offer athletically related financial aid will be prohibited from having recruiting communications with that prospect.
Infractions changes
The Management Council approved in concept a noncontroversial proposal aimed at increasing accountability for individuals involved in major infractions cases. The legislation would create a public database of all individuals with an infractions history; specifically name individuals in infractions decisions; broaden show-cause restrictions to include institutional penalties that attach to the involved individual; broaden suspensions; and automatically hold head coaches accountable for the actions of their direct and indirect reports. If adopted in legislative form in January, the proposal would be effective immediately.
Other action
- The council approved, in concept, a recommendation from the NCAA Board of Governors to all three divisions to restructure the NCAA diversity, equity and inclusion committees and task force. The recommendation would establish one committee to focus on Association-wide issues regarding diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. If approved in legislative form in January, the following committees/task force would be dissolved: the Committee on Women's Athletics, the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, the Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and the Gender Equity Task Force. The proposal would be effective immediately, with the committee composition to be determined in spring 2025 and full implementation in fall 2025.
- The council adopted noncontroversial legislation to amend and eliminate several rules related to awards, benefits and expenses for enrolled student-athletes to provide more autonomy to schools and simplify their application. Some amendments include eliminating the awards legislation to permit Division II schools and conferences to use their discretion to provide student-athletes with awards, as well as deregulating the occasional meals legislation. The legislation will be effective Aug. 1, 2025.
- The council adopted noncontroversial legislation, effective immediately, to permit schools and third-party providers to provide assistance and services to student-athletes pursuing name, image and likeness opportunities.
Division II operating plan, think tank and long-range budget discussions
Members received an update and discussed recommendations from the Division II Think Tank that was held in September. The Think Tank brought thought leaders together from across the division to assess the challenges facing college athletics in general, and Division II in particular, and to develop strategies that continue to position Division II as a thought leader in intercollegiate athletics and a destination of choice for member schools. In early 2025, a Division II survey will be sent to the broader Division II membership to gather input and feedback. Governance committees will use the results of the survey to finalize the Division II Operating Plan, outline initiatives to accomplish, including the timing for them, and determine a funding model for implementation. The final 2026-32 Division II Operating Plan will be shared at the January 2026 NCAA Convention.
Make It Yours activation
The council received an update that Division II has partnered with a marketing firm on the continued activation of the Make It Yours brand, which will include a targeted campaign on social media and streaming services that launches in January. As part of the activation, a 45-second public service announcement will be created and edited into smaller versions, including two 30-second versions that Division II members will be able to play in their webcasts.