2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association Convention Legislation – Division II & III

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

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

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

SAAC: Support

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

• 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.

• 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.

• Institutions must establish an administrative structure that affirms unchallengeable autonomous authority for athletics health care providers for return-to-play decisions.
• Institutions must designate an athletics health care administrator.

SAAC: Support

Interpretations and Legislation Committee: Support

• Permit students with an undergraduate degree and remaining eligibility to compete at the institution of their choice.

• Allow students to receive outside aid that considers athletics, provided the award isn’t tied to a student-athlete attending a certain institution and all other existing conditions are satisfied.

SAAC: Support

• Rather than sport-by-sport exemptions, allow each sport to exempt two scrimmages, exhibitions (including alumni contests) and joint practices in addition to conference and season-ending championship exemptions.
• Wrestling remains precluded from competing before the first permissible contest date, while other sports are permitted to do so.

Management Council: Support

SAAC: Support

Championships Committee: Support

Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee: Support

• Allow field hockey and lacrosse to conduct an exempted scrimmage, exhibition or joint practice with outside competition before the first permissible contest or date of competition, which mirrors legislation adopted for soccer and women’s volleyball last year.

Management Council: Support

SAAC: Support

Championships Committee: Support

Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee: Support

• Eliminate requirement that mandatory day off for track and field and swimming and diving programs be held on the same day for every student-athlete.

Management Council: Support

SAAC: Support

Interpretations and Legislation Committee: Support

• Deregulate tryout and camps and clinics legislation to allow institutions to conduct or host events involving prospective student-athletes.
• Events must be open to the public and cannot offer free or reduced admission to recruits.

SAAC: Support

• Limit the number of institutions in provisional or reclassifying membership process to 12.

Management Council: Support

SAAC: Support

Interpretations and Legislation Committee: Support

• Eliminate the window of reconsideration for Convention proposals after initial votes during the Division III Business Session. Initial votes are final.