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Division III working group details restructuring recommendation

Mon 14th, January 2008

. A Division III working group explained its reasons Sunday for recommending creation of a new division as a solution for rapid growth, then began soliciting feedback on its conclusions.

Most of Division III's annual issues forum was devoted to the discussion, in which the working group presented data demonstrating how growth has produced differences in perspectives on the conduct of athletics, detailed ways in which a new division might be distinctive from Division III, and projected what the new grouping might look like based on current institutional characteristics and indicators of philosophical views. "Voting patterns on several key proposals in recent NCAA Conventions identify distinct perspectives about the role and scope of an intercollegiate athletics program," said Rudy Keeling, commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference and working group chair. "One of these perspectives seems to favor a broader-based athletics program with a more limited student-athlete experience. Another favors a smaller sports-sponsorship profile with fewer limits on the student-athlete experience. That perspective is expected to increase with continued membership growth." Eric Hartung, NCAA associate director of research, said the impact of recent growth also is indicated by average sport sponsorship, which steadily has fallen over time. "The average sports sponsorship for schools that have become active members over the last two decades is well below the current Division III average of nearly 16.5," he reported. "The sports-sponsorship trend alone begs an important question: What does the trend say about how our newer members differ from our older members?" Though the entire membership will be provided with its first open forum for reacting to the working group's recommendation during this morning's business session, issues forum participants were asked to tackle questions similar to the one posed by Hartung during roundtable discussions. Several key concerns about restructuring emerged from those discussions, especially regarding how schools choosing to join a new division might be perceived by prospective students and the public, and the implications such perceptions might have for managing enrollment. A common concern heard around the meeting room was that schools identified as limiting the student-athlete experience might be perceived as being less competitive athletically -- a concern linked to a widely expressed fear that labeling the new grouping "Division IV" would result in recruiting disadvantages. Other concerns include the potential that schools will incur greater expense if forced to realign into conferences in which members are located farther apart, and that shifting of institutions from one division to another will impact conferences' access to championships through automatic qualification. The discussion continues during this morning's business session, setting the stage for a membership survey in February that will explore institutions' views about recommendations for dealing with growth. In a change of format for today's open forum resulting from delegates' requests, the entire membership will remain together in the Gaylord Opryland Resort's Presidential Ballroom for that discussion, rather than dividing into three discussion groups.

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