NCAA D-II Council Proposes Changes to How Championships Are Organized

The Division II Presidents Council sponsored three proposals for the 2024 NCAA Convention. The proposals, recommended by the Division II Management Council and Championships Committee, would amend the number of sponsoring schools needed to establish and maintain Division II championships, as well as automatic qualification requirements for all team sports and earned access requirements for football. 

Division II members will vote on all the proposals Jan. 13 via the division's one-school, one-vote legislative process at the Convention in Phoenix. 

Additionally, the Presidents Council received updates from NCAA President Charlie Baker on three items:  

• Key findings of Baker's business review of the NCAA national office's operations and the key trends facing college sports in the years to come. The findings also outlined a series of goals and strategies the NCAA will undertake to achieve those goals. 
• The post-eligibility insurance coverage for student-athletes that the Board of Governors approved at its Tuesday meeting. The coverage, available to member schools Aug. 1, 2024, will be for two years after student-athletes complete their college athletics experience and will cover injuries that occur while playing for their school. 
• A progress report resulting from an independent assessment on the headway the Association has made toward gender equity across NCAA championships. 

NCAA Convention proposals

One legislative proposal the Presidents Council sponsored would amend the number of sponsoring schools needed to establish and/or maintain a Division II championship to 35 for both men's and women's sports. Currently, the minimum sports sponsorship requirement is 50 for men's sports and 40 for women's sports. 

Additionally, the proposal would establish a three-year grace period for a sport that falls below the minimum sponsorship of 35 schools to allow it time to regain the necessary sponsoring schools before the championship is discontinued. The proposal also would eliminate the current legislative exceptions for championships in Olympic sports that fall below the current thresholds, as well as men's and women's lacrosse. Men's and women's lacrosse both are well above the 35-school threshold. 

Another proposal the Presidents Council sponsored would amend legislation around automatic qualifiers, granting automatic qualification privileges in all team sports other than football. Currently, that decision is left up to each sport committee. 

A third proposal the Presidents Council sponsored would amend the earned access legislation to require representation in the bracket from all football-sponsoring conferences by including the highest-ranked team in a conference not already represented in the bracket. This proposal will be voted on by only football-sponsoring schools and conferences and the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the 2024 Convention. 

Through policy, the Championships Committee would establish a 60% maximum for automatic qualifiers (or their equivalent in football via earned access) in a bracket to ensure sufficient representation from at-large selections. To mitigate the possibility of a sport exceeding the 60% limit, the committee also would establish as policy that bracket expansion be considered at the next budget opportunity whenever a sport reaches a 50% threshold. However, should a sport exceed the 60% limit while being considered for bracket expansion, the Championships Committee may maintain automatic qualification or earned access while the field size is being addressed.

Membership-sponsored proposals

The Presidents Council approved a recommendation to refer two membership-sponsored proposals to various NCAA committees. For a proposal from the Division II membership to be voted on at the 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.

The Management Council and Presidents Council will review feedback for each proposal and take an official position at their October meetings.  

One membership-sponsored proposal would permit schools to participate in their first football contest one week before the Thursday preceding Sept. 6. The proposal is sponsored by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Gulf South Conference, Lone Star Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The proposal will be referred  to the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the Division II Championships Committee, the Division II Legislation Committee, the Division II Football Committee and the Committee on Women's Athletics. 

Another membership-sponsored proposal would limit softball's playing season to 56 contests (games and scrimmages) during the segment in which the NCAA championship is conducted and eight contests (games and scrimmages) during another segment (e.g., nonchampionship segment). The proposal is sponsored by Montana State Billings, the East Coast Conference, the Gulf South Conference, Albany State (Georgia), Metropolitan State University of Denver, Minnesota State Mankato, Union (Tennessee), Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama. The proposal will be referred to CSMAS, the Division II Legislation Committee, the Division II Championships Committee and the Division II Softball Committee.

DII Academic Guiding Principles

The Presidents Council approved Division II Academic Guiding Principles that would be used by the governance structure when discussing and recommending academic changes to Division II legislation. The Division II Academic Requirements Committee brought forward the recommendation after an in-depth review at its June meeting. 

The principles are: 

• Division II is committed to protecting the well-being of our student-athletes. 
• Division II supports a "student-first" philosophy. 
• The Division II Academic Requirements Committee is the gatekeeper for the division as it relates to student-athlete academic readiness before initial enrollment and academic success after enrollment that will encourage career development toward lifelong goals post-graduation. 
• The academic requirements shall support the philosophy of the division. 
• Recommendations for change shall be data-driven and provide the opportunity for access to athletically related financial aid, practice and competition. 
• The certification of requirements will support and promote administrative efficiency when possible.