Official Publication of the National Collegiate Athletic Association April 25,1990, Volume 27 Number 17 Executive Committee to act on championships requests Final action on a number of cham .A report by the Committee on number of teams from any confer- pionships recommendations will Competitive Safeguards and Medi- ence that could be selected to par- take up a large part of the NCAA cal Aspects of Sports on plans for ticipate in the Division I tourna- Executive Committee’s May 7-8 the Association’s year-round drug- ment. meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo- testing program. Division I men’s soccer- It is rado. l A review of the NCAA corpo- being recommended that tbe dates Championships, however, will rate-sponsorship program. of the championship be revised to share the Executive Committee’s Championships provide an off day between the attention with reports from a Although general business and semifinals and finals. A predeter- number of NCAA general and spe- reports like these usually are parts mined site (for 1990, the University cial committees. of every Executive Committee meet- of South Florida) also is being Among them will be reports from ing, the full committee and the divi- recommended for the semifinals the Special Committee to Review sion championships committees rou- and finals. the NCAA Membership Structure tinely spend quite a bit of time dealing Women’s soccer-The NCAA and the Special NCAA Advisory with recommendations from gov- Women’s Soccer Committee is re- Committee to Review Recommen- erning sports committees. In that commending that the bracket for dations Regarding Distribution of respect, this meeting will be no the Division III championship be Revenue. different. expanded from four to six teams, Other general business will in Following is a sample of some of effective with the 1990 champion- elude: the sports committee recommenda- ship. l A report from the NCAA Bas- tions set for final action by the Women’s volleyballLIt is being ketball Officiating Committee, Executive Committee: recommended that the field for the which will include recommendations Division I women’s volleyball- Division I1 Women’s Volleyball regarding the men’s and women’s Expansion of the championship Championship be increased from officiating programs (see related field from 32 to 40 teams is being 20 to 24 teams, effective with the story on page 3) recommended, as is a cap on the See Executive Commitlee. page 2 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee seeks visible role in NCAA affairs Student-athletes could become sor legislation to the 1991 NCAA tion in Convention business sessions more active in and more aware of Convention that would permit any to student-athletes on the commit- NCAA affairs as a result of actions member of the committee to speak tee. Ohio State Univerrity’s Mike Racaneiii won the ail-around taken April 21-22 by the NCAA on the floor of the Association’s The committee also voted to sur- title in the National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Champion- Student-Athlete Advisory Commit- annual Convention. vey student-athletes at all NCAA ships to cap an outstanding careec Gymnastics coaches also tee, which met in Overland Park, Specifically, the committee is seek- member institutions regarding their named Racaneili the top gymnast of the year (stoty on page Kansas. ing an amendment to NCAA Con- opinions of the Association’s current 24). Complete championship tesuits am on page The committee voted to recom- stitution 5. I .3.%(c) to provide affairs and their interest in being 6. mend that the NCAA Council spon- opportunities for active participa- kept informed of ongoing activities through regular publication of a newsletter. “The survey will deal with three areas,” said Richard J. Evrard, di- rector of legislative services and staff liaison (with Merrily Dean Baker, assistant executive director for administration) to the Student- Athlete Advisory Committee. “The committee believes a perio- dic newsletter could be an effective way to make student-athletes aware of issues within the NCAA, and it will use the survey to gauge student- athlete interest in the publication. “The committee also would solicit advice and information on effective coordination of efforts to keep stu- dent-athletes abreast of NCAA af- fairs,” Evrard added. “The survey also would include general questions relating to current issues like time demands, NCAA membership struc- ture and other concerns.” Evrard said the survey probably would not be distributed to student- athletes before next fall. Don’t cut games Evrard said the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also reviewed information gathered for the NCAA Council tour by the American Institutes for Re- search regarding time demands on student-athletes and indicated that Member of the NCAA Council toured the new natkmai decreasing the number of contests ot#b? building during tfwir Apdi 23-25 meeting in Overland played in a given season would not Double winner Park; Kansas Executive Dimctor Richani D. Schultz center; be athletes’ solution of choice. is shown with Robert G. Bottoms, ieft, president of DePauw “They recognize the need to re- Joy Seiig of Oregon State Univemity won the balance beam Univemi& and George M. Hannon, ptesi&nt of Millsaps duce time demands,” Evrard said, and floor exe&se events in the National Collegiate Womenf College. See Student-Athlete. page 2 Gymnastics Championships. THE NCAA NEWS/April 25,lBBO kdehes set on foreign initial-eligibilitv J waiver requests The NCAA Council Subcommit- The guidelines are consistent with their disability) will be permitted to “The new policy is intended to manner.” tee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers has those applied by the subcommittee enroll at an institution but not com- achieve two objectives,“said Stanley He added that the new guidelines developed guidelines regarding to recruited domestic student-ath- pete during their first year in resi- Wilcox, NCAA legislative assistant. still are flexible enough to provide waiver requests from recruited for- letes during the 1989-90 academic dence. “One is to provide an opportunity some options. eign student-athletes and recruited year. However, if the subcommittee for foreign and learningdisabled “Most important, the subcom- st;dent-athletes found to have learn- Under the new guidelines, which approves their waiver applications, student-athletes to enroll and prove mittee is not telling these student- ing disabilities. are effective beginning with the they still may have four years of their academic ability without the athletes that they are going to lose The full Council voted during its 1990-9 I academic year, recruited athletics eligibility remaining-if added demands of intercollegiate eligibility,” Wilcox noted. “If they January 5-7 meeting in Dallas to foreign or recruited learningdis- they subsequently earn appropriate competition. The other is to promote achieve a test score after July I, the support the approach taken by the abled student-athletes who request scores on SATs or ACTS. responsibility on the part of the subcommittee is providing the op- subcommittee, which deals with initial+ligibility waivers (due to a Under NCAA initial-eligibility institution to assure that the student- tion for these individuals to go requests for waivers by members of lack of timely SAT or ACT scores legislation, nonqualifiers and partial athletes it recruits are aware of and ahead with enrollment and spend these two student-athlete groups or, in the case of learning-disabled qualifiers must sit out their first fulfill NCAA initial+ligibility legis- their first year in residence working who took entrance examinations student-athletes, lack of an oppor- year in residence, and Division I lation prior to enrollment.” on academics. (i.e., SATs or ACTS) after July I of tunity to take the test under circum- student-athletes lose one year of Wilcox said that in many cases, “Ofcourse, there also is the option the year of their initial enrollment. stances designed to compensate for eligibility. the subcommittee has considered of delaying enrollment for a year,” waiver requests made on behalf of he added. ‘Either way, these student- foreign and learning-disabled stu- athletes still will have four years of Student-Athlete dent-athletes who claim they didn’t athletics eligibility.” know they had to achieve a qualify- The Council Subcommittee on ing test score by July I of their Initial-Eligibility Waivers originally Continued from page I network of student-athlete groups form in intercollegiate athletics. initial-enrollment year or, in the was formed to provide opportunities “but it was the sense of the commit- that would provide input at least “Maureen presented an overview case of learning-disabled individu- to gain initial eligibility for prospec- tee that those demands be reduced annually to the Student-Athlete of the commission’s ongoing efforts,” als, who did not learn of special test tive student-athletes who failed to in other ways. It was stated that Advisory Committee. Evrard said, “and she also requested sessions designed to compensate for meet some requirement of NCAA student-athletes look forward more Knlght presentation written input from members of the learning disabilities. Bylaw 14.3 while exhibiting strong than anything to the games they The committee also heard a pre- committee. Areas they were asked “These guidelines hold the insti- credentials in other areas (e.g., a play,” he said, “and that cutting sentation from Maureen E. Devlin, to comment on included reasons for tutions more responsible for making