Minutes of Liberty League Fall Meeting September 13, 2016 – Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y
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Minutes of Liberty League Fall Meeting September 13, 2016 – Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Present: Kris Hall, David Lindholm (Bard); Steve Yianoukos, Laurel Kane (Clarkson); Mike Hanna (Hobart), Brian Miller (Hobart & William Smith), Susan Bassett (Ithaca), Lee McElroy, Karen Hansen (RPI); George VanderZwaag, Andrea Golden (Rochester); Lou Spiotti, Amy Reed (RIT); Bob Durocher, Randy LaBrake (St. Lawrence); Gail Cummings‐ Danson, Megan Buchanan, Nekisha Quinney (Skidmore); Jim McLaughlin, Joanne Little, Beth Tiffany (Union); Michelle Walsh, Kim Culligan, JoAnn Acquarulo (Vassar); Deb Steward (William Smith); Tracy King, Katie Meline (Liberty League). I. Call to Order Steve Yianoukos (Liberty League President) called the meeting to order at 11:03 a.m. Attendees introduced themselves. II. Review of Minutes The minutes of the June 1‐2, 2016 meeting at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, N.Y., were reviewed. No changes or corrections were noted. Kris Hall inquired as to the outreach to the football independent institutions (Finlandia and Maranatha Baptist). Tracy King indicated that Finlandia had a recent AD change, but no recent contact has been made with those institutions. Deb Steward noted that the field hockey coaches opted to use TeamXStream for video exchange rather than Krossover as indicated in the minutes. Motion: A motion (McElroy, Hall) to approve the minutes from the June 1‐2, 2016 meeting PASSED 11‐0‐0. III. Financial Report Mike Hanna reviewed the budget report for FY16 as well as the proposed budget for FY17. Hanna reported that the league essentially had a break‐even budget in FY16 with $267,408.37 in revenues and $268,987.02 in expenses. A budget shortfall of approximately $18,000 is projected for FY17, which is the result of declining revenues from the NCAA Strategic Alliance Matching Grant (grant for assistant commissioner position) combined with salary increases. Motion: A motion (Steward, McElroy) to approve the proposed FY17 budget as presented PASSED 10‐0‐0. Hanna indicated that the league had originally agreed to increase dues to $18,000 in 2015‐ 16, but the increase had not been implemented. Hanna noted that reserve funds have declined over the last two years and it has been recommended that conferences maintain a 1 reserve of two years’ worth of operating expenses. Rather than increase dues by $2,000 each of the next two years, it was recommended that the dues increase from $16,000 to $20,000 in FY18. It was noted that the Liberty League full member dues are currently below the average of other Division III conferences. Hanna also recommend that Tracy King survey other conferences regarding associate member dues to determine the appropriate level. Motion: A motion (Hanna, McElroy) to establish Liberty League full member dues of $20,000 for FY18 and FY19 PASSED 8‐2‐0. IV. Commissioner’s Report A. FLSA Update – Assistant Commissioner: Tracy King reported that the Executive Committee reviewed the salary structure for the Assistant Commissioner position to ensure that the league is in compliance with the FLSA’s Final Rule. In order to ensure compliance with the regulation, the committee recommended a salary of $40,172 ($913 per week for 44 weeks), which was supported in an August email vote of the athletic directors. The committee also reviewed paid leave for employees of less than 12 months at Liberty League member institutions, but did not find a common standard. Rather than specify a certain number of days for sick time, vacation time and personal time, it was suggested that all leave time be a combined total. Motion: A motion (Hall, Golden) to establish 15 days of annual paid leave for the Assistant Commissioner position, including sick, personal and vacation leave PASSED 10‐0‐1. Motion: A motion (McElroy, Hanna) to specify that unused leave time for the Assistant Commissioner position will not accrue and carry over from year‐to‐year PASSED 7‐3‐1. With regard to FLSA on campuses, it was reported that some institutions will likely be elevating certain individuals to the full amount required for 12‐month employees under the Final Rule ($47,476) while other employees will be converted to an hourly wage and hours will be tracked. Campuses are in the process of finalizing by the Dec. 1 implementation deadline. The options of a fluctuating work week and the exemption for teaching are also being explored. B. Championship Expansion Proposals: King reminded the administrators that championship expansion proposals for sports in which league tournaments could increase from four to six teams will be considered at the league meeting in January at the NCAA Convention. Sports in which there are nine or more participating teams that could be considered for an increase include: baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and tennis. Sport liaisons should conduct calls or meetings with those sport groups prior to the December break to finalize proposals for January. Implementation for tournament expansion was 2 originally planned for 2018‐19, but may be considered for 2017‐18 depending on scheduling and budget impact. If a sport requires a revised schedule in order to accommodate a six‐team tournament, then it may not be feasible to implement an expanded tournament for 2017‐18, but that will be considered when proposals are reviewed in January. C. Salary / Staffing Survey: Following up on the discussion from the spring meeting regarding a league‐wide salary and staffing survey, King contacted colleague Dick Rasmussen regarding a similar survey he had compiled for the UAA. The comprehensive survey compared staffing and salaries for various administrative and coaching positions across the member institutions. Liberty League administrators who participated in the UAA study felt the salary data was less helpful due to the differences in the cost of living in different geographic areas. For example, salaries in New York City (NYU) were typically higher than salaries in Rochester. Also, certain positions may have had varying secondary responsibilities that made comparisons difficult. Staffing and FTE levels might be a more beneficial comparison. King will solicit staffing survey tools from other conferences. D. ECAC Membership: King surveyed the members to confirm which institutions are remaining as ECAC members. Skidmore and RIT reported that they have withdrawn from the ECAC. Hobart & William Smith will withdraw after the 2017‐18 academic year when the school’s hockey programs are no longer part of the ECAC. The four institutions that are members of ECAC Hockey (Div. I) are required to remain as ECAC members as part of their separation agreement with the ECAC. V. Management Council Update Gail Cummings‐Danson provided an NCAA update on behalf of the Division III Management Council. Updates include: The NCAA has announced that it will be moving its 2016‐17 predetermined championship sites out of North Carolina, which will impact Division III soccer and tennis. The NCAA is currently soliciting bids for championships that have been impacted. New sites will be announced in October. The Playing and Practice Seasons subcommittee will be sponsoring a legislative proposal to standardize contest exemptions across all sports. A vote will be conducted on the proposal at the 2017 NCAA Convention. The committee has gathered feedback on a proposed split season in baseball, but it will not be voted on at the convention. A proposal sponsored by the Allegheny Mountain Conference did not receive a co‐sponsor. Brackets will be expanding in several Division III championship sports. The NCAA will be conducting an Athletics Direct Report Institute at the 2017 NCAA Convention. RIT Vice President Dr. Sandra Johnson will be attending from the Liberty League. 3 The NCAA Eligibility Center is changing the registration process effective January 1 whereby prospective Division III student‐athletes can register for free. PSAs will receive a unique registration number. Division III Week is slated for April 3‐9, 2017. Registration for the 2017 NCAA Convention opened on Sept. 12. VI. Submission of Concussion Data to NCAA Bob Durocher polled the league to determine how many institutions have submitted concussion data to the NCAA per the request. For institutions that do not submit data, the NCAA has indicated that it may subpoena the information. Institutions reported that compiling and producing the requested information is a manpower issue that will fall on the alumni office at most schools. Some data may be difficult to produce, but institutions are making a good‐faith effort to compile as much of the requested information as possible. VII. Liberty League Membership Review Tracy King indicated that an email had been circulated among the Liberty League presidents advocating for full membership for Stevens Institute of Technology. King had responded to the presidents that the addition of Stevens, a quality institution with a strong athletic program, would not address the league’s primary membership issue, which is the instability created due to the withdrawal of the football associate members – Merchant Marine, Springfield and WPI. The presidents asked the league to study the potential impact along with the benefits and challenges of adding Stevens. It was noted that the league had previously conducted membership studies in 2008‐09 and 2014‐15. While Stevens had been included in previous discussions, it was recommended that the information that was compiled during previous studies could be updated to reflect the current Liberty League membership. Additional study could be worthwhile to the league if helps to solve current membership issues and challenges. King will work with the Executive Committee on drafting a response letter to the presidents indicating that the league will continue to evaluate Stevens and how to best address current challenges. VIII. Officiating Assigning Services The league has moved to independent assigners in a number of sports, but there is no designated assigner in field hockey, softball and volleyball as schools use a local assigner.