Official Publication of the National Collegiate Athletic Association September 251969, Volume 26 Number 33 Nominations are open Membership has opportunity for Today’s Top Six Nominations of fall sports participants as candidates for the 1990 in filling committee vacancies Today’s Top Six awards must be received in the NCAA national By Timothy J. Lilley readers probably are thinking, “but chief executive officers are eligible office by November 1. Managing Editor, The NCAA News what the heck is it that they’re to serve on the Commission, whose Nominees must be varsity letter-winners who complete their reviewing?” members are elected to four-year intercollegiate eligibility in 1989 and must be able to attend the Yes, NCAA committee appoint- The answer is, the entire process. terms that are staggered so that no honors luncheon January 8,1989, in Dallas. Selection will be based ments are based on formal rules Here’s an overview. more than six Division I positions, on the 1989 fall sports season. adopted by the membership. The big picture three Division II positions and three An institution may nominate more than one student-athlete in a But no, the process has not been When discussing NCAA com- Division III positions are open in sport. However, no more than three selections may come from any reduced to formality. mittees, a glance at the big picture any one year. sport. There is no limit on selections from one institution. “I believe many people think it’s reveals three distinct groupings- Commission members are not Selection is based 50 percent on athletics ability and achievement; an exercise,” said Fannie B. the Association’s administrative eligible to serve a second term for at 25 percent on academic achievement, and 25 percent on character, Vaughan, who has handled the ad- structure, general committees and least two years (i.e., members whose leadership and activities. Selections are made by the NCAA Honors ministration of the Association’s sports committees. The first includes terms expire this year may not be Committee. committee-appointment system the Presidents Commission, Coun- reelected to take office before Janu- The Today’s Top Six awards are part of the College Athletics Top since the national office was situated XII. Winter-spring Today’s Top Six nominees and nominations for in a downtown Kansas City, Mis- the Silver Anniversary awards already have been received. souri, office building in the 1960s. Review of the NCAA’s entire committee- Nominations also are being accepted for the Award of Valor. The “Many apparently have the percep- appointment process currently is being award may be presented to a coach or administrator currently tion that appointing committee associated with intercollegiate athletics or to a current or former members is a formality; that deci- completed by the Association’s varsity letter-winner at an NCAA institution who, when confronted sions have been made before the Administrative Committee, which is with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized appointments are made.” potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery. The As evidence, Vaughan notes “light expected to suggest changes to the Council Award of Valor is not automatically awarded annually. response” from the membership to Nomination forms must be submitted to David E. Cawood, published calls for nominations, next month. assistant executive director for communications, NCAA, P.O. Box both for routine term expirations 1906, Mission, Kansas 6620 1. and for interim vacancies. “We be- cil, Executive Committee and Ad- ary 1992). Commission members gan announcing and seeking, nomi- ministrative Committee-the may not serve more than two terms. nations for interim vacancies in The groups that, for all intents and Election: The Commission chair NCAA News in 1984,” she rrecalled purposes, run the NCAA between each summer appoints a Presidential Officer title changes recently. annual Conventions. Nominating Committee to develop “At the time, 1 thought I wouldn’t The other groupings refer to com- a slate of nominees for upcoming be able to handle the crush of re- mittees that handle everything from term expirations. Following appoint- sponses we would get. As it has the administration of championships ment of the nominating committee, to be recommended the list of vacancies is published in turned out, however, responses to to requests for NCAA funding of The NCAA Committee on Re- all of which will be presented to the interim-vacancy announcements has research projects. Following is a The NCAA News (that list appeared view and Planning will recommend Council in its October 16-18 meet- been lighter than our annual call for look at each group. Detailed infor- this year in the July 5 issue) with a to the NCAA Council that the titles ing, included the following: nominations to fill term expirations.” mation regarding specific represen call for nominations. of the top elected NCAA officers @That the executive director be Review of the NCAA’s entire tation requirements of various After the deadline for nomina- and the executive director be asked to have the national office committee-appointment process cur committees is set forth in Constitu- tions has passed, the nominating changed. staff develop a public relations pro- rently is being completed by the tion 4 and Bylaw 21 in the NCAA committee meets to develop a slate In its September 18-19 meeting in gram for the Association to guide Association’s Administrative Com- Manual. of nominees for review by the full Kansas City, Missouri, the commit- its dealings with the membership, mittee, which is expected to suggest Administrative structure Commission in October. Following tee noted that 77 percent of all the general public and the news possible changes to the Council Presidents Commission that meeting, chief executive officers national associations in the United See Oj@ec page 2 next month. “That’s nice,” some Service: Only current institutional of all NCAA member institutions States-including most of the receive ballots. They vote only for higher education organizations. - those nominees to fill positions now call the chief staff officer “pres- New coaches within their own membership divii ident” instead of executive director, sion. executive vice-president or other Election results are announced at titles commonly used in the past. fill big jobs the Convention each January. The committee suggests that the Interim vacancies: When an in- executive director be called “presi- quite well terim vacancy occurs, the Presidents dent and executive director,” thus See Membership. page 3 eliminating the need to change any By James M. Van Valkenburg other staff titles. The top elected NCAA Director of Statistics officer, currently called president, Amendment would become chair of the Associa- Three first-year head coaches in tion. The secretary-treasurer’s title Division I-A football who were would be unchanged; and the Divi- promoted internally on staffs headed deadline is sions I, II and III vice-presidents by big-name winners are handling would become Divisions I, II and the pressure well and are off to November 1 winning starts this fall. III chairs of the Association. For one more year, the deadline “The committee was informed They are Georgia’s Ray Goff, for submitting amendments to be succeeding 200-game winner Vince that the chief operating officer of considered at the NCAA Conven Dooley, who retired from coaching; the NCAA Foundation now is called tion is November 1. president, instead of executive di- Oklahoma’s Gary Gibbs, stepping Beginning next year, the Associa- in for career .837 winner Barry rector,” said John R. Davis, former tion’s new legislative calendar, as Switzer, winner of three national NCAA president who chairs the adopted at the 1989 Convention, committee. “Also, in an earlier meet- titles, and Texas A&M’s R. C. Slo- goes into effect. Unless altered at ing, we had proposed that the term cum, replacing Jackie Sherrill, who the 1990 Convention, the deadline ‘faculty athletics representative’ be had three Cotton Bowl teams in the for membership submission of changed to ‘institutional athletics past four years. amendments then will be July I, or representative.’ In view of the func- Switzer and She& resigned with August 15 for the NCAA Council tions and activities of the chief staff their programs on probation and and the NCAA Presidents Com- officer, this appears to be a logical under a cloud, but Gibbs and Slo- mission. proposal.” cum have engineered smooth tran- For consideration at the January The committee is composed pri- sitions and are vowing to remove 1990 Convention in Dallas, however, marily of former elected NCAA the clouds. Adding to the pressure, proposed amendments to NCAA officers. Davis was chairing his final winning expectations remain high legislation must be received in the meeting of the group prior to his at all three colleges. But all three national office not kdter than Wedncs- retirement in December. new coaches say no groups can day, November 1. Other actions cxcrt any more pressure than they Procedures for proposing changes Other actions by the committee, see New coaches. page 9 Nebraska3 Ken Clark, one of Division I-A’s top rushers See Amendment, page 2 2 THE NCAA NEWS/September 25,1999 Winning field hockey coach’s Off icer Gntinurdfrom puge 1 l That the committee supports media. A review of the Association’s the concept of a longitudinal study governmental relations is to be in of the data base developed by the project aimed at aiding sport eluded in that project. American Institutes for Research in -Vonnie Gras has produced many from 1976 to 1984. In 1979, the l That the NCAA Executive Com- the 1987-88 National Study of In- winning teams during her years as a squad finished third in the World mittee be informed of the commit- tercollegiate Athletes and that such field hockey coach, but during the Cup and earned the right to compete tee’s views regarding the distribution a study include the development of next two years, she may produce in the Olympics in 1980.