This update is a tool to enhance communication between the NCAA national office and the Division III membership, with distribution to athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives, presidents, national SAAC, conference commissioners and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators listserv. We encourage athletics directors to share this communication with their athletics department members. Please contact Katie Mucci to include an item or share comments, and remember to check out the Division III governance homepage for the latest news and information.
Mark your calendars! The annual Division III Week will be held April 1-7. Division III Week is a positive opportunity for all individuals associated with the division to observe and celebrate the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community. During the week, Division III will be donating $1 to Special Olympics North America for each new follower on Instagram and X, up to $10,000. Learn more about ways to celebrate in the Division III Week Communications Kit.
The Division III health and safety survey was sent to all athletics health care administrators. In total, approximately 250 schools completed the survey. The data from this year’s survey will be incorporated into the NCAA Division III Institutional Performance Program this summer. Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey.
Division III Webinars
Webinars will be from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time the first Tuesday of the month on the following dates and topics:
March 5 – NCAA Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy.
April 2 – Division III Diversity Grants.
May 7 – Recap of SAAC, Management and Presidents Council Meetings.
June 4 – Athletic Training Working Group Updates.
All past webinar PowerPoints are on the Division III webinar webpage.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum
Registration for the 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum is now open. The Inclusion Forum will be held April 24-26 in Indianapolis. The annual NCAA Inclusion Forum brings together leaders within higher education and intercollegiate athletics, including student-athletes, to engage in powerful programming and provide practical takeaways to strengthen and advance efforts on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives. Education sessions span each of the office of inclusion’s five core areas and intersectional topics. Registration closes Friday, March 15, unless capacity is reached before this date. Click here to register. Contact the office of inclusion with any questions. For questions about accessibility and accommodations, contact Jean Merrill at jlmerrill@ncaa.org.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: Division III Former Student-Athlete Representative to the NCAA Board Of Governors Application
Each divisional national SAAC is tasked with nominating one former student-athlete who has graduated not more than four years prior to appointment to serve as a member of the NCAA Board of Governors. The term of service is two-years, effective upon adjournment of the board’s Aug. 8, 2024, meeting, with the opportunity for reappointment for an additional two years. Eligible nominees must have campus, conference, or national Division III SAAC experience. The preferred representative will have at a minimum two years of previous national Division III SAAC experience at time of nomination. They must also be a NCAA Division III student-athlete who has not graduated more than four years prior to the appointment. Division III SAAC strongly recommends the preferred candidate to be within two years of graduation. Student-athletes who graduated before July 2020 as well as current undergraduate students are not eligible. Graduate students, who were previously Division III student-athletes, seeking an advanced degree are eligible.
Please share this information with student-athletes who meet the eligibility criteria below and encourage them to apply by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 15 via the NCAA Program Hub. The application in Program Hub is listed as “Division III Former Student-Athlete Representative to the NCAA Board of Governors Application.”
As you plan for the upcoming summer camp season, remember Bylaw 13.11.3.2. You and your coaches can host or conduct camps and clinics involving prospective student-athletes, provided the following conditions are met:
The events must be open to the general public.
The events do not offer free or reduced admission to prospective student-athletes.
Any awards or mementos given to attendees are included in the admissions fees.
No athletics department staff member is employed (salaried or volunteer) in any capacity if the events are established, sponsored or conducted by a recruiting and scouting service.
A camp or clinic is considered open to the general public provided participation is only limited by number, age, gender and grade level. If participation is limited by any other criteria, including academic criteria (for example, grade-point average, standardized test score), the event is not considered open to the general public.
Non-Division III Students Enrolling in Division III Graduate Programs
A determination of whether the current Bylaw 14.1.8 blanket waiver for graduate/ postbaccalaureate student participation will be extended past the 2023-24 academic year has yet to be made. When the Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief makes a decision, the membership will be notified accordingly. Please note, however, that the blanket relief that is in place does not change anything about the criteria that a non-Division III graduate must meet; it simply alleviates the administrative burden of submitting a legislative relief waiver into Requests/Self-Reports Online. That means, no matter the subcommittee’s decision, the criteria to be granted relief will not automatically change.
To save on the institutional administrative burden, the NCAA staff recommends schools wait until after the subcommittee and Management Council meetings before submitting a waiver via RSRO for non-Division III students meeting the 14.1.8 waiver directive.
For non-Division III students enrolling in fall 2024 at a Division III school who do not meet one or more criteria, a waiver request in RSRO will still be required and may be filed now. The institution must submit documents that speak to the deficiency to try to get to an approval. If the waiver request is denied, then the student may not participate in Division III athletics as a graduate or postbaccalaureate student.
Faculty Athletics Representatives Association
Congratulations to the 2023 Faculty Athletics Representatives Association Division III FAR of the Year, Charley Jacobs from St. Norbert, and the 2023 FARA Division III Newcomer of the Year, Steven Baer from Maine Maritime. Do you know a faculty athletics representative who should be nominated for the 2024 awards? Nominate them today.
NEW DEADLINE: Sports Sponsorship Participation and Demographics Form
The sports sponsorship participation and demographics data collection will open April 1 and close June 21.
ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION UPDATES
NCAA and D3SIDA Recognition Award
The winter NCAA and D3SIDA Recognition Award recipient is Brandi Hall of Stevenson with a video for Suicide Prevention Month. Various student-athletes took part in the video to recognize the month and break the stigma around mental health.
The NCAA Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award seeks to honor the best work — including news releases, feature articles, videos, blogs and other materials — produced by Division III campus and conference athletics communication offices. Each top honoree will receive a $1,500 credit to attend Division III Day at the annual College Sports Communicators convention. The next submission deadline is May 15. For more information, click here.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: College Sports Communicators Student Program
For the sixth time, Division III will support eight students who are women and/or identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color to attend the annual College Sports Communicators convention through the Division III CSC Student Program. The 2024 convention, which includes Division III Day, runs June 9-12 in Las Vegas.
Students who meet the following criteria will be given preference:
Female and/or Black, Indigenous or people of color.
Current junior class academic standing.
Work experience in a campus or conference athletics communication/sports information office.
Strong interest in a career in Division III athletics communication (sports information).
At the 2024 CSC convention, the selected students will participate in Division III Day and be exposed to the College Sports Communicators convention, its delegates and the athletics communication profession. Grant recipients will attend welcome and debriefing meetings and be assigned a mentor. The goal is to build the pipeline to ultimately diversify the Division III athletics communication landscape.
The nomination/application process will be available on the NCAA Program Hub through 5 p.m. Eastern time March 15.
Media Coordination/Statistics Staff Contacts
To find information about whom to contact at the NCAA for media coordination and statistics, the 2023-24 assignments can be found here.
The senior woman administrator is the highest-ranking female in each NCAA athletics department or conference office. The purpose of the SWA designation is to promote meaningful representation of women in the leadership and management of college sports. The NCAA membership voted to create the SWA designation in 1981 — the same year it added women’s championships — to ensure women were involved in the male-dominated administration of college athletics. Click here for a resource regarding the SWA role and here on ways to maximize the SWA’s impact.
Diversity Spotlight Initiative
The Diversity Spotlight Initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity development projects, programming and initiatives occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices. Each month an institution or conference is identified by the selection committee to be featured on the DIII webpage and in the DIII Monthly Update. In addition, the featured institution or conference office receives $500 toward its next diversity initiative. Click here for more information.
The NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll is a storytelling initiative on ncaa.org/D3SpecialOlympics. It features new stories each month that highlight a Division III and Special Olympics joint activity or event. That school or conference receives $500 to use for its next Special Olympics event. Written and digital submissions both are accepted. Featured stories are selected based on inclusion of the student-athlete perspective and Division III messaging. To submit a story for consideration, email d3specialolympics@ncaa.org.
The winner for the month of February was the American Rivers Conference for an event held in conjunction with Special Olympics Iowa during the league’s eighth annual Leadership Conference.
On behalf of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the NCAA Sport Science Institute released the Mental Health Best Practices: Understanding and Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Wellness, second edition. The updated document, approved by the NCAA Board of Governors at its January meeting and effective Aug. 1 provides Association-wide guidance and recommendations for schools to support student-athlete mental health. A variety of educational opportunities specific to the second edition will be made available to the membership in the coming months. These may include additional SSI Spotlight sessions, learning modules and other materials. The following resources also are available to assist NCAA members in implementing the Mental Health Best Practices:
Mental Health Best Practices Checklist. Updated and included in the updated document and identifies each best practice, core component and additional element for consideration in implementing the Mental Health Best Practices.
Mental Health Best Practices Resources. A webpage that includes resources, supplemental information and implementation strategies for the Mental Health Best Practices. The list of resources is intended to evolve over time, as CSMAS will regularly review and update as appropriate.
Specific questions may be submitted to ssi@ncaa.org. Additionally, should there be interest in more detailed engagement (e.g., conference meeting presentation), please submit a speaker request using the speaker request form.
The Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee met Jan. 29-31 in Indianapolis for its annual meeting. The 2024 and 2025 rules changes will be voted on by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April.
Softball
The 2024 and 2025 approved playing rules changes and interpretations/clarifications are available here under Updates. The preseason memo and updated case book also are available at the link.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, all softballs used in competition must meet the new ball specifications, which includes a maximum compression of 275-375 pounds. This rule change was approved in the summer of 2021 to standardize ball specifications with the National Federation of State High School Associations and USA Softball.
Wrestling
The 2023-24/2024-25 Wrestling Case Book has been updated and should be used in conjunction with the 2023-24/2024-25 Wrestling Rules Book. The case book and Secretary-Rules Editor Articles are available here under Rules of the Game.
The Wrestling Rules Committee will meet April 30-May 1 in Indianapolis for its annual meeting. It is not a rules change year.
Women’s Volleyball
The 2024 and 2025 women’s volleyball rules changes can be found here.
The 2023-24/2024-25 Wrestling Case Book has been updated and should be used in conjunction with the 2023-24/2024-25 Wrestling Rules Book. The case book and Secretary-Rules Editor Articles 1-5 are available here under Rules of the Game.
Applications for the NCAA/Women Leaders in Sports 2024 Women’s Leadership Symposium, the Institute for Advancement and the Leadership Enhancement Institute are now open. The Women’s Leadership Symposium, being offered virtually May 22-23, is perfect for administrators with approximately one to three years of experience in college athletics. Participants will develop their skills, build their network and learn more about women working in college athletics. Apply here by March 22. The Institute for Advancement, planned for June 23-25 in Kansas City, Missouri, is for those further along in their careers, with approximately three to six years of experience. Participants will be inspired by engaging speakers and pioneers in women’s athletics. Apply here by April 8. The Leadership Enhancement Institute, set for June 25-27 in Kansas City, Missouri, is the premier “level two” leadership development program for women working in sports. Open to mid- to senior-level Women Leaders in Sports members, LEI provides in-depth leadership training, career coaching and advanced professional development for women executives in sport. Apply here by April 8. There are a variety of scholarships available to those who may need assistance to attend. Discover options and apply here.
Silver Anniversary Award
The nomination window for the 2025 Silver Anniversary Award is open until 5 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 26. Nominees for the 2025 award must have completed their athletics eligibility in the 1999-2000 academic year. Read about the 2024 Silver Award class, watch a video celebrating the awardees and check out the entire 2024 awards ceremony. Submit your nominations through the Applications tab on the NCAA Program Hub. The six awardees will be recognized during the 2025 NCAA Convention in January. Contact Melody Lawrence at mlawrence@ncaa.org with any general questions.
Eligibility Center Updates
The Eligibility Center will only review students who meet the Division III definition of “international student” and have initially enrolled at an NCAA Division III school for the fall2023 term, and beyond. Students who do not meet these criteria will require the member schoolto certify the student’s amateur status. Additionally, the February version of the Eligibility Center’s Division III Newsletter was released.
This email was sent to NCAA Division III presidents and chancellors, athletics direct reports, directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, sports information directors, directors of compliance, commissioners, assistant/associate commissioners, national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, provisional, reclassifying and exploratory members based on contact information in the NCAA Directory.
