The NCAA Division III staff has created this bi-weekly communication for the Division III membership to provide up-to-date communications on recent Division III governance meeting discussions and outcomes. Please share this communication with your campus and conference colleagues
Recent Governance Meetings - Key Discussions and Outcomes.
Administrative Committee, August 28 2026 governance proposals. The committee reviewed and approved in final legislative form the 2026 NCAA Convention legislative proposals sponsored by the Division III Management Council, consistent with the September 1 deadline. The proposals can be accessed via LSDBi, and the publications of all proposals will be available by October 1.
Noncontroversial legislation. The committee reviewed and approved, in final format, a noncontroversial proposal implementing a new structure for establishing playing rules. Check out this FAQ that outlines the changes and addresses questions that may arise from them. The committee also approved two non-controversial proposals providing for greater collaboration and flexibility to resolve infractions cases.
Championship bracket enhancements. The committee approved the request to increase the field size for the Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship from 12 to 13 teams and the field size for the Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship from 19 to 21 per Bylaw 31.3.1.1 for the 2025-26 championship.
AMA and Division III merger. Staff noted that a review of regulatory affairs and governance resulted in a recommendation to merge the Academic and Membership Affairs and Governance groups into three divisional departments. Each department, named Governance and Member Services, will be overseen by the current divisional vice presidents with all three reporting to a new Senior Vice President of Governance and Member Services. The new structure took effect Sept. 1. Jenn Fraser, vice president of Division I governance, has assumed oversight until the hiring of the new senior leadership position. Enforcement and the Eligibility Center will continue to be separate units and also will report to the new senior vice president. This merger will allow the Division III national office staff to maintain its high level of service to the membership and provide a more integrated approach.
Upcoming Meetings and Anticipated Discussions.
Convention Planning Subcommittee, September 8 Issues Forum and Business Session. The subcommittee will review the initial agendas for the 2026 Convention Issues Forum and Business Session.
Division III convention sessions The subcommittee will review the current Division III sessions and programs scheduled for the 2026 NCAA Convention.
Championships Committee, September 8-9 Championship bench size. The committee will continue its review of the current championships bench limits and consider recommendations from sport committees for potential implementation effective for 2025-26 championships.
Bracketing pilot. The committee will review an analysis of flights year over year including year one of the bracketing pilot that used NPI seeds to separate top ranked teams in championships.
Video review requirements. The committee will review a resource detailing the video review requirements for hosting championships preliminary rounds by sport.
Championships equity update. The committee will receive a presentation on championships equity updates from the last academic year and how monitoring will continue into the future.
FAR Advisory Group, September 9 Review of a Division III membership proposal. The group will review the membership proposal related to the criteria for determining a student-athlete’s season of eligibility. The group’s feedback will be shared with the Management Council at its October meeting.
2025 Division III FAR Institute. The group will review the participant roster and approve the agenda for the FAR Institute to be held November 18 and 19 in conjunction with the 2025 Faculty Athletics Representative Association (FARA) annual meeting in Indianapolis, IN.
Presidents Council Futures Subcommittee, September 10 Strategic items. The subcommittee will engage with the NCAA governance relations staff and Division I vice president to discuss congressional engagement and the Division I governance restructuring, respectively. It also will review and discuss recent conference movement. The Presidents Council identified these items as key strategic priorities.
Nominating Committee, September 10 Committee vacancies. The committee will meet to review the nominations for the January 2026 committee vacancies, the immediate vacancies for the new playing rules structure along with a handful of immediate vacancies.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee, September 16 Legislative landscape. The committee will receive an update on the current DEI legislative landscape.
Diversity programs. The subcommittee will discuss upcoming Division III programs (e.g., Student Immersion Program) and receive updates on the OneTeam and Inclusive Leaders programs.
Interpretations and Legislation Committee, September 16-17 2026 Convention proposals. The committee will review the 2026 Convention Legislative Proposals and do the following: (1) Begin developing relevant questions and answers for the membership; (2) Recommend positions for the councils regarding membership sponsored proposals; and (3) Recommend the order and grouping of proposals for the vote at convention.
Legislative actions. The committee also will engage in a review of recent legislative actions adopted by the other divisions for consideration by Division III.
Membership Committee, September 18 Membership requirements. The committee will continue a discussion on the bylaws and policies related to Division III membership requirements with a focus on the requirement for a representative from each Division III member institution to attend the Regional Rules Seminar once in three years.
Reminders.
Committee service. We are seeking nominations for the following Division III rules committees: Baseball (2 openings); Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey (2); Men’s Lacrosse (2); Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving (2), Men’s and Women’s Track and Field (2), and Men’s Wrestling (2). Please forward the nomination link to your head coaches and/or administrators (e.g., SWAs, SIDs) to consider submitting a nomination by the Sept. 17 deadline.
With every communication, we also anticipate additional questions. Please send all questions to DIIIGovernance@ncaa.org.
This email was sent to NCAA Division III Presidents Council, Management Council, commissioners, directors of athletics and the NADIIIAA executive board based on contact information in the NCAA Directory.
