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.
Championships Committee, August 11 Alcohol sales at championships. The committee continued its review of the division’s alcohol legislation, noting that current legislation prohibits the sale of alcohol at championships except for during joint championships with other divisions, which requires a waiver to be granted if the contests are not held at the same venue as Division I. The committee agreed, and Management Council supported, that it would be worth surveying the membership regarding their alcohol practices and policies for regular-season and conference events. Accordingly, the committee asked staff to draft survey questions for the committee to consider during its next meeting in September.
NCAA Power Index (NPI). The committee reviewed the proposed NPI changes from sport committees and continued to provide feedback and ask questions accordingly. The committee requested additional conversations regarding the rationales for the proposed changes and as such agreed to hold on final approval until the committee’s September meeting.
Championships policy versus sport committee flexibility. The committee began discussing the concept of championships policy versus sport committee flexibility – for example, what items within championships operations rise to the level of applying fundamentally to all sports as opposed to other items that could be left to a sport committee’s discretion to regulate in the best interests of that sport (e.g., presentation of awards, postgame procedures, NCAA patches, banquets, bench size, etc.). The committee will continue its discussion with sport committee chairs during its September meeting.
Men’s and women’s basketball.
The committee approved the recommendation to require institutions selected to host preliminary rounds in the Division III Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships to have cameras that capture the entirety of the competition court. It also modified the recommendation to only encourage compliance for the 2027 championship before requiring it beginning in 2028.
The committee approved the basketball committees’ request to move the semifinals and championship games to Friday and Sunday from the current Thursday/Saturday format, noting that game dates would revert to Thursday/Saturday if an advancing school has a “no play Sunday” policy.
Women’s lacrosse.
The committee approved the recommendation to accept the invitation from Division I to participate in a joint championship in 2027 and 2028 and conduct the 2027 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship game at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, MD, and the 2028 championship game at Subaru Park in Philadelphia, hosted by Temple University.
As part of the approval for the joint championships in 2027 and 2028, the committee approved the recommendation to change the tournament schedule to align with the dates and setup of the joint championship, with the first round being on Wednesday following selections, the first weekend (Saturday-Sunday) being the second and third rounds and the second weekend being the quarterfinals and semifinals. The semifinal winners will advance to the joint championship on Memorial Day weekend. Because there are five weekends in May 2027, there will be a weekend off between the semifinals and the final, with the semifinals taking place May 16 and the final May 29.
Joint DIIICA and NADIIIAA Executive Board meeting, August 19-20 Updates and discussion. The leadership from the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators and Division III Conference Commissioners met with NCAA staff at the national office to discuss various topics, including Division III championships, the 2027 NCAA convention, Division III Analysis, congressional engagement, and eligibility.
Future priorities. The group also discussed the priorities for NADIIIAA, DIIICA and the Division III governance structure for the coming year and opportunities to support each group’s priorities.
Membership Committee, Aug. 20 Waiver requests. The committee considered sports sponsorship waiver requests from three institutions.
Upcoming Meetings and Anticipated Discussions.
NIL Working Group, August 31 Revisiting the resources. The working group plans to review the existing NIL resources available to the Division III membership, focusing closely on the institutional involvement resource. It will determine whether there are any gaps or information that needs to be added in the coming months.
Surveying the scene. The working group will also finalize survey questions that will be sent to the membership to assess the status of NIL activities across Division III. Three separate QR codes – for student-athletes, coaches, and administrators – will be shared with the membership on September 1 to begin gathering feedback.
Looking ahead. Finally, the working group will develop an outline for the planned report out to the membership at the Issues Forum at Convention.
Reminders.
Required Forms. Stay on track throughout the year with a list of required forms and key actions for institutions and conference offices.
Show Me the Money. Looking for professional development and funding opportunities? Check out the chart outlining Division III grants and programs, along with application timelines and program benefits for 2026-27.
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.
