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.
Click here to access the updated annual Division III fact sheets, including the 2022-23 budget.
Annual Report
Division III recently released its 2021-22 Annual Report. This report highlights the major events, award recipients, team champions and other notable achievements from the past academic year.
NCAA Directory
As we start a new academic year, it is important to make sure your school and conference information is up to date in the NCAA Directory. NCAA communications are sent to the email addresses in the directory. Click here for instructions on how to update your NCAA Directory information.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Review Framework
This sample framework shares a suggested structure and questions to ask in a thorough, collaborative and proactive diversity, equity and inclusion review process. It was created at the request of the NCAA membership for optional use and reflects the priorities expressed in the NCAA Board of Governors inclusion statement (equitable participation, inclusive cultures, the learning environment, programming and education, and hiring practices). The framework includes questions for a broad-based campus team to ask or information to consider and prompts schools to remedy self-identified shortfalls through a series of suggested action items. The NCAA recognizes that the substance of each review will vary by division, school, conference, public/private and other affiliations, region and state. The goal is that schools will discover and put in place pathways for student-athletes and staff to reach their full potential. The NCAA is working on a separate resource for conference offices, to be published in the spring.
Deadline Approaching: Attestation of Rules Compliance
The attestation of compliance course for presidents and chancellors and the attestation of compliance course for directors of athletics are now available. To satisfy this requirement, each president/chancellor and director of athletics must annually complete an online attestation course by Oct. 15. The five- to seven-minute courses are available via the NCAA Learning Portal (also known as Division III University). The school’s Single-Source Sign-On administrator must give access to the portal and assign the course. Click here to learn more about the attestation of compliance.
Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete
The 2022-23 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete is now available for download. The guide is designed to assist with understanding the NCAA Eligibility Center registration and academic requirements, and how institutions can help student-athletes.
Division III Webinars
Webinars this fall will be from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on the following dates and topics:
Oct. 4 — Division III diversity grants.
Nov. 1 — Updates from Management and Presidents Council meetings.
Dec. 6 — Academic and membership affairs review of 2023 Convention legislation.
All past webinar PowerPoints are on the Division III webinar webpage.
Diversity Grant Applications Open
Applications have opened for the Division III diversity grants. The grants provide funding to members committed to enhancing ethnic minority and gender representation in athletics administration and assistant coaching positions. For more information and to apply, visit this website.
Waivers provide relief of the legislation when your school or conference can demonstrate that mitigating circumstances exist to warrant flexibility. NCAA staff is frequently asked about the types of waivers that are available for the Division III membership. Click herefor a chart that helps to break down some of the most common waiver types.
If you’re considering submitting a waiver request on behalf of a student-athlete or your school, please use the following resources:
Case Precedent: Case precedent (from the past three years) for cases submitted through RSRO can be found by using the Search tab.
NCAA Division III Management Council Subcommittee for Legislative Relief Information Standards, Guidelines and Directives: This document outlines the assertions and required documentation for several types of legislative relief waivers.
RSRO Online Training — Assistance in Submitting a Waiver: Click on this link for a step-by-step video on how to submit a waiver in RSRO.
During its recent videoconference, the Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief extended the existing blanket waiver for Bylaw 14.1.9 through the end of the 2022-23 academic year. The blanket waiver, which permits schools to self-apply relief to student-athletes who did not graduate from Division III institutions but do meet the four criteria of the directive for compelling and exemplary academic success, was originally set to expire following the 2023 NCAA Convention. At its March 2023 videoconference, the subcommittee will determine whether relief is also appropriate for student-athletes enrolling at Division III institutions for the 2023-24 academic year. Schools are encouraged to consult the Bylaw 14.1.9 Blanket Waiver Q+A document and submit any additional questions through RSRO.
UPDATED: Previously Approved Waivers Checklist The Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief also recently approved an addition to its Previously Approved Waivers Checklist. The checklist is a resource that permits institutions to self-apply relief of NCAA legislation in specific situations without needing to file a formal legislative relief waiver request in RSRO. The addition provides relief from the admissions legislation in Bylaw 14.1.7.1 when schools can demonstrate that students will be enrolled in a program specifically structured for individuals with intellectual disabilities. More information and the full PAW Checklist can be found here.
Legislative Timeline The legislative timeline for the remainder of the 2022-23 legislative cycle is summarized below.
Nov. 1: Deadline for amendments to amendments and all resolutions. All amendments to amendments (which do not increase the modification of the original amendment/proposal) and all resolutions must be received in the national office not later than 5 p.m. Eastern time Nov. 1. No amendments to amendments sponsored by the membership may be submitted after this date. The Presidents Council is authorized to submit further amendments to amendments at the Convention if it deems such action necessary, provided it is approved by two-thirds of the council and copies are distributed before or during the business session.
Nov. 15: The Official Notice will be available for distribution to the entire membership through a hard-copy mailing. The Official Notice includes all membership-sponsored legislation (as modified by a sponsor modification submitted by the Sept. 15 deadline), all Presidents Council-sponsored legislation, all properly submitted amendments to amendments and resolutions (submitted by the Nov. 1 deadline) and all position statements issued by the Division III Councils.
Jan. 11-14, 2023: NCAA Convention: All delegates receive the NCAA Convention program when they register at the Convention. The Convention program contains the most up-to-date meeting schedule and other helpful information. Changes of an editorial nature to the proposed legislation (as it appears in the Official Notice) will be noted for the membership on the Convention floor at the beginning of the business session.
The next submission period for the Division III and D3SIDA recognition award runs through Oct. 15. Click here f
or more details. The award is a partnership between the Division III governance staff and the Division III College Sports Information Directors of America. The recognition program is part of the Division III Identity Initiative. It seeks to honor the best news releases, feature articles, videos, blogs and other materials produced by Division III campus and conference athletics communication offices to portray the Division III identity and student-athlete experience.
Deadline Approaching: 2022-23 Basketball Schedules and Rosters
Schedule Deadline: The deadline for submitting basketball schedules is Wednesday, Oct. 5. Even if you auto-upload a schedule, you must log into the system to add neutral-site locations and fully submit your schedule. Your schedule WILL NOT be considered complete until this has been done. Please see the Presto
or Sidearm directions for additional help.
Roster Deadline: The roster form should be updated before each team’s first contest (including exhibitions). Please review the instructions
for more information, including how to add returning student-athletes back onto the roster and how to link up transfers.
The Diversity Spotlight Initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity-related projects, programming and initiatives occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices. To submit an initiative for consideration for November, email Katie Mucci with a brief statement (no more than 500 words) as to why your school or conference office deserves to be the spotlight recipient. Attach a video or photo if applicable. The nomination deadline is Oct. 21.
Diversity Tip of the Month
The fifth annual Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign, Oct. 18-20, presented by the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee and the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees, is less than three weeks away. The campaign is a prime opportunity for student-athletes, administrators, coaches and fans across the country to use their platform to create a dialogue surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion and to communicate the need for and importance of developing inclusive environments to enhance the student-athlete experience. To learn more, click here
for a comprehensive one-page handout about the campaign and visit the Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign website, which contains a multitude of resources and strategies to assist you and your student-athletes.
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. Starting in October, the story with the highest number of votes on the 15th
day of each month is the winner. 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 360 Proof PFI is now available within MyApps on ncaa.org, apps.ncaa.org. You can reduce the harms of student-athlete drinking just by sharing your school-specific personalized feedback index link with student-athletes and encouraging them to use the PFI. Not only does the application promote harm reduction for those students who make the choice to drink, but it also encourages abstainers to continue their low-risk behavior. Contact Leah Kareti with any questions about the resource.
In mid-August, conference commissioners received information on the NCAA Background Check Program, including a tutorial on how to access background check reports for officials in their conference. More information on the NCAA Background Check Program is available here
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Baseball
The list of approved changes can be found here under the “Updates” heading. These changes will be incorporated into the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Baseball Rules Book, available here later this fall.
Ice Hockey
The 2022-23 and 2023-24 NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Book is now available. You may download a copy here.
Soccer
Volume 3 of the 2022 Playing Rules Questions and Interpretations is now available here. Volumes 1 and 2 also are available at the link. For playing rules questions, please contact Rich Grady, NCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Secretary-Rules Editor, at ncaasoccersre@gmail.com.
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.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, 700 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 US
