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.
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.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: DIII Week Joint Social Media Blast
Join us in celebrating Division III with a coordinated social media blast at 3 p.m. Eastern time Monday, April 1. We ask all members to post a celebratory Division III Week message at this time, using the hashtags #D3Week and #WhyD3.
2024 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar
Registration is open for the 2024 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar. Please click here to register. The three-day event offers participants the opportunity to select from a variety of sessions and programming offerings. To view the full schedule and session offerings, click here. A frequently asked questions document is available here. If you have questions about the seminar, please visit the event webpage or reach out to ncaaregionalrulesseminars@ncaa.org.
At least once every three years, an active member school must be represented by at least one institutional staff member at a NCAA Regional Rules Seminar. Unsure if you need to attend? Please reference the Division III Institutions Required To Attend the 2024 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar List. This year’s in-person seminar is June 12-14 in Las Vegas. If you have attendance requirement questions, contact Eric Hartung at ehartung@ncaa.org.
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:
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.
Sports Betting
The NCAA has launched Draw the Line, a campaign prioritizing student-athlete education on the effects of sports betting while also addressing problem gambling for all who consume and participate in college sports. According to a recent report from the American Gaming Association, $2.72 billion could be wagered with American sportsbooks on this year's March Madness tournaments, nearly twice as much as is believed to have been wagered on this year's Super Bowl. Draw the Line is aimed at college students and will run across social media channels. It also includes a membership toolkit for member schools and conferences to access resources that extend the campaign to their campuses. Sports betting is legal in more than 30 states, and more than half of college-age students report having bet on sports at least once in the previous year. According to a 2023 NCAA study, it's pervasive among 18- to 22-year-olds on college campuses, with 67% having engaged in sports betting.
When one of your teams is participating in a foreign tour, your institution must certify in writing that the team will meet the conditions in Bylaw 17.31.1. Further, there are three areas to focus on when planning a foreign tour:
Timing: A foreign tour may occur once every three years during the summer vacation period, between the institution’s spring and fall terms or during any other vacation period published in the school’s official catalog. All travel to and from the foreign country must take place during that vacation period (Bylaw 17.31.1.4).
Eligibility: To accompany the team on a tour that occurs during the academic year, student-athletes must be regularly enrolled and eligible for intercollegiate competition. If the tour is taking place during the summer, the student-athletes must have been enrolled at the school as a full-time student during the previous academic year and have established by the beginning of the tour that they are eligible for competition for the academic year immediately after the tour (Bylaw 17.31.1.6).
Eligible incoming student-athletes may only go on a foreign tour that begins after the permissible starting practice date in their sport or after the first day of classes of the first regular term at the institution (Bylaws 17.31.1.6.1 and 17.31.1.6.1.1).
Practice Opportunity: Ten days of practice are permitted before a team’s departure. Those days do not have to be consecutive if there are extenuating circumstances (like exams, convocation, etc.) but must occur during the 20 calendar days immediately before the foreign tour departure date. Only student-athletes who will accompany the team on the foreign tour are permitted to participate in the 10 practice days (Bylaw 17.31.1.7).
Graduate/Postbaccalaureate Student Participation
At its March meeting, the Division III Subcommittee for Legislative Relief considered whether it should extend the 2023-24 blanket waiver for graduate/postbaccalaureate student participation for non-Division III graduates. The subcommittee supported a recommendation by the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee to incorporate the existing waiver directive into the manual. That recommendation will be put in front of the Division III Management Council for sponsorship of noncontroversial legislation at its April meeting. In the interim, the subcommittee extended the current blanket waiver for those students enrolling in the 2024-25 academic year, and it will remain in effect until such time that the noncontroversial legislation would be effective (or otherwise defeated).
NOW OPEN: Sports Sponsorship Participation and Demographics Form
The Sports Sponsorship Participation and Demographics data collection opened Monday and will close June 21.
2023-24 NCAA Compliance Forms Application Scheduled Outage
On Friday, May 17, the 2023-24 NCAA compliance forms application will be offline for an extended period of time for annual maintenance and form updates. While the application is offline, users will be unable to access the system, including any data stored within the application. PDF versions of the 2023-24 forms for all three divisions will still be available within the membership section of ncaa.org. Please direct any questions to forms@ncaa.org.
Faculty Athletics Representatives Association
Congratulations again 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.
ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION UPDATES
NCAA and D3SIDA Recognition Award
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.
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.
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.
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.
Post-Eligibility Insurance Program Launches in August
The NCAA sponsors a Post-Eligibility Insurance Program that will begin Aug. 1. The program is a way the NCAA can support student-athletes beyond their playing days. It was announced by the Board of Governors in 2023 as part of the effort to modernize NCAA rules and support student-athletes. The program will be available to all student-athletes at all schools in all divisions.
For up to two years (104 weeks) after student-athletes separate from school or voluntarily withdraw from athletics, the program will cover accident medical expenses for athletically related injuries sustained during participation in a qualifying intercollegiate sport, including NCAA emerging sports. The program will provide excess accident medical coverage for properly documented injuries that occur on or after Aug. 1.
The coverage provides benefits in excess of any other valid and collectible insurance. The policy will have a $90,000 excess limit per injury, with no deductible. Of the $90,000 available, up to $25,000 will be available for mental health services related to an eligible, documented athletic injury.
On behalf of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the NCAA Sport Science Institute is pleased to announce that Mental Health Best Practices for Understanding and Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Wellness, second edition, which is an interassociation consensus document, is now available. The updated document, which was approved by the NCAA Board of Governors at its January meeting and will become effective Aug. 1, provides Association-wide guidance and recommendations for schools to support student-athlete mental health. As a reminder, Association-wide legislation (see Bylaw 16) requires all schools to provide mental health services and resources consistent with the Mental Health Best Practices. To view the full message sent to the membership and for additional resources, click here.
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 rules change was approved in the summer of 2021 to standardize ball specifications with the National Federation of State High School Associations and USA Softball.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: Nominations Now Open for NCAA Awards
Nominations are now open in the NCAA Program Hub for the 2025 Theodore Roosevelt, Inspiration, Valor and Silver Anniversary awards. In addition, for the first time, member schools are invited to submit nominations for the Gerald R. Ford Award andPat Summitt Award via the NCAA Program Hub. Submit your nominations through the “Applications” tab in the NCAA Program Hub by 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday, April 29.
The Theodore Roosevelt Award recognizes a former student-athlete who is now a distinguished citizen of national reputation exemplifying the ideals to which college sports are dedicated.
The Gerald R. Ford Award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for college sports over the course of a career.
The Pat Summitt Award recognizes an individual working the NCAA membership who has demonstrated devotion to the development of college athletes over the course of the nominee’s career and made a positive impact on student-athletes’ lives.
The Award of Valor honors courageous action when confronted with personal danger.
The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes former student-athletes with outstanding accomplishments in the 25 years since college. This year’s nominees must have completed their athletics eligibility in the 1999-2000 academic year. That means if a nominee competed in a final season of football in fall 1999 or final season of softball in spring 2000, the individual would be eligible for the 2025 award.
Eligibility Center Updates
Students enrolling in the fall can request final amateurism beginning April 1 before Division III full-time enrollment. For more information, click here.
Register for the Eligibility Center’s Division III spring webinar on April 11.
Get information about the Eligibility Center sessions at the 2024 Regional Rules Seminar in June in Las Vegas.
Presidents and Management Council Joint Meeting, March 1 Subcommittee for Legislative Relief, March 15 Championships Committee, March 19 Administrative Committee, March 19-20 Financial Aid Committee, March 20 Membership Committee, March 21 Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, March 25 Interpretations and Legislation Committee, March 28 Nominating Committee, March 28
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.
