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, the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, conference commissioners and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators electronic mailing list.
We encourage athletics directors to share this communication with their department members. Please contact Adam Skaggs at askaggs@ncaa.org to include an item or share comments, and remember to check out the Division III governancehomepagefor the latest news.
Nine former college athletes have been selected as finalists for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The nine finalists, three women from each NCAA Division, were selected for their outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The Division III finalists are:
• Mikayla Bisignani, Johns Hopkins University.
• Naomi Hill, North Central College.
• Eka Jose, Washington University in St. Louis.
The finalists and Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during a virtual awards show Tuesday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. (Eastern). The show will be streamed on the NCAA Twitter account and ncaa.org/woty. Read more about each finalist here.
2021 Special Convention and 2022 NCAA Convention
Registration for the 2021 Special Convention and the 2022 NCAA Convention is now open. The Constitution Committee representatives encourage everyone to register for the virtual Special Convention, to be held noon to 5 p.m. Eastern time Nov. 15. There is no fee for registering. There will be a Division III-specific session from noon to 2:30 p.m. for the membership to review the proposed changes to the constitution and provide feedback. Each division will provide feedback during the Association-wide portion of the Special Convention from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern time.
The 2022 Convention is Jan. 19-22 in Indianapolis. Key events include:
State of College Sports — afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Honors Celebration — evening of Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Association-wide Business Session — afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 20.
Division III Issues Forum — morning of Friday, Jan. 21.
Saluting Excellence Luncheon: 2022 Diversity and Inclusion & Ford Awards — 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 21.
Division III LGBTQ of the Year Celebration — 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21.
Division III Business Session — morning of Saturday, Jan. 22.
Visit the 2021-22 Division III Convention resources webpage to access resources for the Special Convention and NCAA Convention. Staff will post key information (for example, the Special Convention agenda, instructions to access the virtual platforms, the Official Notice, the legislative proposal Q&A guide, and education session PowerPoints) on this page as it becomes available.
Division III Student attendees at 2022 NCAA Convention
Do you have a student from your institution who is planning to attend the 2022 NCAA Convention? The student registration fee is $50, and students must register for Convention and lodging in the same manner as all other delegates. (Note: Students serving on the national Division III Student Athlete Advisory Committee, SAAC associate members or students selected through the Division III Student Immersion Program will be registered for the Convention through a different process.) Click here
for a chart that identifies programming the staff and Division III SAAC believe will be beneficial to Division III student attendees.
2022 Student Immersion Program
The seventh annual Division III Student Immersion Program will be Jan. 19-22 in conjunction with the NCAA Convention. A subgroup of the Division III Diversity and Inclusion Working Group selected this year’s participants
, who consist of 40 students of color interested in a career in athletics. The selected students will be exposed to Division III, its members and the governance process. In addition to taking part in the scheduled Division III Convention programming, participants will attend welcome and debriefing meetings, participate in a DISC assessment and be assigned to a mentor.
2022 Senior Woman Administrator Program
After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, the NCAA Division III governance staff is excited to announce the fourth annual Division III Senior Woman Administrator Program. Division III will provide funding for 30 senior woman administrators to attend a division-specific program April 21-22 in Indianapolis. The program’s goal is to provide professional development and networking opportunities for SWAs, in particular, those seeking to become athletics directors and/or conference commissioners. Topics discussed will include preparing your resume and cover letter for the next search, positioning yourself to advance your career, and discussing the SWA’s current role and responsibilities. The application process is available on the
NCAA Program Hub, titled “2022 Division III Senior Woman Administrator Program,” until 5 p.m. Eastern time Nov. 30.
Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete
The Eligibility Center has released the 2021-22 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete. This guide has been designed to help college-bound student-athletes, their families and high school administrators understand the NCAA initial-eligibility process and to help high school athletes transition to becoming NCAA Division I or II student-athletes.
Division III Webinars
Webinars will be from 1:30 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on the following dates and topics:
Nov. 2 — Updates from Management and Presidents Council meetings.
Dec. 7 — Academic and membership affairs review of 2022 Convention legislation.
Feb. 1 — 2022 NCAA Convention recap.
All past webinar PowerPoints are on the Division III webinar webpage.
Financial Reporting System
Schools now can submit athletics finance information voluntarily to the NCAA via the Financial Reporting System. The submission deadline is Jan. 15. Contact Andrea Worlock with questions. Additional information can be found here.
Bylaw 16.1 defines the limits for awards a student-athlete may receive for participation in athletics while representing the school. It’s important to keep in mind that any award provided to a student-athlete for participation in athletics while representing the school that exceeds the limits defined in 16.1 would be considered an extra benefit and would typically impact a student-athlete’s eligibility and involve restitution to reinstate the student-athlete’s eligibility. The limitations in bylaw 16.1 apply to both currently enrolled student-athletes and student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility but remain enrolled at the school.
Figures 16-1 (Participation Awards), 16-2 (Championship Awards) and 16-3
(Special Achievement Awards) of the NCAA Division III Manual outline the limits regarding the maximum value of the awards, the number of times the award can be provided and who can provide the awards. Besides cost and frequency, athletics department and schools must also be aware that some awards are not permissible as awards for representing the school. These include: cash, gift certificates/cards that are redeemable for cash, and country or sport club memberships (Bylaw 16.1.3).
The legislative timeline for the remainder of the 2021-22 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. 19-22, 2022: NCAA Convention: All delegates have access to the NCAA Convention App when they register at the Convention. The App contains the most up-to-date meeting schedule and other helpful Convention information.
DISC assessments are an important resource that schools and conference offices use to help their student-athletes, coaches and administrators learn more about their behavioral styles and how their individual styles come together in a team environment. This assessment provides an overview of individual behavioral styles and preferences, a common language when addressing these topics and methods to better relate to others. It also provides additional strategies to build more effective relationships within the workplace and athletic setting.
NCAA leadership development has arranged for the DISC assessments to be offered at no cost. If you are interested in a DISC workshop, please email disc@ncaa.org. You will be sent a request form that you will need to fill out in its entirety in order to secure your workshop. Visit the DISC webpage for more information.
Division III Diversity Grants
Proposals are now being accepted for Division III diversity grants. The grants provide funding to schools and conference offices committed to enhancing ethnic minority and gender representation in athletics administration. Grant proposals must be submitted via the NCAA Program Hub by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 31, 2022. Division III offers the Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant and the Strategic Alliance Matching Grant. Click here
to access the guidelines for these grants, view selection committees, browse scoring rubrics and sample applications, and look up current and past recipients.
Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute
NCAA leadership development welcomed 15 minority athletics administrators from Oct. 12-15 at the NCAA national office. The Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute boasts a successful track record of producing high-level leaders throughout college athletics.
The Leadership Institute provides tailored programming to assist ethnic minorities in strategically mapping and planning their careers in athletics administration. Learners in the program spent time exploring goals, clarifying values and looking closer at their behavioral styles, as well as those of their peers. They engaged in eye-opening discussions centered on self-awareness vital to continued personal and professional development. Division III was represented in the cohort by Rebecca May, assistant athletic director/senior woman administrator at Moravian.
The program has produced 40 current directors of athletics in its 20-year history, while also consistently seeing over 75 percent of its cohort members receive promotions or additional job responsibilities during the yearlong program. This Leadership Institute cohort will reconvene in person for another week of experiential education in July, when members will officially graduate from the program.
New Chancellors and Presidents Programming
NCAA staff members are available to help orient new chancellors and presidents to college sports through the Chancellors and Presidents Engagement Program. Engagement opportunities can range from webinars to on-campus visits. The program is geared toward chancellors or presidents in their first two years on campus. Contact Sarah Sadowski for more information or to set up an engagement.
As a reminder, the NCAA Freshman Experience curriculum is still open for registration for freshman and first-year transfer student-athletes on a first-come, first-served basis at no charge to the membership for the 2021-22academic year. The program can be implemented at any time during this academic year. Further, implementation is fully supported by the NCAA Freshman Experience service provider. To sign up for, or to learn more about the Freshman Experience, go tothefreshmanexperience.org.
Congratulations to Jeremy Kniffin, director of athletic communications at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, on receiving the 2021 Fall Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award. The selection committee of D3SIDA members chose Kniffin’s feature "1946-2021: 75 Years of Great Athletics Moments." The series was exceptionally well done, and Division III and D3SIDA applaud the work and efforts. Award winners receive a $1,500 credit to attend Division III Day, held in conjunction with the annual CoSIDA Convention.
The Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award is a partnership between the Division III governance staff and the Division III 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.
The next submission period opens in mid-November and closes Feb. 15. For more details on the recognition award, click here.
CoSIDA Recognition Week
The sixth annual College Sports Information Directors of America Membership Recognition Week date is set for Nov. 3-9. This week is an opportunity for those who interact with collegiate sports information and athletics communication directors to observe and celebrate the impact these individuals have on intercollegiate athletics. Click here for the CoSIDA Week promotional kit, which includes recommendations and best practices for a number of constituencies in collegiate athletics to recognize SIDs.
2021 NCAA Fall Championship Selection Schedule
Stay up to date with the Division III fall championship selection schedule right here.
There were no submissions for the October Diversity Spotlight. The Diversity Spotlight Initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity-related projects, programming and initiatives occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices. All selected recipients receive $500 toward their next diversity initiative. To submit an initiative for consideration for November, email Louise McCleary, 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 Nov. 21.
Diversity Tip of the Month
The NCAA encourages participation by student-athletes with disabilities (physical or mental) in intercollegiate athletics and physical activities to the full extent of their interests and abilities. An NCAA member school has the right to seek, on behalf of any student-athlete with a disability participating on the member’s team, a reasonable modification or accommodation of a playing rule, provided that the modification or accommodation would not:
Compromise the safety of, or increase the risk of injury to, any other student-athlete.
Change an essential element that would fundamentally alter the nature of the game or provide the student-athlete an unfair advantage over the other competitors.
Welcome to a Decade of Inclusion, a way to highlight the 10-year anniversary of the partnership between Special Olympics and NCAA Division III: https://on.ncaa.com/ucf2ux #whyd3 #ChooseToInclude #UnifiedGeneration. In celebration of this milestone, Division III National SAAC challenges its conference/partner conference pairs to a duel. Click here for more.
The New FAR Orientation will be conducted Feb. 17-19 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis. Because the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association is not having an in-person annual meeting in 2021-22, this orientation is being held as a stand-alone event. Faculty athletics representatives with less than two years of experience are invited to apply for the program, which focuses on understanding the Division III model of athletics and exploring the role of a Division III FAR. Participants will have the opportunity to build networks of new and experienced FARs and to establish goals for engagement in the role. Nominations will be open in the NCAA Program Hub
from Oct. 1 to 5 p.m. Eastern time Nov. 15. Selections will be announced Dec. 1. Contact Leah Kareti with any questions.
Finals are approaching, as are the holidays! For students who have been physically on campus, their first trip home may be right around now. Equip parents with strategies for talking to their students — that means considering parent-based interventions detailed in CollegeAIM, as well as getting collegeparentsmatter.org in the hands of parents.
Visit the 360 Proof content library to watch the webinar from Oct. 27, featuring national experts Rob Turrisi, Amaura Kemmerer and Suniya Luthar, on The Role of Parents: Influences, Opportunities for Intervention, and Alcohol Use by College Students.
Winter Sports Playing Rules Waivers Related to COVID-19
Due to continuing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, playing rules waivers for several sports have been granted for the 2021-22 winter season. Click here to access the waivers found under “Playing Rules Resources” and here for the waiver chart. The playing rules waivers are consistent with the guidance included in the previously published NCAA Resocialization of Collegiate Sport documents. The NCAA playing rules committees and staff will continue to monitor any additional developments and make adjustments as appropriate. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact Rachel Seewald, director, NCAA Playing Rules and Officiating.
General Playing Rules
Future rules changes with a potential financial impact can be found
here.
Men’s Lacrosse
As a reminder, beginning with the 2022 season, all institutions must have two visible shot clocks with the ability to set/reset the clocks to two different times.
As a reminder, beginning with the 2022 season, all field players must wear shoulder pads certified to the NOCSAE commotio cordis protective device standard at the time of manufacture, or they must wear an alternative protective device certified to the NOCSAE commotio cordis protective device standard at the time of manufacture (CSMAS recommendation).
Soccer
2021 Soccer Playing Rules Questions and Interpretations Volumes 1 and 2 can be viewed
here.
The Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee is now accepting your playing rules change proposals for consideration for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Please use this
link to submit your proposal and rationale. This form must be fully completed for the proposal to be accepted. All proposals must be received by Nov. 5.
Softball
Mandatory Regular-Season Barrel Compression Testing for 2022 Season — As a reminder, regular-season BCT will be required for all NCAA DI, DII and DIII competitions beginning Jan. 1, 2022. This necessitates purchasing the required equipment, including the G4 SSL NCAA Softball Bat Compression Testing unit available at www.barrelcompression.com and a sufficient number of destructible bat stickers. Please note, the NCAA softball testing unit differs from both the NCAA baseball testing unit and the USSSA softball testing unit. Information on BCT required equipment and protocol guidelines is available in the
NCAA Softball Bat Compliance and Testing Information. If you have any questions about the BCT required equipment or protocol guidelines, please contact Dee Abrahamson at abrahamson@niu.edu.
2022 and 2023 Softball Playing Rules Changes — The 2022 and 2023 softball playing rules changes can be viewed
here. Each institution and conference sponsoring softball will receive a complimentary hardcopy of the 2022 and 2023 Softball Rules Book in early November.
Wrestling
The 2021-22 and 2022-23 Wrestling Rules Book, Case Book and rules changes can be found
here.
Baseball
The Baseball Rules Committee and Playing Rules Oversight Panel recently approved one rules change for the 2021-22 season. The rule permits the use of exclusively one-way electronic communication devices from the dugout to the field. You can find the rules change here.
Baseball bat barrel compression testing becomes required for all regular season games beginning with the 2022 season. Information regarding the bat testing process can be found in Appendix G of the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Baseball Rules Book and here on the NCAA Baseball Playing Rules page. The NCAA is aware of only one manufacturer, Bat Testing Solutions (barrelcompression.com), at this time. Please contact Ben Brownlee (bbrownlee@ncaa.org) if you have additional questions.
Field Hockey
The 2021 Field Hockey Rules Modifications are available
here, including COVID-19 playing rules waivers.
Gymnastics
The NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Rules Modifications and the 2021-22 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Rules Modification Document can be found
here.
Swimming and Diving
The NCAA Swimming and Diving Newsletter for October can be found
here under Updates.
Men’s Water Polo and Women’s Water Polo
The most recent NCAA Water Polo Rule Interpretations can be found here under Updates.
This email was sent to NCAA Division III presidents and chancellors that serve on Division III committees, athletics direct reports, directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives, senior woman administrators, sports information directors, directors of compliance, commissioners, assistant/associate commissioners, national SAAC, 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