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.

Championships Committee, Sept. 20-22
NCAA Power Index (NPI). The committee approved the proposed NPI dial changes that will be effective for the 2027-28 championships. 

The following sports will have new NPI dials effective with 2027-28: 

NPI WEIGHTS
Sport	Win%/SOS	Home/Away Win/Loss	QWB	QWB Multiplier	Overtime (Ties)	Retained Wins
FALL SPORTS
Men’s Soccer	15/85 20/80	1.0/1.0	54.0 51.5	.750 .600	(.500) .450	10.0
Women’s Soccer	20/80	1.0/1.0	54.0 52.5	.500	(.500)	8.0 10
Women’s Volleyball	20/80	1.0/1.0	55.5 52.5	.600 .550	100/0	10.0 12.5
WINTER SPORTS
Women’s Ice Hockey	25/75 20/80	1.1/0.9	53.0 52.0	.500	67/33 (RS) 100/0 (PS)	9
SPRING SPORTS
Men’s Lacrosse*	25/75	1.0/1.0	52	.500	100/0	7 8.5
Softball	25/75	1.0/1.0	54 52	.500 .550	100/0	12 15

Alcohol sales at championships. The committee endorsed surveying the membership to garner its feedback regarding the division’s current legislation that prevents the sale of alcohol at NCAA championships.

Championships policies and committee flexibility. The committee continued to discuss various aspects of Division III championships that should apply fundamentally to all sports versus aspects that should be left to each sport committee’s discretion. Staff will compile a list of current practices for the committee to discuss at a future meeting.

Men’s and women’s basketball. 

• Host video review requirements. The committee approved that men’s and women’s basketball preliminary round hosts will be required to have cameras that capture the entirety of the competition court (either by one wide angle or by a combination of multiple camera angles) effective for the 2028 championships. It is recommended for 2027 championships.
• Championships date change. The committee supported the recommendation that the men’s and women’s basketball championships final site be adjusted to Friday and Sunday from the current Thursday and Saturday format. The semi-finals and finals would revert back to Thursday and Saturday if an institution with a “no play Sunday” policy advances to the final site.
• Notification of selected hosts. The committee supported allowing sport committees to notify preliminary round hosts of their selection as host prior to the bracket being announced. The committee will allow championships managers flexibility on the timing of the notice provided the sport committee has voted to finalize the host institutions and that the only information shared is the number of institutions for which the host should prepare. This will be permitted in all sports, not just men’s and women’s basketball.

Cross country and track and field. 

• Average time gap. The committee approved the recommendation to add the average time gap from the scoring student-athletes (five) to the selection criteria effective with the 2026 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
• Regional alignment. The committee approved the following regional alignment changes to be effective for the 2027 cross country championships:

New Region	Institution	Current Region
Region II (Mideast)	Purchase College, SUNY	Region III (Niagara)
	Manhattanville University
Region III (Niagara)	Clarkson University	Region II (Mideast)
	St. Lawrence University
	Plattsburgh State University
	SUNY Canton
	SUNY Potsdam
Region IV (Mid-Atlantic)	Allegheny College	Region VI (Great Lakes)
	Cedar Crest College	Region V (Metro) (women)
	Carlow University	Provisional, Active 2027-28
	DeSales University	Region V (Metro)
	Moravian College
	Muhlenberg College
	Penn State University, Altoona	Region III (Niagara)
Region V (Metro)	New York University	Region III (Niagara)
	Yeshiva University
	Sarah Lawrence College
	Pratt Institute
	Lehman College
	University of Mount Saint Vincent
	Hunter College
	John Jay College of Criminal Justice
	Penn State University, Brandywine	Provisional, Active 2027-28
Region VII (South)	Regent	Provisional, Active 2028-29
	Johnson & Wales University Charlotte	Provisional, Active 2028-29
Region X (West)	Azusa Pacific University	Reclassifying, Active 2029-30

Women’s lacrosse. The committee approved the recommendation for Division III women’s lacrosse to participate in a joint championship in 2027 and 2028 with Divisions I and II. The 2027 championship will be played at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University and the 2028 championship will be played at Subaru Park in Philadelphia, hosted by Temple University.

Men’s and women’s soccer. The committee approved that the men’s and women’s soccer committees may apply nullification in the event a coach or student-athlete fails to serve a game suspension earned through card accumulation. 

Swimming and diving. The committee approved the following hosts for the 2027 Division III men’s and women’s diving regionals:

Region	Host	Location
Central	University of Chicago	Gerald Ratner Athletic Center
Midwest/South/West	Centre College	Champions Hall
Northeast-South	Ithaca College	Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium

Tennis. The committee supported the men’s and women’s tennis committees’ request to be included as part of the current live streaming pilot for Division III that provides a stipend of $1,000 per day of preliminary round competition provided the funding be approved through the governance structure.

Wrestling. The committee approved Ohio Northern University to host the 2027 Division III Men’s Wrestling Regional IV tournament. 

FAR Advisory Group, Sept. 21
Membership sponsored legislative proposals. The group reviewed the Eligibility - Age-Based Eligibility Model proposal and declined to take a position to recommend to the Management Council. The Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) will take a position on this proposal, and all legislative proposals at its November Annual Meeting.

FAR Institute. The Advisory Group received an update on the planning and preparation for the FAR Institute which will be held November 8-10 in conjunction with the FARA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis.

Financial Aid Committee, Sept. 30
Membership sponsored legislative proposals. The committee reviewed the Eligibility – Age-Based Eligibility Model proposal and declined to take a position to recommend to the Management Council.

Interpretations and Legislation, Sept. 23-24
2027 NCAA Convention legislation. The committee conducted its review of the slate of legislative proposals submitted ahead of the 2027 NCAA Convention. The committee took the following positions on the membership proposals: 

• Age-Based Eligibility Model. The committee did not reach consensus on the proposal; therefore, its recommendation to Management Council is to take no position at this time. During its discussions, the committee recognized the complexities and nuances of the proposal and expressed concern that the full implications cannot be adequately assessed within the three-month period leading up to the Business Session.
• Football Spring Period. The committee recommends that Management Council oppose this proposal. The committee expressed concern about the strain this proposal could place on institutional resources, including support personnel, athletics staff, and facilities.

Injured student-athletes and use of a season. The committee received an update on the status of the current discussions and provided additional feedback to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement to consider at its December meeting.

Student coaches and managers. The committee discussed how student coaches and student managers are legislatively and interpretatively treated and determined that students acting as athletics support staff should be treated consistently, regardless of the title assigned by the institution.

Staff interpretations. The committee reviewed and approved two staff determinations: (1) Regional Training Centers; and (2) Initial Academic Eligibility Decisions on Transfer Student-Athletes.

Convention Planning, Sept. 28
Educational sessions. The subcommittee reviewed the content for the Division III and joint educational sessions.

Division III programming. The subcommittee reviewed the schedule for the Division III programming for the 2027 NCAA convention. The subcommittee also reviewed the draft agendas for the Division III Issues Forum and Business Session and discussed the content for the Issue Forum topics.

NIL Working Group, Sept. 29
Survey results. The working group reviewed the response data from a survey shared with administrators, coaches, and student-athletes across Division III to assess the state of NIL in the division.  

Issues Forum preparation. The working group instructed staff to develop an initial set of guardrails and guiding principles to be reviewed at the October meeting. The working group is looking to provide those items for the membership’s consideration and feedback at the 2027 Issues Forum.

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Oct. 1
2027 NCAA Convention proposals. The committee reviewed the five legislative proposals in preparation for upcoming conference feedback sessions. Committee members will present the proposals to their conferences, gather positions (support/oppose/abstain), and submit conference feedback by November 1.

Membership Committee, Oct. 1
Membership sponsored legislative proposals. The committee reviewed the Eligibility – Age-Based Eligibility Model proposal and declined to take a position to recommend to the Management Council.

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Upcoming Meetings and Anticipated Discussions. 

Division III Analysis Working Group, Oct. 6
Eligibility case study. The working group will discuss reaction and feedback from the membership regarding the eligibility case study. It also will spend time reviewing the age-based eligibility proposal and determine if it wants to provide a position [support, oppose, no position] to the councils.

Tension options. The working group members will begin to review the options that the Presidents Council assigned to them. Based on an electronic vote, the working group prioritized the options and will focus on the following during its meeting (in priority order): 

Playing seasons and resources:

• Comprehensive review of traditional and nontraditional segments.

Economic tension:

• Legislative Cost Scoring.

Economic tension:

• Financial Peer Benchmarking (includes Plug & Play Cost Model, Athletics ROI, and Impact Analysis).

Economic tension:

• NCAA Tech Centralization.

NCAA Convention. The working group will begin its preparation for a report-out to the Division III membership at the 2027 Issues Forum in Anaheim.

Case study. The working group will revisit a case study regarding membership segmentation.

Joint Legislative Steering Subcommittee, Oct. 12
2027 legislative proposals. The subcommittee will review the five convention proposals and recommend to Presidents Council which proposals, based on established guiding principles, would be of interest to Division III presidents and chancellors.

Membership Committee, Oct. 15
Reconsideration of waiver requests. The committee will reconsider its decision on two recent waiver requests. 

Review of the Division III Analysis Working Group report on Division III membership. The committee will review a report from the Division III Analysis Working Group related to potential changes to minimum sports sponsorship criteria. The committee will determine appropriate next steps.

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Reminders. 

NPI resources. There is a new webpage on ncaa.org that provides information and resources regarding NPI. The page includes new resources to understand NPI, explain the calculations and dials, and NPI rankings. Please share broadly with your campus constituents and fans. 

Division III eligibility case study. With guidance from an outside consultant, the working group has recently developed a case study focused on Division III’s eligibility rules. The case study is intended to help the membership frame the discussion around current eligibility rules in light of a 2027 NCAA Convention proposal that would move the division to an age‑based, five‑year model. The working group encourages campus and conference constituents to use the case study to help frame their discussions.