The NCAA's 100th birthday party wasn't just for show.
After a screening of "Glory Road," the 2005 Disney film which tells the story of the 1966 national champion Texas Western basketball team, the Div. III delegates to the 2006 NCAA Centennial Convention got down to business. The convention met in Indianapolis in early January and took up an agenda that included drug testing, financial aid for athletes, red-shirting policy, soaring membership problems and a refinement of the division's overarching philosophy.
As a NESCAC member, Tufts will likely feel few effects from the measures, as NESCAC regulations usually exceed the baseline provided by the NCAA, as evidenced by the league's later practice start dates and limits on out-of-season play.
"In general, most NCAA reform legislation has absolutely no direct impact on NESCAC schools," Tufts Athletic Director Bill Gehling said. "Our regulations have always been more restrictive than NCAA Div. III rules and remain so."
One of the controversial issues on the agenda was the possible implementation of year-round drug testing for Div. III athletes. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports has proposed extending the practice, well-established in Divs. I and II, to Div. III institutions, which have historically resisted the move on the grounds that it singles out athletes from the rest of the student body involved in extracurricular activities.
Currently, Div. III athletes are subject to random testing only if they compete in NCAA championship play. However, the results in Divs. I and II - steadily decreasing rates of drug and steroid use, a general promotion of athletes' health, and the assurance of integrity in competition - have raised interest in expanding the policy.
In addition, Div. III athletes reported the highest rates of social drug use of the three divisions, according to an NCAA study conducted in 2005. With an estimated annual $1.3 million price tag, however, the committee is considering a pilot program before deciding whether to recommend year-round testing throughout the division at its April meeting.
Another divisive proposal aimed to reinstate the practice of red-shirting (having freshmen forgo their first season to further develop their strength and skills, while using their fourth year of eligibility as a fifth-year senior). The practice was ended at the 2003 convention and the ban has survived repeated efforts to repeal it; this year's measure was defeated by a 2-1 margin.
Supporters of the practice were vocal, using a centerpiece of the division's own mantra - equality of opportunity for athletes and non-athletes - to argue that the ban on red-shirting discriminates against fifth-year athletes while many institutions allow fifth-year seniors to participate in other extracurricular activities.
"Clearly, our presidents support the Div. III philosophy, which says that students and student-athletes are the same," said Marcus Pryor, a football player at the College of Mount St. Joseph and member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). "If this is true, we ask why, for example, do students with an interest in drama have the opportunity to participate in a university play for five years if they choose to do so?"
Dan Fisher, the NESCAC's Assistant Director for Conference Operations, disagreed, arguing that the continued ban is indeed consistent with the league's philosophy.
"We've never allowed red-shirting - we don't believe in it, and our institutions don't believe in it," he said. "SAAC makes a valid argument, but the main concern is abuse, in that it could give some institutions an unfair advantage in recruiting and competition."
The most challenging issue still
facing Div. III institutions is the increasing growth and diversity of its membership. With over 430 members, Div. III is the largest of the three divisions, and its size has caused problems with access to championships, division-wide services, and NCAA staff support.
Recent decades have seen a flood of new members and the formation of hodge-podge conferences receiving automatic qualifying bids to NCAA championships. The question of a membership cap looms large over the division's leadership, and the issue was referred to an NCAA Executive Committee for further study.
"Membership is a very tricky issue because, on the one hand, you don't want to limit opportunities for student-athletes to compete, but you have to understand the finances of situations," Fisher said. "There's ballooning membership but finite resources; the finances aren't going to change and that's going to limit experiences for a lot of student-athletes."
The Div. III votes resolved many of the questions addressed by the "Future of Division III" reform effort designed to mediate several divisive issues and clarify the role of athletics in the Div. III experience. Begun in 2002, the plan was one of self-assessment, examining the pervasiveness and strength of the underlying Div. III philosophy in several areas of competition.
This introspective spirit carried through to the Centennial Convention, as 99 percent of delegates voted in favor of Proposal 9, which amends the Div. III philosophy statement to state that "the administration of an institutions' athletics program should be integrated into the campus culture and educational mission."
The proposal underscores the role of coaches as educators, emphasizes academic parity between athletes and non-athletes, and codifies the division's commitment to non-preferential admissions standards.
The measure embodies the underlying philosophy that distinguishes Div. III - that athletics, while a valuable educational and developmental tool, should supplement academics within the existing philosophy of the institution.
