Division II approves football scheduling proposal, pair of ...

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Division II's football-sponsoring delegates at Saturday's business session of the 2024 NCAA Convention narrowly approved a proposal that permits schools to play their first permissible contest one week earlier than the current legislative date. The proposal is effective Aug. 1.

Another football proposal that would have guaranteed all football-sponsoring conferences representation in the championship bracket was defeated by one vote. That proposal was also voted on only by football-sponsoring delegates.

The full Division II delegate body approved two other proposals with legislative changes to championships.

Football-only proposals

The membership-sponsored proposal amending the first permissible football contest date to a week before the Thursday preceding Sept. 6 was approved by an 89-80 vote margin, with one abstention. Rationale of support for the proposal included providing schools with the flexibility to schedule and play the maximum allowable 11 contests over a 12-week period, if desired, and decreasing the burden of finding available nonconference opponents. Supporters of the proposal noted this change will provide the ability to schedule a bye week during the season, which will benefit student-athlete health and safety. The first permissible practice date will be 24 days before a school's first contest or 10 days before the school's first day of classes, whichever is earlier.

The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee opposed the proposal, citing concerns that football players' summers will be reduced and include less time for internships. Davaris Cheeks, former football player at Concordia-St. Paul and member of Division II SAAC, spoke against the safety merits of the proposal during the business session.

"The bye week is not a true week off as practices would likely still be required by coaches," Cheeks said. "This legislation poses a misconception that football student-athletes would get a week off. However, it would be an extension of the season, and it would add additional practices, increasing the possibility of injury for football student-athletes."

The other football proposal, sponsored by the Division II Presidents Council, was defeated by an 83-84 vote margin. The proposal would have amended earned access legislation to require representation in the championship bracket from all football-sponsoring conferences by including the highest-ranked team in a conference not already represented in the bracket. Currently, earned access legislation in football only applies if a conference is not represented in the bracket and has a team ranked within the top nine of a super region.

Other proposals

Division II delegates approved a proposal by a wide margin to amend legislation around automatic qualifiers, granting automatic qualification privileges in all team sports other than football, effective Aug. 1. Currently, that decision is left up to each sport committee. The proposal was sponsored by the Presidents Council.

As a result of the changes to automatic qualifiers legislation, the Division II Championships Committee will, via policy, establish a 60% maximum for automatic qualifiers in a bracket to ensure sufficient representation from at-large selections. To mitigate the possibility of a sport exceeding the 60% limit, the committee also will establish as policy that bracket expansion be considered at the next budget opportunity whenever a sport reaches a 50% threshold. However, should a sport exceed the 60% limit while being considered for bracket expansion, the Championships Committee may maintain automatic qualification while the bracket size is being addressed.

"This legislation will ensure that all conferences that sponsor team sports, other than football, will be represented in the national championship," said Regan McAthie, director of athletics at Concordia-St. Paul and a member of the Division II Championships Committee. "This may help with sponsorship growth, as well, as there would be guaranteed access for the conference when at least six members sponsor the sport. We know that championship access is often discussed when evaluating whether institutions and or conferences are looking to add a sport, and this legislation removes that barrier."

Division II delegates also approved a proposal, sponsored by the Presidents Council, to amend the number of sponsoring schools needed to establish and/or maintain a Division II championship to 35 for both men's and women's sports, effective Aug. 1. Currently, the minimum sports sponsorship requirement is 50 for men's sports and 40 for women's sports. The proposal includes a three-year grace period for a sport that falls below the minimum sponsorship of 35 schools to allow it time to regain the necessary sponsoring schools before the championship is discontinued. The proposal also eliminated the legislative exceptions for championships in Olympic sports that fall below the current thresholds, as well as men's and women's lacrosse. Men's and women's lacrosse both are well above the 35-school threshold. 

One membership-sponsored proposal was not moved for a vote by its sponsors during the business session. It proposed limiting softball's playing season to 56 contests (games and scrimmages) during the segment in which the NCAA championship is conducted and adding eight additional contests (games and scrimmages) during the nonchampionship segment. The proposal was formally opposed last fall by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the Division II Legislation Committee, Championships Committee, Management Council, Presidents Council and SAAC.

Award of Excellence

During the division's business session, Roberts Wesleyan was awarded the 2024 Division II Award of Excellence. The award is determined by the Division II SAAC based on events over the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership.