Red Tabs = Members Only
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Division II: Working with your
Institution and Conference on Legislative Issues
You need to look at the legislative process from three different
levels. You need to know how things work at the institutional, conference and
national level in order to best use the system to your advantage. Once you
understand how the process works at each of these levels, communication is the
key to making this process work for you.
First, an athletic department's administrators have influence on the vote of the
conference. Institutional administrators will have a vote within their
conference. Each conference is different in how they vote and who votes. The
first step in communicating your position on legislation is to communicate with
your institutional administrators.
Talk with your administrator about the particular proposal(s) that affect your
program. Use language they would use such as the proposal number (i.e., 2004-27,
2004-15). Explain to your administrators why you are opposed to or support the
proposal. It is also helpful to explain to your administrator(s) the position of
the AVCA.
Communication with your administrator is quite possibly the most important not
only to discuss your position on current proposals but also other legislative
issues you might have. If you feel strongly about competitive inequities or
recruiting advantages, communicate these with your administrator(s).
1. Talk with your institutional administrator(s) about your position on
legislative proposals that directly affect your program or about other
legislative issues you might have regarding NCAA legislation.
Second, learn what processes your conference has in place to propose legislation
and how the conference vote it determined. Each conference has in place, a
process by which they go through to determine which issues will be proposed. Not
all conference issues will rise to the level of proposing legislation.
Also, each conference hosts administrators' meetings at which time they
determine which issues will be proposed. Each conference is different in how
many meetings are held each year and who attends those meetings. Some
conferences hold two or three administrators' meetings a year, some conferences
hold only one administrators' meeting each year. In some conferences, the
Director of Athletics and the SWA attend these meetings. In other conferences,
only the Director of Athletics attends. (The Faculty Athletics Representative is
also considered in the process but this also varies by conference.) For those
conferences who hold more than one or two meetings a year, many times they only
discuss legislation during one designated meeting.
2. Find out when your conference administrators' meetings are held throughout
the year to discuss legislative proposals and who attends those meetings.
At these administrators' meeting(s), institutional administrators discuss all
sides of an issue and the merits of it. How an issue rises to the level of
discussion at these meetings can happen in a variety of ways (and, of course,
varies by conference). Some issues are brought forward for discussion through
the reporting of your coaches' conference minutes (from the meeting you have
with the other coaches in the conference and the conference administrator).
Another way is for an administrator present to suggest the issue and
discussion/debate to ensue. Regardless of how the issue is brought to the table
for discussion at these meetings, communication with your administrator(s) about
how you feel on a legislative issue, whether they're proposals or just concerns,
is VERY important. Administrators, if they don't know how you feel, will try to
guess and vote accordingly.
Each year, some conferences submit numerous proposals while others never propose
legislation. It's important to understand the history of how your conference has
been represented through legislation.
After an issue has been thoroughly discussed and debated, a vote is taken to
determine if a proposal should be put forth into the Legislative Cycle. The
process by which votes are rendered varies between conferences as well. In some
conferences, on the Director of Athletics votes while in other conferences, the
Director of Athletics and the SWA have a vote. (The Faculty Athletics
Representative is also considered in the process but this also varies by
conference.) Finally, similar to the Legislative Cycle (Presidents Council), the
Presidents are given final approval to move forward. This may also vary by
conference as some conferences don't require their Presidents to approve the
submission of proposals.
3. Find out how votes are rendered and who gets to vote at your conference
meetings.
Fourth, communicate with your conference office about how you feel on
legislative issues. Even if you communicate with your institutional
administrators, those at the conference office also need to understand how you
feel about these legislative proposals (or concerns about legislative issues
that affect competitive equity and recruiting advantages). Your contact at the
conference office should be the compliance directors or your sport's liaison
from the office.
4. Talk with your conference office personnel about your position on legislative
proposals that directly affect your program or about other legislative issues
you might have regarding NCAA legislation.
Fifth, get to know who represents your conference on the President's Council,
Management Council, Membership Committee, Legislation Committee, Championships
Committee, and Academic Requirements Committee. These are the individuals who
will be rendering votes on behalf of the conference on the national level. You
should also contact them to communicate to them how you feel on legislative
issues. They can also provide some insight into why proposals have been
submitted from these committees. They sit through various meetings throughout
the year listening to research and issues being debated. They have a lot of
insight into what's being done on the national level.
5. Find out who represents your conference on the national committees
(President's Council, Management Council, Membership Committee, Legislation
Committee, Championships Committee, and Academic Requirements Committee).
Finally, if at all possible, organize the coaches within your conference to have
one position. Sometimes, this isn't possible due to various issues going on on
their own campuses but whenever a coaching group can come together unanimously,
it holds more weight than when individual coaches are having various positions
on the issues. Keep in mind, conferences only have so many votes (some only have
one vote) therefore, collectively coming together makes a stronger position.
6. If at all possible, organize the coaches within your conference to have one
position.
The key to success within this process is communication. Constant communication
with your institutional administrators, conference administrators and those that
represent the conference on the national committees will prove beneficial.
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