INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division III Presidents Council discussed ways to effectively share and discuss results from a membership survey that seeks guidance on how to manage the division’s growth and diversity, among other issues during its October 28 meeting.

The Council heard a brief summary of preliminary results of the survey, but made no effort to interpret the data.  Instead, it focused on ways to share the results with the Division III membership, including planning a January 9 forum to discuss the survey during the 2005 NCAA Convention in Dallas.

The Council also endorsed plans by the Division III Management Council to solicit reactions to survey results from the division’s “virtual focus groups” – e-mail discussion groups that include chief executive officers, faculty athletics representatives, athletics administrators, student-athletes and coaches from each conference and independent institutions.

Through October 27, 61 percent of the Division III membership institutions (261 institutions) responded to the survey, including 236 institutions in 40 multi-sport conferences and 25 independent institutions.

The Council also made preparations for the business session of the Dallas Convention, reviewing proposed legislation that is scheduled for voting.  Included were three proposals from member conferences.  The Council voted to oppose a football-related proposal by the American Southwest and New Jersey Athletic Conferences and a gymnastics-related proposal by the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conferences.  The Council voted to take no position on a proposal by the Empire 8 to permit alumni contests in selected sports to be exempted from playing-and-practice-season limits.

The football proposal would permit limited skill instruction – specifically, use of a football in passing-, catching- and kicking-related drills – during the currently permitted five-week conditioning and strength-training period.  The gymnastics proposal seeks to reinstate the “out-of-season exception,” or what previously was known as the “safety exception,” to permit coaches to be present during a voluntary workout in the sport.