INDIANAPOLIS—Delegates to the 2008 NCAA Convention will vote on a number of key issues in college sports, including restrictions on text messaging in recruiting, possible Canadian membership in Division II and limits on male practice players in Division III.

Delegates from all three divisions will also discuss future membership growth within the NCAA, including the possible creation of a Division IV.

The 2008 NCAA Convention begins Thursday (Jan. 10) at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Center in Nashville, Tenn., and runs through Monday, Jan. 14.

For the third consecutive year, Division I delegates will participate in override voting during the Division I Legislative Forum, scheduled for Saturday (Jan. 12). Representatives from Division I member colleges and universities will vote on modifying financial aid for baseball student-athletes; eliminating text messaging and other forms of electronic communication with recruits; and changing dates-of-competition rules for men’s and women’s golf.

The Division I Board of Directors reaffirmed its position on all three proposals in response to the override requests, though the baseball measure was revised. The latest version, requiring at least 25 percent of a baseball student-athlete’s financial aid package to be athletics aid, will be voted on at Convention. All countable financial aid — not just athletics aid — can be included in the calculation toward the minimum.

The original proposal required a 33 percent minimum of athletics aid (without including all countable aid) and was adopted from the Baseball Academic Enhancement Working Group recommendations. The proposal retains the financial aid model of 11.7 equivalencies and limits the number of students who can receive aid to 30 in 2008-09 and 27 in 2009-10 and thereafter and caps the regular-season squad size at 35.

The Board cited the legislation as an important piece of the package adopted from the working group. The other measures the Board adopted eliminate the one-time transfer exception in baseball and require baseball student-athletes to be eligible in the fall term for participation in the spring.

Delegates also will consider the elimination of text messaging and other forms of electronic communication between coaches and recruits. While the requisite number of override requests was received to call for the Board to reconsider its approval of the measure, not enough requests were received to suspend the legislation, which took effect Aug. 1.

Finally, the men’s and women’s golf legislation changes the dates-of-competition rules by providing the option of nine three-day tournaments or 24 dates of competition.

For a successful override, a five-eighths majority of those Division I delegates present and voting must cast votes to overturn the legislation.

The Management Council will be asked to table the proposals related to student-athlete likeness, as NCAA President Myles Brand announced in December he was forming a presidential task force to further review the issue. 

Proposals approved by the Division I Management Council will be forwarded to the Division I Board of Directors for consideration on Monday (Jan. 14).

Division II members will vote at Convention to allow Canadian institutions to begin the membership process. The division would be the first to adopt enabling legislation to begin the 10-year pilot program previously approved by the NCAA Executive Committee at last year’s convention. If Division II adopts the legislation, a Canadian school could become an active Division II member within three years.

Other notable Division II legislation includes a proposal to prohibit text messaging to prospects, except after they have signed a National Letter of Intent or have received a written offer of aid from the institution; a measure to raise core-course requirements for prospective student-athletes from 14 to 16; and a proposal allowing more than one group of student-athletes to participate in simultaneous skill instruction sessions.

As a part of Convention programming, Division II will conduct a session on game environment on Saturday (Jan.) 12 from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. This educational session is a follow up to a summit on the topic last July and is designed to provide a clearer definition of a positive competitive environment. The game environment initiative is designed to help member schools re-establish the link between educational purpose of Division II athletics and the competition environment at Division II events.

Division III delegates will have at least three opportunities – the Association-wide gathering on Saturday (Jan. 12); the Division III issues forum on Sunday (Jan. 13); and breakout discussions during the Division III annual business session on Monday (Jan. 14) – to learn about and react to models proposed by a Division III working group for creating a fourth NCAA division or subdividing Division III.

Division III delegates will also be asked to vote on several legislative proposals, including measures to limit the use of male practice players in women’s team sports; banning of text messaging by coaches in recruiting; and requiring the presence of personnel certified in first-aid and CPR and other safety training at athletics activities.

Division III delegates will also vote on several proposals sponsored by member conferences but opposed by the Division III Presidents Council. They include:

•         Permitting Division III schools to provide academic or other support services specifically for student-athletes, so long as they are comparable to services provided for nonstudent-athletes.

•         Allowing provisional member institutions to be counted by a conference toward the seven-institution requirement to receive automatic qualification in a sport’s championship.