LSDBi
Division III Proposal - 2025-2
MULTISPORT CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIP SIZE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT
Convention Year: 2025
Date Submitted: July 3, 2024
Status: Adopted Final
Effective Date: August 1, 2025
POPL Number: 5
Official Notice Number: 2025-2
Source: Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Proposal Category: Membership Proposal
Topical Area:
Intent: To align NCAA Division III legislative requirements for a multisport conference to be consistent with the membership size requirements for a single sport conference as well as to align legislative requirements for membership size for a multisport conference with the NCAA Division III legislation related to eligibility for Automatic Qualifiers and access to NCAA Division III Championships.
A. Bylaws: Amend 20.02.3, as follows:
[Roll Call]
20.02.3.3 Member Conference. A member conference is a group of at least sevensix colleges and/or universities that conducts competition among its members and determines a conference champion in one (single-sport conference) or more (multisport conference) sports (in which the NCAA conducts championships or for which it is responsible for providing playing rules for intercollegiate competition), duly elected to conference membership under the provisions of this article. A member conference is entitled to all of the privileges of active members except the right to compete in NCAA championships.
[20.02.3.3.1 unchanged.]
B. Bylaws: Amend 20.9, as follows:
[Roll Call]
20.9.1.2 Composition of Conference. A conference shall be comprised of at least sevensix core institutions. Provisional or reclassifying member institutions in their third year of the membership process may be considered core institutions for purposes of comprising a conference, provided there are at least four active member institutions. A conference may include provisional members in addition to the seven core members.
[20.9.1.2.1 through 20.9.1.2.4 unchanged.]
Rationale: The current NCAA Division III bylaw 20.9.1.2.2 dictates that for a single-sport conference, formal conference status may be granted provided it has six active NCAA member institutions. However, the current NCAA Division III bylaw for a multisport conference requires seven active member institutions. This proposal seeks to create consistency amongst the legislative requirements for both a single-sport conference and a multi-sport conference. In addition, this proposal seeks to better align the multisport conference membership legislative requirements with the current Division III bylaw 31.3.3.1.1 regarding eligibility of multisport conferences to receive an Automatic Qualifier to Division III Championships. Specifically, bylaw 31.3.3.1.1 only requires six member institutions that fulfill other requirements articulated in order to secure or maintain Automatic Qualifier access to NCAA Division III Championships. Thus, this proposal will not have an immediate impact or change on the requirements related to championship access or securing/maintaining an AQ for a multisport conference. Moreover, this proposal aligns with recent decisions in the NCAA Division III governance structure modifying Bylaw 31.3.1.1 to establish an access ratio of 1:6.0 in team sports. This proposal will ultimately better align applicable membership requirement and championships access bylaws for both single-sport and multi-sport conferences.
Budget Impact: None
Primary Contact Person:
Corey Borchardt
, Commissioner
Email: cpborchardt@umacathletics.com
Alternate Co-sponsorship Minimums:
No
Co-sponsorship - Conference:
North Coast Athletic Conference
Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference
Co-sponsorship - Institution:
None
Position Statement(s):
Review History:
None
Convention Vote:
Date of Vote:
January 17, 2025
For: 406
Against: 54
Abstain: 2
Not Present:
Legislative References
| Division | Number | Title |
|---|---|---|
| III | 20.02.3.3 | Member Conference. |
| III | 20.9.1.2 | Composition of Conference. |