Sept. 6, 2005

As of today, we have had little communication with our member institutions affected most severely by Hurricane Katrina.  These members are Dillard University, Loyola University, Southern University at New Orleans, William Carey College and Xavier University of Louisiana (collectively, the "Affected Members").  While we know other members were "affected", and we certainly hold these schools and individuals in our thoughts and prayers, this letter addresses potential issues associated with the closings of these campuses for most or all of this semester.

We first and foremost want to offer our assistance in any way we can.  We have a number of NAIA institutions facing immense challenges, and we are focusing right now on day-to-day recovery for those institutions and their student-athletes. 

However, we also need to understand the short-term plans for conducting athletic programs at the Affected Members.  We will continue to reach out to representatives from these schools to seek direction on how we can accommodate their student-athletes while developing policies and enforcing rules that will place the Affected Members in the best possible positions when they re-open. 

To that end, we are considering a number of scenarios regarding transfers, cancelled athletic contests and qualifications into post-season play, among other issues.  The NAIA's Council of Presidents will review the scenarios and determine what policies, if any, may need to be amended in order to accommodate the affected schools and student-athletes. 

Your coaches or athletics director may have heard from student-athletes interested in enrolling at your institution.  In this context, please keep in mind that NAIA rules remain in place, pending consideration of potential accommodations by the Council of Presidents.  Specifically: 

1. It is our understanding that some Affected Members in New Orleans have encouraged students to seek admission at other accredited institutions.  Please remember that NAIA transfer regulations remain in effect at this time.
    

2. Current rules regarding identification at an NAIA institution and use of terms of attendance have not been modified.
    

3. Student-athletes may practice with an intercollegiate team without being charged with a season of competition, but participation against outside competition continues to result in use of a season of competition.

We anticipate receiving information from Affected Institutions very soon concerning their plans for resuming classes.  With that information in hand, we will be in a position to turn our attention immediately to the best approach for hastening student-athletes' return to classes and competition.

We have established a central point of communications for updates at www.naia.org, and we encourage you to consult this site frequently in the days ahead.

While we appreciate how difficult this is for individual students faced with fall enrollment and a shortage of reliable information, it is clear we must defer to each school given the grave situation they find themselves in today.  If you have any comments or questions regarding the above mentioned issues, please contact John Leavens in our membership services department at 913-791-0044 or jleavens@naia.org.  Please feel free to contact me at the same number.

Thank you, 

Steve Baker
NAIA President and CEO

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