Mark your calendars! Plans are underway for the NAIA 2008 Convention. The 67th annual
meeting will take place at the Galt House Hotel and Suites in Louisville, Kentucky, April 11–15.

The NAIA 2007 Convention in Kansas City, the association’s 66th annual meeting, surpassed expectations for attendance, celebrated achievements of some of the NAIA’s true pioneers, and charted a course for character-driven intercollegiate athletics.

Attendance of over 400 delegates and guests (representing 232 member institutions and conferences) broke the mark set in San Diego last year by a substantial margin. A pre-convention workshop hosted in partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) and sponsored by Daktronics drew favorable reviews from the 100-plus participants, more than twice the number expected for this inaugural event.

Sunday’s awards banquet, sponsored by Mutual of Omaha, provided the occasion to honor lifelong achievements of three of the 19 individuals inducted this year into the NAIA Hall of Fame: Dr. Greg Feris, Wayland Baptist University; Dan Harris, Baker University; and Robert Johnson, Pittsburg State University. The evening was highlighted by a special commemoration of the Tennessee State University men’s basketball team on the 50th anniversary of the NAIA’s landmark integration of college sport and the first of three consecutive Tennessee State national titles.

The Council of Presidents placed its final stamp of approval on the NAIA strategic plan, a product of more than 18 months of membership feedback, focus groups and presidential leadership. The plan, highlighted in NAIA President Jim Carr’s State of the Association address, outlines a clear vision for character-driven intercollegiate athletics, guiding principles for all NAIA activities, and strategic initiatives that will place special emphasis in the near term in four areas:

1. Integrity in the conduct of NAIA athletics programs, including clear standards and increased accountability as a condition of NAIA membership.

2. Increased engagement of all NAIA members in association programs, with particular attention to governance and administration of affiliated conferences.

3. Increased national and local publicity for NAIA athletics programs and student-athletes, with an emphasis on key stakeholders in the higher education community, partnerships at the local and conference levels, and exposure through national media.

4. Implementation of a comprehensive financial development plan that boosts corporate partnerships and cause-related and philanthropic giving.

For the listing of the strategic plan, principles, strategies and objectives CLICK HERE. (PDF)

For a full copy of NAIA President Jim Carr’s State of the Association address CLICK HERE.
 

Direct Qualification

Direct qualification for NAIA championships was discussed in a wide variety of sessions throughout the convention. The Direct Qualification Task Force appointed by the Council of Presidents to develop specific recommendations in 11 sports used this year’s convention to garner feedback from the membership in an open forum, with additional comments from governing councils, regional management committees, conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.

The task force will forward its final recommendations to the COP this fall, with a September 2008 effective date. Between now and then, the task force will develop and revise sport-by-sport qualification plans based on a series of three “feedback loops” involving coaches associations, members of CAA and CACI, conference commissioners and the membership as a whole. If necessary, legislation for proposed changes in the NAIA governance structure will be considered at the association’s 2008 convention.

NAIA staff liaison: Lori Thomas

New NAIA Members

The Council of Presidents approved five new members of the association, effective September 1, 2007, bringing to 10 the number of new members approved during the current academic year.  Newly elected members: Clarke College (Iowa); Marygrove College (Michigan); State University of New York, Canton; University of Northwestern Ohio; and University of South Carolina, Beaufort.

NAIA staff contact: John Leavens

Council of Presidents

The council established a seven-member standing subcommittee to strengthen conference leadership, consistent with the association’s strategic focus on affiliated conferences.

Council members also approved formation of a three-person standing subcommittee to provide additional oversight in conduct and review of the NAIA’s annual independent financial audit.

The council approved a proposed association-wide budget for 2007-08, including annual membership dues of $5,200.

NAIA staff contact: Jim Carr

Legislation

Bylaws Amendments:

No. 1 - Frequency of Play and Scheduling – Baseball: Increase the number of permissible scrimmage dates and require that scrimmages be played during five consecutive weekends following Labor Day – FAILED  

No. 2 - Playing Dates – Softball: Add two scrimmage dates and require that the scrimmages be played in the fall term only – FAILED

No. 3 - 24-Week Season – All Sports: Establish uniform start (August 1) and end (May15) dates for the 24-week season – PASSED AS AMENDED

No. 4 - Practice – Softball: Permit two hours of individualized instruction outside the 24-week season – FAILED

No. 5 - Junior College Recruiting – All Sports: Permit coaches to initiate contact with two-year college prospects once the student has begun his/her second season of competition – PASSED with an immediate effective date (March 20, 2007)

No. 6 - Definition of a Non-Term – All Sports: Eliminate a discrepancy in current eligibility regulations to clarify the definitions of term and non-term – PASSED

No. 7 - Amateurism – Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field: Require that a student who is considered a professional in cross country, indoor track or outdoor track be considered a professional in all three sports – PASSED

NAIA staff contact: Israel Negrón

Council Highlights

CACI: Supported a request from the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Association to increase maximum scholarship limits from 8 to 10 and agreed to propose a modification to the Council of Presidents.

Given potential merger of CAA & CACI in 2008, voted unanimously to lock in regional council representation for the 2007-08 year (pending approval by NCC). CACI officer rotations would still be implemented for 2007-08.

Received a request from the Hall of Fame and Honors Committee to consider written guidelines (maximums) on the number of annual inductees into the NAIA Hall of Fame per sport. Charged a subcommittee to conduct research and bring a proposal to the next CACI meeting.

Agreed that the one-year-of-attendance criteria in Daktronics/NAIA Scholar-Athlete guidelines must be continuous at the nominating school and directed that language in nomination forms be changed accordingly.

Discussed the failure of some institutions that qualify for national championships to comply with current guidelines for reporting statistics. 

Approved Darin Wilson (Region XII/Union KY) as CACI Secretary for 2007-08.

Based on a recommendation from Al Waller, formed a subcommittee to consider establishment of an annual NAIA award recognizing significant contributions to the association in the area of diversity.

NAIA staff contact: Scott McClure

CAA: Set the deadline for the completion of men’s soccer region championships to the Wednesday before the start of the national tournament (November 7 for 2007). The new deadline is effective immediately (November 7th for 2007), to ease difficulties in last-minute travel and permit time to address an appeal should one be filed upon release of team selection and the bracket.

Modified forfeit language in the CAA Policy Handbook to allow an institution to request a forfeit for contests scheduled against teams that drop a sport during the season. Institutions are still required to notify the national office when dropping a sport after the May 1st Declaration of Intent to Participate deadline. Contracted contests that are dropped after August 10 (fall), October 10 (winter), and January 10 (spring) are subject to forfeits. 

Clarified policy related to declarations of intent to state that if an institution fails to comply with declaration of intent/undeclare procedures, no individual from that institution will be allowed to participate in the regional championship during the current year; further, the following year, the team will be subject to established consequences for failure to undeclare in a previous season.

Approved a policy that requires any emerging sport or sport granted the use of the NAIA name to comply with all NAIA guidelines.

NAIA staff liaison: Lori Thomas

CFAR: Agreed to sponsor legislation to permit students required to take the ACT as part of the state-wid assessment to use the test for freshman eligibility purposes. (States that currently use the ACT in this way are Colorado, Illinois and Michigan.)

Elected Joyce Pigge, Bethany (KS), to serve as vice-chair.

NAIA staff contact: Israel Negrón

Committees & Associations

Athletic Directors Association:  Jud Damon, Savannah College of Art and Design, was elected to serve as ADA Secretary, effective at the conclusion of the NACDA convention in June. Julia Peterson, Robert Morris College, was elected to serve on the Conduct and Ethics Committee effective immediately.

A revised Athletics Director of the Year nomination form was proposed by the Awards Committee and approved by the ADA. The new form will go into effect for this year.

The ADA provided input on moving forward with the NAIA Strategic Plan during an interactive workshop. Several workshops will be held during the June NACDA conference, including:

1. “Where Rubber Meets the Road: Standards and Accountability in the NAIA Strategic Plan”
2. “Backpack to Briefcase with Character” 

NAIA staff liaison: Ruth Feldblum

Faculty Athletics Representatives Association: FARA recommended that Duer and Liston Award nominations be accepted for students who are “at least juniors academically and in their third season of competition in their year of nomination.” For review by CACI in June.

FARA divided into groups to discuss various issues, including online courses, graduation rates and CFAR representation in the new structure. Discussion points will be submitted to CFAR for further review.

NAIA staff contact: Israel Negrón

National Eligibility Committee: The committee reviewed a request for an interpretation regarding multi-sport athletes and financial aid limits. The NEC confirmed its earlier interpretation that sports not governed by NAIA regulations cannot be used to prorate the financial aid of a multi-sport athlete.

The committee recommended that a group of FAR’s and AD’s work with national office staff to develop a new “competitive experience form” to replace the current “gap form”.

NAIA staff contact: Israel Negrón

Gender Equity Committee: This year marked the second year for the Women of the NAIA Social, an event designed to promote networking for women in the NAIA membership.  The committee also sponsored workshops that focused on stimulating interest in sport careers among the student body, developing internships, and HR practices that help increase candidate pools. 

In addition to future convention workshops, the committee is considering reinstating the Career Symposium, as well as developing a tool kit institutions can use to stimulate interest in coaching and/or sports administration careers among female student-athletes.

NAIA staff liaison: Ruth Feldblum