2015 Meeting Minutes
December 17, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alyson Hagy, University of Wyoming
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Dennis Phillips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Jo Potuto, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Kurt Zorn, Indiana University
- Azure Davey, NCAA
- Jenn Fraser, NCAA
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 2:03 p.m. Eastern time by the president, Brian Shannon.
- Welcome to Kurt Zorn. Brian and other board members welcomed Kurt Zorn who is replacing John Bruno as the FAR board representative from the Big Ten Conference. Kurt is the associate vice provost for undergraduate education and a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He has been at Indiana University for over 30 years.
- Update on Financial Aid Survey. Brian thanked the board members for the response to the financial aid survey. He reported the overwhelming sentiment that there was not enough data to date to determine if there was a problem with student-athletes in equivalency sports who receive cost-of-attendance dollars putting any strain on non-cost-of-attendance institutions. Brian submitted the 1A FAR position as instructed.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian reported that at the upcoming NCAA Convention the major proposal on the Council agenda involves conferences being allowed to conduct a conference championship football game when the conference has fewer than 12 schools participating in football. The Big Ten has added an amendment that requires a conference to have divisions. Another proposal of interest is one that will allow a men's basketball student-athlete to have more time to decide if they will declare for the NBA draft. Brian noted that this proposal will specify that a student-athlete may miss class to attend basketball activities under the NCAA bylaw, but that institutions may adhere to their own policies. There will also be several major topics within the autonomy legislative process for consideration at Convention.
- Possibility of Reconnecting with FARA. Tom Stephens, FAR at Rutgers University and former member of the 1A FAR board, is asking if the 1A FARs would consider reconnecting with FARA especially if there is no longer a strong relationship with the 1A ADs. Tom is currently a member of the FARA board. Brian noted that he has spoken to Tom McMillan, executive director of the 1A ADs, and Tom McMillan is supportive of maintaining the relationship with the 1A FARs. We will likely meet jointly in Dallas again this year. Jo reported that the 1A ADs are creating working groups on a variety of topics including amateurism and academic misconduct.
- NCAA Division I Committee on Academics Update. Kurt reported the committee is developing their position on graduate transfers into a proposal. The position is that any credits taken should be applicable to the student-athlete's designated graduate degree program. The committee is also looking at the automatic awarding of a retention point once the student-athlete has graduated. That could be modified in the future to make the student-athlete earn that point. David Clough noted that he will send some documents to the board members for their review. He noted they welcome feedback prior to the committee's February 1 meeting.
- Update on the February Meeting. The February meeting schedule is almost complete and includes the following presenters from the NCAA staff:
- Jon Duncan, Vice President of Enforcement.
- Kevin Lennon, Vice President Law, Policy and Governance.
- Dave Schnase, Vice President of Academic and Membership Affairs.
- John Parsons, Director of Sports Science Institute.
- Todd Leyden, Vice President of the NCAA Eligibility Center
- Michael Miranda, Associate Director of Research.
- Tom Paskus, Principle Academic Research Scientist.
- Todd Petr, Managing Director of Research
- Donald Remy, Executive Vice President, Law, Policy and Governance and Chief Legal Officer.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
October 23, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Alyson Hagy, University of Wyoming
- Alan Houser, Appalachian State University
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Azure Davey, NCAA
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 2:03 p.m. Eastern time by the president, Brian Shannon.
- Welcome to Alyson Hagy. Brian and other board members welcomed Alyson Hagy who will be replacing Bill Campsey on the 1A FAR Board of Directors from the Mountain West Conference effective in January. Alyson is an English professor who has been at the University of Wyoming for 19 years, nine as FAR.
- September Conference Debrief. The board members reviewed feedback on the September conference. The feedback was generally very positive, but some suggestions for future conferences included:
- Rethinking the media panel – They are sometimes not the best presenters and they can cause other presenters to be less candid.
- Creating a panel to discuss best practices for FARs.
- Allowing time for FARs to discuss what to do with all the good information they get from the presenters.
- The best way to include Mark Emmert each year. – He did not offer much information and just asked for questions. Perhaps in the future he could be given a topic to discuss or be placed on a panel.
- Future Relationship with 1A Athletic Directors. Brian has reached out to Tom McMillan who has replaced Dutch Baughman as the executive director of the 1A AD group, to see if the relationship between the 1A FAR and the 1A AD groups could continue. The 1A AD offices will move to the Washington DC area, though the annual conference may continue in Dallas.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian reported that the Council met the week after the September conference. There were a number of agenda items but two things took over the meeting – the daily fantasy sport games (e.g., Draft King and Fan Duel) and the current penalty structure for gambling violations (a season for the first time and permanent ineligibility for future offenses). Oliver Luck asked if the staff could look at that structure to determine if consideration of mitigation was appropriate. Ultimately there was consensus that there should be some flexibility on the staff's part in cases in which mitigation played a role. The last item that garnered a lot of attention was the announcement of the decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the O'Bannon lawsuit.
- Other Updates.
- Nominations Committee. Martha reported that they have had two teleconferences, thought she was not available for the first one. She has learned that they have a backlog of nominations to get through.
- NCAA Division I Committee on Academics. Azure provides an update, noting that the meeting included a final review of the academic misconduct legislative proposal which will move into the legislative cycle at this point. They also adopted a new model for NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program (APP) filters for teams at limited-resource institutions that fail to meet the APP benchmarks. The committee also started reviewing some referrals from the presidential summit including at-risk students, pre-enrollment academic misconduct and graduate transfers in the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate calculation.
- Comment Period on Pending Legislation. Brian reminded the board members that this is the comment period on pending legislation and asked if there were any concerns. Jo noted that she is concerned about instances when topics are vetted on campus only to hear that the Council is holding on making a decision. She asked that the membership be notified of that sooner rather than later; maybe in October. Brian noted that she made a good point, especially for future years. Jo asked Azure to take a look at the method the membership used prior to federation in determine when legislation is moved forward. Azure noted she will also look at the process in Divisions II and III.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 2:48 p.m.
September 22, 2015
DFW Hilton, Dallas, Texas
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alan Houser, Appalachian State University
- Dennis Phillips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Jennifer Fraser, NCAA
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. Eastern Time by the president, Brian Shannon.
- 1A Athletics Director Update. Brian reported that the 1A Athletics Directors appointed Tom McMillan as their new executive director, replacing Dutch Baughman who has retired. Brian noted that the relationship between the 1A FARs and 1A ADs seems to continue to be viable. He will attempt to engage with Tom McMillan to discuss the continued coordination of the 1A FAR meeting with the 1A AD meeting.
- In–Person 1A FAR Board Meeting. Brian announced that the board's in-person meeting will be in February, but the dates are not yet determined. He is waiting to hear from the NCAA staff about availability.
- Monthly Teleconference Dates. The board agreed to the following dates for monthly teleconferences:
- October 22, 2015.
- November 19, 2015.
- December 17, 2015
- January 21, 2016.
- March 24, 2016.
- April 21, 2016.
- May 19, 2016.
- June 16, 2016.
- July 21, 2016.
- August 18, 2016.
- Shared Governance and Autonomy Legislation. Brian reported that the NCAA Division I Council chair and Northwestern University vice president for athletics and recreation, Jim Phillips, is interested in more FARs in active roles within the NCAA Division I governance structure. The board discussed ways for the 1A FAR Board to provide comment on legislation. Jenn Fraser reported that the Faculty Athletics Representative Association (FARA) has been asked to review both shared governance and autonomy legislation. She encouraged board members who see issues with legislation to email Bill Campsey who serves as the 1A FAR liaison to FARA. David Szymanski suggested the 1A FAR Board also review proposed legislation on its monthly teleconferences. Brian noted that he can take their commentary to the NCAA Division I Legislative Committee on which he serves.
- Website. Jim Atwood reported that several links on the website are inactive including a link to the NCAA research portion of the NCAA website. He also reported that he will update the listing of liaisons and delete any liaison relationships that have become inactive. Finally, he noted that there were some challenges registering for the 1A FAR meeting that should be brought to the attention of the 1A ADs.
- Multiyear Scholarships. David Clough provided a document he prepared for the Pac 12 and the Legislative Committee on multiyear scholarships. The board agreed that the auto-renewal option for athletic scholarships is potentially more advantageous to student-athletes than the multiyear scholarship option as it is currently written and interpreted.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 11:17 a.m.
August 20, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Martha Putullaz, Duke University
- Dennis Phillips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
- Jenn Fraser, NCAA
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting".) While certain items on the NCAA 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) Board of Directors' meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:01 p.m. Eastern time by the President, Brian Shannon.
- Update on September 20-21, 2015, 1A FAR In-Person Meeting Planning. Brian reported that registration is down slightly. His assistant Melinda will send each conference representative the list of registrants thus far for each respective conference. Brian also noted that the long-term viability of the 1A Athletics Directors is a concern. If the organization dissolves, the 1A FARs must consider challenges with planning in-person meetings. This will be discussed at the board meeting in September.
- NCAA Presidential Summit. Brian provided this update and noted that the discussions were good and thoughtful. There was a conscious effort not to leave with a number of action items, but they framed several issues for continued discussion. He noted that the NCAA Division I Board members that were present gained valuable input.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian provided this update and noted that the Council had a recent teleconference and one item discussed was the nomination process. Two FBS FARs were nominated by their conferences for possible selection for the new Nomination Committee. The board has discussed ways to get more FARs into the governance structure, but he noted they have had little success. One suggestion was to develop a means of collecting a 1A FAR position on any active legislation to provide feedback to the NCAA Division I Legislative Committee. Brian suggested creating a subcommittee to do this. He noted that FARA already seems to have a group doing this. Along those lines, Brian also noted that the Division I Board had recently filled two open Council seats for representatives from the Sun Belt and MAC conferences who are both athletic directors although FARs were nominated. He reported that there have been 34 appointments to Council seats for conference representatives and only one is a FAR. The board responded that there is concern that this is leading to FARs feeling disenfranchised. The Division I Board has created an administrative committee that will be made up of a variety of positions, so there might be new opportunities. Brian also informed the board that a stay has been issued in the O’Bannon case.
- Multiyear Scholarships. David Clough reported that coming out of recent Pac 12 discussions about multiyear scholarships, his conference is considering becoming more restrictive with multiyear athletic aid. They will have a conference meeting in October to discuss further. Generally, they are disappointed with the erosion of the original concepts.
- WBCA Update. Martha Putullaz reported that over the past year, that organization has undergone a lot of changes. There have been leadership changes, they have reviewed their bylaws and they are focused on trying to make their product more attractive to people to increase attendance. Brian added that the WBCA leadership is very pleased that Martha will continue as the Board liaison for another term.
- Other Business. Jim Atwood reminded the Board that the 1A FAR Award nominations are due in about two weeks.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:47 p.m.
July 30, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Dennis Phillips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated “sense of the meeting”.) While certain items on the NCAA 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) Board of Directors’ meeting’s agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:01 p.m. Eastern time by the President, Brian Shannon.
- Update on September 20-21, 2015, 1A FAR In-Person Meeting Planning. Brian sent the updated conference schedule prior to the teleconference. The following elements of the September meeting were resolved:
- Brian reported that Southeastern Conference commissioner, Greg Sankey, has confirmed. He was the last unconfirmed speaker.
- Brian also reported that he has not heard much from the NCAA 1A directors of athletics (1A AD) to confirm that they will manage meeting registration, publicity and logistics again this year. He has left messages and is waiting to hear back.
- Brian noted the last thing to do is to nail down those who will do introductions and moderate panels. After discussion, additional volunteers were secured for the remaining panels and speakers. Jim will introduce Ron Thompson, Brian will moderate the legal panel and Steve will moderate the media panel. David Clough will introduce the academic misconduct panel and Alan will introduce Brian Hainline, NCAA chief medical officer.
- Brian noted that he has purchased the award for the award presentation.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian provided this update and noted that there was not much to add since the last teleconference. The injunction in the O’Bannon case becomes effective on August 1, and the Council has been working with the NCAA general counsel’s office to develop a plan in case there is no stay or other action prior to August 1. The Council provided various alternative options to the DI Board of Directors to consider undertaking if necessary. The next Council teleconference is August 13. One item scheduled for that teleconference is to create a nominating committee to review appointments into the new governance structure. Brian is encouraging that the new committee have at least one FAR as a member of the nominating committee. Two FBS FARs have been nominated and he will pitch them on that next teleconference.
- NCAA Division I Committee on Academics Update. David Clough reported that the committee met June 23-24. He noted that the committee developed a final draft proposal on academic misconduct which has since been moved from the Council into the legislative process. He noted that the committee is anxious to get feedback. He reported that the filters for teams at limited resource institutions were extended for another year. These filters are designed for teams at these institutions that are not meeting the current NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program (APP) benchmark to avoid APP penalties and loss of access to postseason competition. David also reported on the committee’s review of graduate transfer legislation. Brian added that the Council was not ready to act on that issue and it was sent back to the committee. There will be continued discussions about things like the awarding of NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) retention points to all graduate transfers who remain in the APR cohort and number of years aid must be guaranteed for graduate transfers. David also commented that the Committee plans to examine time demands of student athletes.
- Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Liaison Position. Martha’s liaison term will expire soon. She was renominated due to her outstanding work thus far in this role.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m. EDT.
July 2, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Azure Davey, NCAA
- Jennifer Fraser, NCAA
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated “sense of the meeting”.) While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) Board of Directors meeting’s agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m. Eastern time by the President, Brian Shannon.
- Update on September 2015 1A FAR Meeting Planning. Brian sent the updated conference schedule prior to the call. The board members provided the following updates on their work securing speakers for the September meeting:
- Brian reported that Jon Solomon from CBS Sports can make the meeting. He also had confirmation that Sharon Terlep from the Wall Street Journal can make it.
- Brian also reported that he has communicated with most of the speakers. He is waiting to hear from Commissioner Greg Sankey – who may have a travel issue that would prohibit him from attending. If he cannot make it they will need another commissioner from an autonomy conference.
- Martha asked that a request for questions for the cost of attendance panelists be placed on the list serve. She agreed to post the request. Alan asked if they could address the tax implications for recipients of items listed in an institution’s cost of attendance. Brian asked if they could plan to explain the elements included in calculating cost of attendance and how the value is calculated. David asked if they could recommend a payment schedule and financial literacy programs for student-athletes receiving these dollars.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian provided this update and noted that there was confusion about the shared governance concept as it related to proposing legislation. Jenn Fraser clarified that legislation related to autonomy subject areas has to be proposed by autonomy conferences.
Brian also noted that the two Council representatives from the Mid-American and Sun Belt Conferences who were directors of athletics have left their former institutions. He has sent notes to Jim Phillips and the NCAA staff to encourage those conferences to consider nominating at least one FAR among their nominees for the replacements. Jim noted that the Mid-American Conference had consistently nominated a FAR, AD and Senior Administrator for all open positions. - NCAA Division I Committee on Academics Update. Azure provided an update from the June 23-24 Committee on Academics meeting. She noted that the committee developed a final draft proposal on academic misconduct that is now eligible for membership feedback. She updated the board on their review of transfer issues, student-athlete time demands and NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program filters for teams at limited resource institutions.
- Other Business. Brian noted that John Bruno’s term as FAR at Ohio State University ended June 30. Jo Potuto will now serve as the Big Ten Conference’s interim representative on the 1A FAR board. Jim Atwood requested that Board members provide corrections for the Conference contact persons, if needed, regarding the 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:34 p.m.
June 4, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- Josephine (Jo) Potuto, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Roxann Frankel, NCAA (recording secretary)
- Jennifer Fraser, NCAA
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m. Eastern time by the president, Brian Shannon.
- Update on the September Meeting Preparation. Brian emailed everyone a draft of the program for the in-person September meeting. He asked if anyone had any questions or concerns about the time allocations. Jo Potuto brought up the four-person panels and said that in the past, having only an hour hasn't really worked all that well. They might want to adjust that. Bill Campsey brought up the Cost of Attendance session – if they don't shorten the session, but feel like they need another speaker, he can reach out to someone to assist. Discussion followed regarding concerns about implementation, tax consequences, etc. Steve Turner said some of the athletics staff think they're going to influence the cost of attendance at a university. He would prefer a conference person over an athletics person. Jo thinks it depends on the focus of the panel and what the panel members know about the topic. She doesn't think the intent of this is to discuss how difficult this is going to be, but rather how this can be put together operationally. Martha Putallaz added that this panel should try to educate FARs on what is already happening on their campus.
Discussion followed about possible speakers and length of speaking time, award presentations, Q&A's, etc.:- CARA Panel. Because of travel issues, Jo asked to switch time slots for the CARA panel or identify a different board member as moderator. Brian will switch some things around to accommodate her request. Once the times are finalized the moderators need to communicate with the speakers about times.
- Hot Topics: There was much discussion regarding adding a hot topic to the program. The board concluded that a good panel would focus on the commissioners’ perspectives on managing athletics in this era of significant litigation. Possible speakers identified included Greg Sankey and Jon Steinbrecher. Steve agreed to speak with Greg and Jim will talk to Jon.
- Media Panel: Brian reported that Marc Tracy was excited to come. Jon Solomon at CBSSports.com and Sharon Terlep from The Wall Street Journal were both extended an invitation. Jo offered to enlist the help of the Michigan State FAR re the invitation to Sharon Terlep.
- Awards: The NFF has confirmed that Kathleen Murphy (Fidelity) will come to the meeting to accept the award. The group discussed whether or not it would take some of the luster off of Kathleen and Fidelity’s contributions if Matthew Sign is recognized at the same time. Martha was supportive of doing so, but Jo noted that it might be a better idea to highlight Kathleen and Fidelity this year and come back next year and honor Matthew. Brian will talk to Matthew and seek his opinion, and a decision will be made based on that conversation.
- Other Updates: Brian Hainline and NCAA President Mark Emmert have agreed to speak.
- 1A FAR Academic Award. The question was asked if the 1A FAR academic award process would continue to function the same as it has historically, or if the NCAA Program Hub would be able to accommodate their needs this year. Roxann responded that she did not believe Program Hub would be able to accommodate this request this year – perhaps in the future.
- DI FAR Institute. Brian stated that Alan Hauser called him yesterday and apologized for not being able to participate on the call. He wanted to discuss Christine Copper's concern that few FARs were appointed to serve in the new governance structure in part because many FARs don't have as much experience as ADs in national governance work. One idea was to create an advanced track for the DI FAR institute, and perhaps target new FARs one year at the institute, and experienced FARs in alternate years. Another idea was to schedule a three-hour track at the FARA convention focusing on committee work, but, the FARA Executive Committee opted not to support that concept. There was discussion about whether NCAA might be willing to schedule an “advanced FAR” track to be held at the NCAA Convention.
- Other business. The next call is scheduled for July 2.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.
April 23, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Dennis Phillips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Josephine (Jo) Potuto, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m. Eastern time by the chair, Brian Shannon.
- Update on September 1A FAR Meeting Planning. The board members provided the following updates on their work securing speakers for the September meeting:
- Brian reported that Marc Tracy from the New York Times believes he can make the conference. Brian is still waiting to hear from a reporter at the Washington Post.
- Brian also reported that he has confirmation that Mark Emmert can participate, although his schedule is not finalized. Brian Hainline is only available Monday. The session on eating disorders will likely have to be on Sunday.
- Jo Potuto reported that Bill Lyons can participate on the cost-of-attendance panel and that Rhonda Hatcher has secured the financial aid officer at TCU as well.
- David Clough agreed to moderate the academic misconduct panel and Jo will moderate the session on countable athletically-related activity. Martha will moderate the panel on cost-of-attendance.
- Council FAR Representation. Jo noted that they should create slides for the September meeting to illustrate the small number of FARS on the Division I Council and its committees. The board discussed their concerns about some conferences not supporting FAR nominations. It was clear that each conference has its own process – some use nominating committees and others do not. Martha asked each board member to send their conference nomination process to her so she can compare. Brian noted that he will take their concerns back to the Division I Council.
- Committee on Academics Update. David Clough provided an update of the Committee on Academics April meeting with the following being the primary points of discussion: (1) the new Academic Misconduct document, (2) student athlete transfer issues, including graduate transfers, (3) SAT tests and (4) requesting that the Committee on Academics can sponsor legislation.
- Call Schedule. Brian noted that although the board’s call schedule was set in February, they now have conflicts. They elected to skip the May 14 call and have one on June 4 instead. They will also skip the June 18 call and have one on July 2. The July 30 and August 20 calls will remain unchanged.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
March 26, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Dennis Philips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Josephine (Jo) Potuto, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- Azure Davey, NCAA
- Roxann Frankel, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 3:01 p.m. Eastern time by the chair, Brian Shannon.
- Update on September 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs) Meeting Planning. Brian asked if anyone had any opportunities to ask potential speakers about their availability for the conference. He has communicated with Brian Hainline and learned that he only has Monday morning available. For the research/science talk, Brian has followed up with Mary Wilfert regarding the identification of a speaker or speakers regarding eating disorders and student-athletes. The board expressed interest in the psychological aspects of eating disorders as they relate to student-athletes. Mary recommended two individuals who have been long-time consultants to Indiana University, Bloomington. Of the two, Dr. Ron Thompson is available and interested in speaking. Brian will send out an email with his bio in the next day or two. Here are the other updates:
- Brian also spoke to Rhonda Hatcher. She is willing to be a speaker on the academic misconduct panel, but she is only available on that Monday.
- Brian hasn't been able to nail down any reporters yet, not because they're unavailable for the conference, just because he hasn't been able to reach them.
- Jo has not had a chance to talk to Jim Phillips. She did confirm with Bill Lyons that he is almost certain that he can participate Sunday or Monday depending on what is needed.
- Brian asked Rhonda to contact Mike Scott about the cost-of-attendance panel.
- Jim Atwood reported that he sent Warde Manuel an email yesterday but hasn't heard back yet.
- NCAA Division I Council Update. Brian reported that there has been quite a bit of activity, some of which he reported at last month's in-person meeting. The Council is trying to craft something at the board's direction for possible "hip pocket legislation" or other alternatives that could be available on an emergency basis over the summer depending on the outcome in the O'Bannon case. As of August 1, an injunction would be in effect. The NCAA Division I Board has asked the Council to prepare potential legislation that could be considered if needed to be consistent with what is described in the injunction.
Separately, Brian forwarded emails regarding seven committees on the Council and the seats available on those. He stated that he hopes they have had some interest from the FARs in their conferences to apply. A discussion ensued regarding the seats, and Jo said they have until April 1, so the normal nomination process will take place until that time. - Committee on Academics Update. Azure reported that the committee hasn’t met since the 1A FAR Board was in Indianapolis last month. They meet in April (at the same time as the Council) and will discuss academic misconduct. They have a pretty full docket in April and will probably have a lot to report coming out of that committee meeting. Discussion then took place regarding the status of the academic misconduct draft legislation.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:24 p.m.
February 26-27, 2015
National Office
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- David Clough, University of Colorado
- Alan Hauser, Appalachian State University
- Dennis Philips, University of Southern Mississippi
- Josephine (Jo) Potuto, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University, President
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, University of Mississippi (Friday, Feb. 27)
- Azure Davey, NCAA
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
- Scheduled Teleconferences. Monthly teleconferences are scheduled through August. The Board agreed to move the call times to 3 p.m. Eastern time and adjusted several dates to account for conflicts. The upcoming call dates are as follows:
- March 26
- April 23
- May 14
- June 18
- July 30
- August 20
- Preparation for September's NCAA Division 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives InPerson Meeting. The Board confirmed that the annual meeting of 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives will be held in Dallas, September 19-20, 2015. The meeting will begin with a Board meeting Sunday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to noon. The Board decided on the following program ideas and desired speakers, with assigned members to coordinate in bold, to be featured at the Annual Meeting:
- Update from the NCAA Division I Council provided by Jim Phillips, Director of Athletics at Northwestern University. – Jo Potuto
- Update from NCAA President Mark Emmert. – Brian Shannon
- Update from NCAA Sports Science Institute and NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline. – Brian Shannon.
- Media panel featuring Sally Jenkins with Washington Post, Mark Tracy of the New York Times and Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. – Brian Shannon.
- Panel on countable athletically-related activity (CARA) and student-athlete time demands featuring Warde Manual, Director of Athletics at the University of Connecticut, David Batson, Associate Director of Athletics at Texas A&M University and Bob Bowlsby, Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference (back-ups include Craig Littlepage Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia, Jane Miller, Senior Woman Administrator at the University of Virginia, Jim Delaney, Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, Sandy Barbour, Director of Athletics at Penn State University, and Debbie Yow, Director of Athletics at the North Carolina State University.) – Jim Atwood, David Clough and Brian Shannon.
- Session on eating disorders, featuring an expert to be identified by Brian Hainline or Mary Wolfert, with the NCAA Sports Science Institute. – Brian Shannon.
- Update on academic misconduct with a panel made up of the NCAA Division I Committee on Academics members David Clough, Rhonda Hatcher, faculty athletics representative at Texas Christian University, and an NCAA staff member. – Brian Shannon and David Clough.
- Cost-of-attendance issues, including recruiting and tax consequences with a panel made up of Mike Scott, Director of Financial Aid at Texas Christian University, Craig Littlepage, Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia and Bill Lyons Professor of Law, Nebraska School of Law. – Brian Shannon and Jo Potuto.
- Hot topics – The plan is to set some time aside to address hot topics that arise leading up to the September meeting.
- Friends of 1A FAR Award – The Board discussed giving an awards this year to the top-ranking officer at Fidelity, who has sponsored the partnership with the National Football Foundation (NFF), along with Matthew Sign from the NFF.
- National Football Foundation NFF) Awards – Matthew Sign with the NFF sent materials to Brian prior to the meeting and these were distributed. The NFF continues to work with Fidelity to explore possible funding of the faculty athletics representatives' attendance at the awards banquet. Fidelity already sponsors $5,000 grants to the NFF annual winners’ respective institutions.
- Review of New Governance Substructure – The Board reviewed the open positions within the governance substructure noting opportunities for faculty athletics representatives to secure nominations. Brian noted that he is advocating the Council have each conference nominate a director of athletics, faculty athletics representative and senior woman administrator for open positions. David Clough suggested each conference develop a nominating committee.
- Update from Oliver Luck. Oliver Luck, NCAA Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, met with the Board for an hour. He noted that he has been in his position for only a few weeks, but that he is excited to be on board. His position supervising the Academic and Membership Affairs, Eligibility Center and Enforcement staffs is new to the national office. He stated that he has noted that these three departments have not historically been in synch. The Board engaged in dialogue with Mr. Luck on cost-of attendance, increasing consistency and transparency between Enforcement and StudentAthlete Reinstatement, and the new governance structure in Division I. He encouraged faculty athletics representatives to be engaged in the evolving definition of amateurism in intercollegiate athletics. He also noted the significant role the faculty athletics representatives play in support of education as a primary pillar of the NCAA.
- Update from Brian Hainline. Brian Hainline, NCAA Chief Medical Officer, spoke to the board about his work in the NCAA Sports Science Institute. The NCAA has begun a clinical study on concussions. The institutions involved in the first phase have been responsive. They have 3,000 student-athletes participating.
Dr. Hainline also reported that the NCAA just completed a soccer summit and plans additional sport-specific summits in the future. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss not only concussion concerns but also student-athlete well-being issues related to each sport, including eating disorders, repetitive-use injuries and the like.
Finally, Dr. Hainline provided an update on other initiatives the Sport Science Institute is working on, including testing standards for doping and mental health concerns in student-athletes. The institute has recently published a mental health handbook as an e-book and continues to develop best practices. - Update from Mark Lewis. Mark Lewis, NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships, presented an update on championships. Specifically, he noted that while more student-athletes are getting to participate in NCAA championships, travel costs continue to consume more than 50% of the budget. His group is attempting to meet student-athlete's expectations to assure they have a positive experience, although the rising costs make it more difficult to deliver the same level of service.
Mr. Lewis reported that the NCAA just added its 90th championship – women's sand volleyball, for 2016. Discussion continued on missed class time, automatic qualifiers and the policy of having all teams participate in a conference tournament. Jo Potuto noted that the faculty athletics representatives would be happy to contribute to future discussions. - Update from Tom Paskus. Tom Paskus, Principle Academic Research Scientist at the NCAA, presented and provided data on freshman ineligibility. He noted there are still many questions about how such a policy would impact specific sports, like men's basketball and football.
- Update from Mark Hicks. Mark Hicks, NCAA Managing Director of Enforcement, provided an update on Enforcement. He reviewed the group's staffing model and the staff members’ credentials. He noted that more and more institutions undergoing an investigation are opting for summary disposition rather than a hearing.
- Update from David Berst. David Berst, Vice President of NCAA Division I Governance, announced his pending retirement to the Board. He will end his 40+ year tenure with the NCAA as of June 1, 2015. David reported that nominations for open positions in the new Division I governance structure will be solicited soon.
- Update from Kevin Lennon. Kevin Lennon, Vice President of Academic and Membership Affairs, joined the Board for a working lunch. He provided an update on the work of the Division I Council as well as the nomination process to fill the available committee and subcommittee positions within the governance structure. Kevin encouraged the faculty athletics representatives to become more vocal on a local level in order to gain a greater presence on a national level.
- Update from Donald Remy. Donald Remy, NCAA Executive Vice President for Law, Policy and Governance, provided an update on several legal issues facing the NCAA.
- Academic Misconduct. Andy Cardamone, NCAA Associate Director of Academic and Membership Affairs, presented an update on academic misconduct. He also solicited and collected the board's feedback on the material. Azure Davey noted that they are building an extensive Q and A document that should give the membership additional guidance once a policy is established.
- Committee on Academics. David Clough, who serves as a member of this new committee, reviewed its February report.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m., Friday, February 27.
January 22, 2015
Teleconference
Participants:
- Jim Atwood, University at Buffalo
- Bill Campsey, San Jose State University
- Martha Putallaz, Duke University
- Brian Shannon, Texas Tech University
- David Szymanski, University of Cincinnati
- Steve Turner, Mississippi State University
- Katy Yurk, NCAA, recording secretary
[Note: These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated "sense of the meeting"). While certain items on the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board of Directors meeting's agenda were acted on at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The meeting was called to order at 1:02 p.m. Eastern time by the president, Brian Shannon.
- February 26-27 Meeting. Brian requested the board members develop specific questions or areas of interest that they would like the guests/presenters to focus on or be prepared to address. Board members should email them to Azure Davey at least one week before the meeting so she can communicate with the guests/presenters in advance. A few notes about the schedule:
- Mark Emmert and Jon Duncan are out-of-town and will not be available. Jon Duncan recommended that Mark Hicks from NCAA Enforcement present in his stead.
- The session with Andy Cardamone from NCAA Academic and Membership Affairs will be a continuation of the discussion on the academic misconduct policy that began on the December phone call.
- Brian will separately develop an agenda for the business portion of the meeting closer to the meeting dates.
- Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) letter about possible Presidential Commission. Brian emailed a draft letter from COIA to the White House in response to a USA Today article about the development of a presidential commission on intercollegiate athletics. Since the initial story came out, it seems there was a meeting that focused on different topics related to sexual assault prevention. It does not appear that a commission on intercollegiate athletics has been convened or is being discussed at this time. Azure confirmed that yesterday. Brian noted that a bill has been filed on intercollegiate athletics, but it was referred to committee and may or may not progress. COIA may be premature with their letter. Jim Atwood added that the letter COIA prepared may have the wrong tone. Bill Campsey noted that the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) reviewed this issue as well, and they decided to write their own letter and not join COIA. Brian will respond to COIA that the 1A FAR board will not be joining them on this issue at this time.
- Update on the NCAA Council Meeting. Brian reported that the meeting was more introductory in tone. No chair was appointed prior to the meeting by the NCAA Division I Board, but is to be elected by the council members. They will exchange emails on nominees prior to the next meeting, but they have been told that an athletics director must be the chair. They heard a lengthy update on legal issues from Donald Remy. They created a subgroup, to be led by Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, to begin to structure the work of the council. Cost of attendance in equivalency sports is one item that will need more immediate attention.
- Update on the NCAA Committee on Academics Meeting. Katy provided a summary of the Committee on Academics meeting at the convention. The meeting was split between orientation sessions for the full committee as well as the three subcommittees and discussion on academic misconduct.
- Follow-up on the Autonomy Session at Convention. Brian noted that he was impressed with the student-athletes who spoke up at the autonomy session. It appears they will not vote in a block. The only significant debate was on the concussion provision and some concerns that it did not go far enough, but it was approved. Martha agreed that the autonomy conferences seemed very positive coming out of their session. There are remaining questions about enacting the cost of attendance proposal. Steve Turner noted The SEC had an amendment to address the equivalency sports and the cost of attendance provision, although it was withdrawn. The council has been charged with reviewing that. Martha also noted that the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC seemed to align themselves more than she expected. Brian also found it more organized and well-structured than the first council meeting.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m.