DIII Presidents Council uses emergency legislative action to amend transfer rules

The Division III Presidents Council has taken emergency legislative action to immediately change the requirement that transferring student-athletes must serve an academic year of residence before becoming eligible to compete.

Since January, Division III has been closely reviewing its transfer rules, engaging with the division’s governance committees, faculty athletics representatives, commissioners, and membership. Many of these groups supported eliminating the year-in-residence requirement.

The new proposal clarifies that a student-athlete who transfers while academically ineligible will not be immediately eligible for competition. However, they can regain eligibility after the first term at the new Division III school, based on the school’s academic standards for all student-athletes.

The council acknowledged the significance of this change, noting that such action would typically be considered by the membership through a vote at the annual NCAA Convention. However, the council decided that immediate action via emergency legislation was warranted due to recent and potential future legal challenges faced by the NCAA. The council emphasized that emergency legislation is appropriate to limit or avoid NCAA liability from litigation, alternate dispute resolution, or governmental proceedings. The membership will have an opportunity to discuss the change at the 2025 Convention when it will be asked to ratify the action.

Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026 Budget Approval

The council approved the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee’s recommendation, also approved by the Management Council, for Division III’s two-year budget for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The budget includes the following increases:

• $438,500 for enrichment fund initiatives: This includes conference grant funding, officiating support, athletic trainer and sports information professional development, and an update to the OneTeam Program.
• $3.5 million for championships: This covers expenses related to bracket expansion, an increase in per diem and officiating fees, and a joint championship for men’s basketball.
• $3.5 million in supplemental expenses: This involves providing championship hosts with a stipend to offset livestreaming costs, creating a national platform to house livestreams of preliminary rounds of team championships, a health and safety grant for schools, and funding to provide flexibility in establishing brackets to protect highly ranked teams.

“Today, the council approved the division’s two-year budget that provides championship enhancements, additional professional development for athletic trainers, mental health support, and branding enhancements,” said Jim Troha, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Juniata. “We believe these enhancements will assist institutions and conferences as they continue to address budget constraints.”

Sports Betting

The council discussed possible deregulation to permit betting on professional sports and its impact on Division III student-athletes and athletics departments. It will continue to engage the membership and reexamine the issue during its October meeting.

Council Leadership

The council extended Jim Troha’s term as chair for another year and selected Marc Camille, president at Albertus Magnus, as vice chair. These appointments will become effective at the close of the 2025 NCAA Convention in January.