Old Dominion Athletic Conference
2007 Fall Meeting – Monday-Tuesday, December 3-4
Emory &
Attendance:
Brad Bankston – ODAC Commissioner
J.J. Nekoloff – ODAC SID
Sara Rechnitzer – ODAC Asst. to Comm.
Curt Kendall –
Dave King – Eastern Mennonite AD
Beverly Hatch – Emory & Henry Assoc. AD
Trey McCall – Emory & Henry Asst. AD
Dr. Rosalind Reichard – Emory & Henry
President
Jeff Bateson –
Joe Bush – Hampden-Sydney AD
Jack Toms –
Heather Somers –
Kevin Porterfield –
Denis Kanach – Randolph-Macon AD
Chris Kilcoyne – Randolph-Macon SID
Scott Alison –
Kelly Morrison – Sweet Briar AD
Hilary London – Sweet Briar SWA
Joanne Renn – Virginia Wesleyan AD
Jan Hathorn – Washington & Lee AD
Wendy Orrison – Washington & Lee SWA
Bryan Snyder – Washington & Lee Asst. AD
Absent: Lynda Calkins – Hollins
(illness)
President’s
Report
Much time was spent discussing D-III membership issues including the
integration of athletics and academics.
The AD’s would like to hear more about what each school is doing in
order to compare throughout the league.
Time was also spent talking about the
conference-wide sportsmanship initiative.
Discussion also took place reviewing of the
The presidents
suggest that the conference look to have an AD/Presidents meeting in late May
to discuss the continuing NCAA Division III membership study. Surveys are planned in February with results expected late spring.
Soccer Officials Discussion
The Question was asked if the performance of officials on the field had
improved. It was
acknowledged that there was a visible effort made to improve said
performance, with women’s soccer noticing a greater variety of officials in
assignments.
Approval of Spring Minutes
A question was asked if there was a response to the letter written to
the NCAA. Commissioner Bankston has not
received a formal response other than that it was received.
Motion to the approve minutes, seconded
(Unanimous vote)
Agenda
There was brief discussion
of the meeting’s agenda over the next two days including moving the
commissioner’s report to Tuesday as well as a few minor changes to the timeline.
Awards Committee
The Awards
Committee report began with a breakdown and discussion of the ODAC Commissioner
Cup models. Three models were used to recalculate past and current ODAC results. The new models take into account either
conference tournament results or sport sponsorship or both. Much time was spent discussing
the purpose of the cups and their directions for the future. The awards committee will take points from
Monday’s discussion, which leaned towards looking into a non-penalizing format
for determining cup winners, and report to the Board in May.
The Awards
Committee presented a comprehensive review of all the team awards that are given throughout the season. One focus was on honorable mention awards and
if the application of those awards are consistent throughout all sports. Discussion centered around
standardizing all-conference teams including honorable mention squads. The Awards Committee will return with
recommendations at the spring meeting.
Discussion next
centered on the NCAA Woman of the Year nomination process and
whether the conference should continue to use the Berkeley Award winner as the
ODAC nominee. There was concern
over timetable issues with two different deadlines. There was concern expressed that the Berkeley
Award winner is a scholar-athlete, but the NCAA Woman of the Year encompasses
more than just academic prowess. More
thought stemmed towards changing the selection process of the Berkeley Award to
narrow down the nomination pool for vote at the annual spring meeting. The narrowing-down process would fall to the
Awards Committee with the new pool secured prior to the spring meeting. Deadline established as mid-April for
nominations.
Should
a 200-word essay component be added to the Jopson and Berkeley award process? Adding this would fall more
in line with the NCAA nomination for Woman of the Year? Also, how do we
celebrate the two awards on a grander scale?
Possible thought on creating a school-specific competition to decide
each school’s nominee. The group discussed publicizing the award on campus –
forwarding to the campus community the school’s Jopson and
The Awards
Committee would like to create criteria for a sportsmanship award across the
conference. The committee prefers the
women’s soccer model that awarded a “Sportsmanship Team” comprised of 11
student-athletes, one from each institution.
Recommendations
a. Golf – reduce 1st, 2nd
& HM teams to 5 members each (Referred
to Awards Committee)
b. Women’s
Tennis – come up with a method to seed & vote for all-tournament in spring
(discussed in sport committee report)
c. Women’s Tennis – find a method to
select All-Conference team based on season accomplishments, similar to Men’s
Tennis. Suggestions include using a seeding committee to determine the top
players in each flight and award positions based on the committee’s
recommendation – coaches vote on the final recipients (discussed in sport
committee report)
d. Sportsmanship – apply women’s soccer
model to each sport for All-ODAC Sportsmanship teams (final approval in May)
e.
i.
Updating the deadline and moving it into April
ii.
Update the application and ask for a written
statement
Voting approved Unanimously
- the conference will update the nomination deadline, revise the nomination
form and ask that each nominee include a 200-word essay as part of the
conference application.
Budget
The 2008-09 budget was approved at the 2007 President’s Meeting. The 2009-10 budget
will be determined at the 2008 spring meeting.
No additional discussion took place.
Calendar
The Spring Board
Meeting will be at the Wintergreen Resort, May 20-22. One price per night will cover meals and
lodging. The meeting will be on site,
but will require your own transportation from lodging to the resort meeting
location.
Rotation for Fall
Meeting – 2008 fall meeting is set for
Championships and Games
Commissioner
Bankston updated the group concerning a split Golf Championship. The ODAC is allowed to count the fall and spring separate tournaments
as one complete tournament in determining the conference automatic qualifier.
Tournament Numbers
– There was discussion on the determination of who should qualify for ODAC
tournaments in select sports. Several
sports either are or willing to look to change the number of teams that
qualify.
Baseball Pre-game
Procedures - The coaches looked to change the pre-game timing during the ODAC
championship. They would like to build
more time into the pre-game to help with dressing the field and still start the
games on-time.
Looking for the build-in of an extra 15 minutes prior to
first pitch. Voting – Motion to accept 105 minute pre-game schedule was second
and approved by a 10-0 vote (2 abstentions – Randolph and Sweet Briar).
Double-Headers
and Night Double-Headers - Discussion about who should play the first game and
the second game of double-headers. Concern stemmed around who gets
to stay in class longer as well as gender equity in determining the
schedule. More discussion on scheduling
of double-header games at a site during a conference tournament and determining
a more defined procedure for scheduling tournament games. Involvement from participating athletic
directors was stressed to determine game times.
Recommendation to include championships
preparation material/form that was sent out by
There was further
concern about multiple sport hosting of conference tournament games at a single
institution. There was sentiment made of
determining a rotation for which sport would play first or a flexible day
rotation.
Constitution and Manual
No report
Eligibility
No report
Membership
Shenandoah Visit – A comprehensive report was included in the
membership minutes. Commissioner
Bankston feels the visit was very thorough, leaving no topic undefined. Presentations by Shenandoah were well
constructed. Curt Kendall adds that
Shenandoah could/would be a possible future option. Shenandoah’s football offerings were above
average. Shenandoah made mention of
plans to or the ability to improve athletic facilities as they were viewed as
in poor condition by members of the ODAC on the visit. There is a standard that Shenandoah is aiming
for, but it is not there yet. Among the
possible improvements that Shenandoah is considering are upgrades to the
gymnasium, soccer and field hockey playing surfaces.
Officiating
Commissioner
Bankston explains that the ODAC will provide a more formal evaluation of
officials. Individual sport committees
will have input in the process. Commissioner Bankston also discussed a few
specific sports and any change/expectations through the fall seasons into the
winter and spring. There was further
discussion about the state of officiating in the conference throughout several
sports. Overall Commissioner Bankston is pleased with the quality of official
supervisors and the work they perform.
Sportsmanship
The Presidents’
have been pleased with the visible emphasis placed on sportsmanship this
season. Game manager badges have been
used and have made a difference during games.
They have been used on a broad basis, providing a visible identity to
those in attendance indicating who is working the game and who has a right to
be in certain places within the playing arena.
The Faculty
Athletic Representatvies want to be move involved in
the conference’s sportsmanship intitiatives and will create a proposal of what
their role should be. The FARs also noted
the unique perspective they have concerning their contact with a far broader
base of students than just the athletes.
Awards committee
charged the athletic directors to come up with baseline criteria for a
sportsmanship award. The AC is looking
for consistency in “what is sportsmanship” behavior, but there was much
discussion that there is not one definition for what sportsmanship is --- that
one definition cannot encompass all aspects. Commissioner Bankston was asked to
work with the committee to develop a definition and work with the campuses
across the league to improve their knowledge of the league’s expectations.
Commissioner
Bankston made note that there is money set aside in the Tier II grant to help
with sportsmanship education. It could
help in determining what the issues are in the ODAC and how to form a plan to
ease said issues. A preliminary idea for
use of some of that money included permanent signage at the site of competition. It was also determined that entities like
student life departments should be consulted for wording and themes of
sportsmanship endeavors. There was also
notion for a sportsmanship letter be written by the institution presidents and
delivered to the students, parents, student-athletes and coaches.
Scheduling
Academics
calendars for 2008-09 were distributed to everyone in attendance. There is a push for the creation of a three-year
calendar. Many institutions have this,
but those that don’t delay future conference scheduling. Special dates are a prerequisite for
scheduling, especially in the fall.
There was an idea proposed to allow more flexibility outside of the
matrix for special dates only.
Basketball
Scheduling - Women’s basketball coaches are unanimously in favor of their
current 20-game schedule. The men’s
basketball coaches are looking to play a 16-game schedule. The 16-game schedule
is an agenda item within the men’s basketball coaches’ report.
Volleyball would
like flexibility to move a weekend to a weekday if travel time is within 2.5
hours and both coaches agree. This issue will be addressed in the sport
committee report.
Men’s
Basketball Report – Brad Bankston, ODAC
The committee
approved a conference sportsmanship team that will consist of one player
nominated per team. The coaches will include the individual’s name on their
all-conference ballot.
The coaches desire
to play a 16-game conference schedule rather than the current 20-game
schedule. A question was raised by the
athletic directors whether the vote in the basketball coaches meeting was
unanimous. It was confirmed that in fact
it was not. Concerns also stated that
finding nine non-conference games would be difficult to accomplish, considering
many teams already play some out-of-conference teams twice in one season.
To the contrary,
Mr. Kanach notes that it is important for them to play non-conference games to
recruit in other areas. Point was made
that the men’s basketball coaches committee did not put together the correct
report that the AD’s asked for in the spring meeting. The current report lacks the creation of
divisions as well as other aspects. Mr. Kanach
also recommends the idea of a “friendly” with another ODAC school, but the
outcome does not count against league records towards the conference
championship.
Concern arose that
ODAC teams currently “beat up on themselves.”
It was also explained that coaches are trying to get away from
back-to-back games, as well as trying to get past the fact that conference
losses hold them from gaining an at-large bid.
Vote to approve 16 game schedule – APPROVED
7-to-4 (1 absention).
*Special note: The subject of tournament participants (# qualifying) was
referred to the championship and games committee for additional review prior to
the May 2008 board meeting.
Women’s Basketball Report – Brad Bankston,
ODAC
The
women’s basketball coaches have no opposition to playing a 20-game conference
schedule. There was also good communication
between coaches and supervisor of officials, Vickie Van Kleeck.
The
coaches voiced approval for continuing to use male practice players per NCAA
legislation. Hollins was told it could
look for a waiver form to still field a male practice team.
RECOMMENDATION:
The home team is responsible for providing a DVD to the visiting team following
the game. Each coach should make sure
that he or she is ready to comply with this request and has the appropriate
equipment to make this happen. Vote was APPROVED unanimously.
Cross Country Report (also track) – Jack Toms, Lynchburg
The outdoor track and field championships
were moved to April 18-19, noting the change to a two-day meet format. This date is two weeks earlier than normal
which accommodates many teams desire to enter the Penn Relays. The coaches moved to increase the fees for
the cross country and outdoor track championships (both passed).
Cross country championships
for next fall (2008) should be at Emory & Henry according to the
rotation. The course has yet to be
set. If it is not ready, Virginia
Wesleyan has offered to host the 2008 cross country championships. E&H must
notify the ODAC coaches no later than April 18 – referencing its intention to
host the championship in Nov. 2008.
Vote on the report as a whole was APPROVED unanimously.
*** Since the conference meeting – E&H has passed on hosting the
2008 cross country championship and will refer to Va
Wesleyan. VWC will host in 2008 – information to come in the spring.
Field Hockey Report – Kelly Morrison, Sweet Briar
The coaches are very happy
with the current Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday championship tournament format. The coaches would also like to keep all eight
teams in the tournament rather than moving to a six-team format. Reasons
expressed to maintain 8 –
It would give 10 days off in
between games.
There were questions voiced about
the sport’s competitive level using games between the #1 and #8 seeds and the #2
and #7 as examples.
The idea of creating a general
championships philosophy to help govern decisions was also discussed. Sentiment also arose to use the same criteria
for governing all sports and their championship formats. There was much
discussion from the athletic directors that field hockey would be the only team
sport that would have 100% participation in its conference tournament and how
that would affect other sports throughout the conference. The ADs requested that the championship and games committee review
this at its upcoming meeting.
Ballot for all-conference
voting went to an online format. While
working well, the process will need some redefining as some coaches had
difficulty deciphering the ballot.
RECOMMENDATION: Motion to
refer lighted game times to championships committee (seconded).
Voted was APPROVED unanimously.
Vote on the remainder of the report was APPROVED (2 abstentions).
Football Report – Joe Bush, Hampden-Sydney
The coaches had a brief
discussion about officials with supervisor Doug Beatty. Overall they are pleased
with Doug’s work and stress the need for continued recruitment and development
of the staff.
It was noted that football has
seven teams with each team having an open (bye) week. It’s very difficult to get non-conference
games depending on the time of year. The
coaches are looking for more conference games.
The Middle Atlantic Conference
brought about a possible scheduling deal where ODAC teams would play MAC teams
on a given weekend early in the season. Shenandoah University was the subject
of additional conversation. The coaches wanted to know if the ADs would
consider making SU a football-only member of the conference.
Dr. Toms explained the issues
and prognosis of a possible football program at Lynchburg, stating that if it’s
going to happen, he believes the process is 2-3 years from implementation.
Vote on the report as a whole was APPROVED unanimously.
***Commissioner Bankston was asked to pursue the possible MAC scheduling
agreement, working with the MAC commissioner to develop a plan for further
review at the spring board meeting.
Faculty Athletic Representatives Report (FAR) – Jim Bowling, Bridgewater
FAR
2007 was the second year the
FAR’s had their organizational meeting.
They are looking to increase their momentum to have more of an involvement
in ODAC athletic circles.
Mr. Bowling asks that ADs
continue to push for more involvement from the FARs, as well as keeping them
informed throughout all seasons. It goes
a long way to help them understand the relationships between student-athletes
and coaches as well as their own relationships with student-athletes.
The FARs are going to start
meeting annually following the national FARA meeting. Please encourage activity and attendance in
these meetings (only five there this year).
Much of the lack of activity could be to newness of some to the
position.
The FAR’s will meet at
Lynchburg College in November 2008.
It was also noted that the
FAR’s are concerned about sportsmanship, but less about the student-athletes
and more about the student body as a whole.
They are also looking for
secondary funding to supplement monies from the NCAA in order to make the
annual meeting.
Men’s Soccer Report – Scott Allison, RC
The men’s coaches wish to
change the tournament format to a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday setup,
eliminating the semifinals and finals preset in a Friday-Saturday
structure. Vote amongst the coaches was
6-5 in favoring of making the switch.
Motion to approve the change in the tournament format to
Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday was seconded.
Vote was APPROVED unanimously.
Women’s Soccer Report – Brad Bankston, ODAC
There was a change in
scheduling matrix to have home dates on listed special dates.
The coaches would like to
build in some flexibility into the postseason tournament scheduling. The athletic directors believe that this concern
and others like it (from all sport committees) should be referred to the championship
and games committee.
RECOMMENDATION 1: Upon
request, the home team will provide a copy of the match to the visiting team
within seven days of the match on media provided by the home team. The visiting team should request a copy in
advance. The media source cannot be used
for scouting reports to outside competition or exchanged with other
opponents.
RECOMMENDATION 2: Scheduling
Committee to meet in February 2008 created to discuss all issues and concerns
with the conference matrix method.
RECOMMENDATION 3: In the ODAC
Women’s Soccer sport Committee Guidelines, change the working from “In the
event the host facility has lights and chooses to play at night…game time is
7pm” to “In the event the host facility has lights, game time is suggested to
start between 2:30-7:00pm. Decision is
first discussed between coaches, and if required, mediated between the
institutions athletic administration and conference officials.”
Motion was made to refer recommendation 3 to the Championships and Games
Committee. Vote of the motion was
APPROVED unanimously.
RECOMMENDATION 4: Term of the
Committee Chair and Secretary is to change to serving one (1) year in each
position. The order is determined by
alphabetical order of institutions. If
there is a change in personnel, alterations in order can be made.
Motion was made to approve recommendations 1, 2 and 4 as a whole. Vote of the motion was APPROVED unanimously.
Women’s Tennis Report – Joanne Renn, VWC
Fall tournament switched to
the dual format last year. This year’s
fall tournament went very well. The date
for Fall ’08 is yet to be determined.
New on the table is the top
eight teams in the spring would go on to the dual-match format tournament.
RECOMMENDATION 1: Play the
Spring Tournament at one location. The
top 8 teams go to the championships, play one dual match on Saturday and two
dual matches on Sunday beginning in 2009.
Teams will play out all position places.
RECOMMENDATION2: The coaches
moved to change the number of all-conference awards. Number 1 & 2 flights would receive three
awards. Number 3 & 4 flights would
receive two awards. Number 5 & 6
would receive one award.
Motion was made to approve recommendations 1 and 2. Vote of the motion was APPROVED (2 abstentions).
Volleyball Report – Heather Somers, Randolph
RECOMMENDATION 1: To remove
the requirement that school assigned line judges take test and watch video.
(Passed 10-0 by coaches). Motion to approve recommendation 1. Vote of the motion was APPROVED unanimously.
RECOMMENDATION 2: Seed #1 and
Seed #2 play first matches (quarterfinal) and Seed #3 and Seed #4 play the
second match times with the same times as indicated in the tournament
guidelines. (Vote: 7 for and 3 opposed and 1 abstain by coaches). Motion
to approve recommendation 2. Vote of the
motion was APPROVED unanimously.
RECOMMENDATION 3: To change
the first round of the tournament to 4:00 pm and move up the next matches to
6:30 (one hour increase in time). (Vote 6 for; 3 opposed and 2 abstain by
coaches). Motion to approve recommendation 3.
Vote of the motion was APPROVED unanimously.
RECOMMENDATION 4: To change
scheduling guidelines - If a team is inside 2 ½ hours they do not have to play
on a scheduled weekend if both coaches agree. Matches that are moved from
a weekend to a mid-week must be played at 7:00 pm if the distance is more than
2 hours. (Vote: 11 for; 0 against by
coaches). Motion to send recommendation 4 to the Scheduling Committee for the
creation of an appeals process to create more flexibility for scheduling in all
sports. Vote of the motion was APPROVED
unanimously.
RECOMMENDATION 5: Establish a
date for the annual meeting in 2008 - Tentative date is Monday after
thanksgiving on December 1. 3:00 pm at Sweet Briar. Depends on AD
meeting. Brad will know by next week. Passed 10 for and 1
abstain. Back-up date is Monday, November 24 at 3:00 pm. Vote: In
favor 10; and 1 opposed. Motion to approve recommendation 5. Vote of the motion was APPROVED unanimously.
Membership (Val Cushman – NCAA Management Council Chair)
Val Cushamn,
the chair of the NCAA Management Council, explained the 2008 Division III
Convention Proposals. She announced that
there will be a lot more time for discussion and roundtables on Saturday,
Sunday and Monday at the convention for discussion surrounding D-III membership
issues.
Several issues were discussed
concerning membership NCAA membership.
1.
Two
issues marking the membership issues in Division III. One is the increased size of the
division. Looking at year 2016 as a
cut-off date for decision-making. The
other question is the varying philosophies of Division III institutions. It is pretty clear a third of the membership
votes for reform, another third votes for more permissive legislation, and the
final third drifts back and forth between the two.
2.
Division
III has and will have a 3.18% revenue allocation. Money for a new division or
sub-division has not been allocated.
3.
Division
I has put a moratorium on new members.
Division II has a revolving door policy.
Division III is becoming saturated with new members and the future hold
little promise that the DIII membership will remain static.
4.
Discussions
will center on a new division rather than a sub-division. Sub-divisions take care of the size problem,
but not the philosophy problem. Thoughts
that the new division would be different, giving Division III the choice to
remain the same should it wish to.
Initial discussions show the new division to be more restrictive. The committee is concerned with how much
legislation it should put forth for the new division in January and how much to
let the new division develop itself.
5.
Moving
forward would require a vote by the entire NCAA membership for a new division. A sub-division would require a vote of only
Division III membership.
SAAC Report – Sara Rechnitzer, ODAC
Sara Rechnitzer announced the
NCAA Division III Leadership Conference in Irving, Texas, at the end of
January. Commissioner Bankston strongly
encouraged that each school should send representatives.
Ms. Rechnitzer also explained
that the SAAC meeting included a very open conversation about sportsmanship.
The conference-wide SAAC food
drive should be well underway. The league has a goal of 20,000 food items in
2007-08. The deadline for the competition is March 31, 2008.
SWA Report – Jan Hathorn, W&L
Very strong turnout at the
annual meeting.
The SWA’s will offer a women’s
symposium in April 11-12 at Sweet Briar College. It will utilize the Tier II money to help
women that would like to pursue a career in athletics. The SWA’s determined three areas to stress
within the symposium: transition from player to coach and the different levels
of coaching, opportunities in athletics beyond coaching, and work/life balance.
One committee was formed to
determine the key note speaker(s) for the symposium. Those have been identified as Bridget Belgiovine from Wellesley College and Dr. Ellen Staurowsky from Ithaca College.
A second committee will work
on ideas for icebreaker activities for the first evening.
It was explained that in the first
part of March, each school should send the names of 2-4 students to the
conference office that will attend the symposium.
At the committee meeting, the
SWA’s compiled a list of duties and responsibilities that SWA’s do or should
handle within the athletics department.
That list included 12 different areas of emphasis:
1.
Membership
in NACWAA (National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators)
2.
Represent
institution through attendance at various conventions and seminars
3.
Access
to budgets
4.
EADA
Report
5.
Student
Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)
6.
Compliance
7.
Faculty
relationships
8.
Academics
9.
Facilities
10.
Student
Athlete Mentoring Program (SAM)
11.
Involved
in institution self-study
12.
Attendance
at the spring ODAC board meeting
Motion to approve the FAR, SAAC and SWA reports. Vote of the motion was APPROVED unanimously.
Commissioner’s Report
Commission Bankston and Mr.
Nekoloff discussed the specifics of the video webcast put to use throughout the
fall football season. Also discussed was
its future for the upcoming basketball campaign as well as spring sport
schedules and championships. The Commissioner asked schools to explore this
option on campus. It takes a minimal investment to accomplish a quality
product. Cooperation of the campus IT staff is essential.
Commissioner Bankston
announced the dates and sites for the regional rules seminar. E&H, EMU, HSC, RMC and VWC will get a
$1,000 grant from the Tier I money to attend this event in Boston or San
Antonio. Schools were asked to identify the staff members planning to
attend.
Commissioner Bankston also
supplied updates on the grant program. The
conference has focused efforts on Tier II and has plans for the next two years
providing grants programs for diversity and sportsmanship. Tier III is still dedicated to
technology. Tier I monies for
development have been handled appropriately and will cover professional
developments for many different individuals throughout the academic year.
Conference self-study
procedures must be done by the first of August. The conference will utilize the
executive committee as the review committee for the national self-study.
New Business
Commissioner Bankston
commented on the Integration Institute, asking each institution to keep integration
on the table and moving forward on your campuses. Each institution should have received a
report of what each school is currently doing under its integration
efforts. Presidents are very supportive
through this process. Feel free to offer
up any information in the spring meeting.
The conference plans
additional integration programming at the May meeting. If members have
suggestions they should forward the information to the commissioner ASAP.
Announcements
NCAA Convention dates are set.
The ODAC plans to host a meeting on Sunday, Jan. 13 in the Gaylord property
from 2-4pm. Members are encouraged to bring additional people attending the convention
to this meeting.
MEETING ADJOURNED – 3:05 P.M.