2004 ODAC Fall Board of Directors Meeting
Eastern
Attendance:
Jean
Willi, Assoc. AD
Catholic Kristine
Manning, Interim AD (day one)
Eastern
Mennonite Greg
Steffen, Interim AD
Emory
& Henry Lou
Wacker, AD
Hampden-Sydney Joe Bush, AD
Dr.
Walter Bortz, President, ODAC Pres. Rep
Hollins Lynda
Calkins, AD
Carleen
Overacker, SWA
Randolph-Macon Denis Kanach,
AD
R-M
Woman’s Valerie
Cushman, AD, ODAC Past-President
Heather
Somers, SWA
Kevin
Porterfield, Asst. AD
Sweet
Briar Kelly
Morrison, AD
Cameron
Adams, NCAA Intern
Virginia
Wesleyan Sonny
Travis, AD
Washington
and Lee Mike
Walsh, AD, ODAC President-Elect
Cinda
Rankin, SWA, Asst. AD
Chuck
O’Connell, Sen. Assoc. AD
Jan
Hathorn, Asst. AD
Dean’na
Mitchelson, Intern
Monday, December 13
The
Executive Committee met at 9am to discuss the agenda and additional items prior
to the start of the BOD meeting. The group agreed to a slight reorder of the
agenda and concluded its session with a review of the afternoon combined
meeting agenda.
President
Curt Kendall called the ODAC BOD Meeting to order at 10:08am.
The
first item of business was to present the minutes from the spring meeting.
There were no suggested changes to the complete minutes. A motion was made to
approve the minutes – it was seconded and approved.
Mr.
Kendall reviewed the agenda for the day and stressed the importance for full
participation in the afternoon session with the presidents. The agenda was
reordered to move the Commissioner’s report to the beginning of Tuesday morning
providing more time for the standing committee reports to be presented with Dr.
Bortz in attendance.
The
first item of business was a review of the standing committee reports.
Awards
Brad
Bankston presented on behalf of the awards committee. The committee chair,
Larry Martin, had left his post and the chairmanship following his exit from
the AD’s role at EMU. Commissioner Bankston reviewed the minutes from a
September conference call in which the committee addressed several issues
including the conference-wide proposed agreement with Jostens, new conference
awards and the proposal for a conference-wide sport-by-sport sportsmanship
award beginning next year.
There
were several reservations from members of the Board concerning the Jostens
agreement. Commissioner Bankston reported back following his conversation with
Mike Callison and indicated Mike’s acceptance to additional support including
help with the conference-wide sportsmanship program.
In
addition, the discussion of new conference team championship awards was brought
forward. The budget committee has provided some additional funds and plans to
have the long-range planning committee discuss awards at its upcoming meeting.
The
concept of a league-wide sportsmamship program was reviewed and approved in
principle. Commissioner Bankston was asked to review the process with each
sport committee and move forward with implementation in the 2005-06 academic
year.
Finally,
the Board suggested that Commissioner Bankston move forward with additional
discussions with Jostens – ironing out the final contract, creating samples of
the commissioner cups and Jostens contribution for the sportsmanship awards.
Once complete, Commissioner Bankston should present his findings to the
committee and eventually the Board for a final decision on the pending
agreement in May 2005.
Budget and Personnel
The
budget report was referred to Dr. Bortz’s report later in the day. Valerie
Cushman did bring to the attention of the Board the 2006-07 budget – mentioning
it was proposed and will be reviewed prior to final approval next fall. By that
time, the committee will create the 2007-08 budget and present it for initial
discussion next fall.
Calendar and Site
Commissioner
Bankston reminded the group of the dates for the Spring ODAC Meeting in Va
Beach. The dates are May 23-25. The meeting will be held at the Virginia Beach
Resort and
Championships
and Games
Chair
Mike Walsh reviewed some of the past discussions from the committee’s meetings.
Two items specifically stand out following last year’s work. First – the
emphasis on neutral site championship experiences. Secondly – charging for
championship activity in the league. Meeting information will come from the
committee in late winter.
The
current tournament formats were discussed with additional discussion from the
floor concerning sites, crowds, planning, etc.
The
group concluded that the championships and games committee should create a
survey to be distributed to the members of the Board concerning specific
aspects of the ODAC Championship structure. Based on the responses, the
committee will create an agenda, hold a meeting and report back to the Board in
May.
President
Kendall distributed a master calendar covering all the aspects of the conference
from August 2005-June 2006. The calendar was a request by the presidents to
review academic conflicts in the spring while making an attempt to limit
academic conflicts (exams) during spring championship date planning.
The
calendar was reviewed – several ADs offered changes to the calendar. Mr.
Kendall indicated he would complete the revisions and have a revised version to
everyone in the fall.
Constitution and Manual
Commissioner
Bankston asked for suggestions to make the current ODAC manual more complete.
He encouraged members to forward suggestions to him prior to next year’s
distribution.
Eligibility
No
report
Membership
No
report. Commissioner Bankston brought the group up-to-date on
Scheduling
Commisioner
Bankston asked for additional people interested in serving on the scheduling
committee. He distributed a document updating the group on the league
scheduling process and the next steps for all the team sport committees in the
league. The list can be found below:
Baseball
Have schedule drawn for 2005
season. Will need to make rotation for the 2006 season and determine the next
step in the tournament planning (date). The date for the tournament has not
been determined at this time.
Men’s Basketball
Drew up schedule for combined
travel in 2004-05/2005-06 and will need to make new schedule for 2006-07/2007-08
… need to know whether we will continue to incorporate combined travel as an
option. The coaches plan to work on a version of the schedule for consideration
in the next scheduling period 2006-07/2007-08.
Women’s Basketball
Drew up schedule for combined
travel in 2004-05/2005-06 and will need to make new schedule for
2006-07/2007-08 … need to know whether we will continue to incorporate combined
travel as an option. We should afford the same opportunity to the women’s group
working in the conference parameters. The problem will be the necessity of
combined travel in the next model 2006-07/2007-08.
Field Hockey
Next schedule needed is 2006 –
once all the special dates for 2006 are received in the office we should be
able to schedule the three fall sports together – much earlier than 2005.
Football
Continue to stress the
importance of moving games to the end of the season. Need to address the last
weekend of the season and who is odd out each year. Can we make adjustments to
the process and rotate the last opponent. The schedule should be a topic of
conversation at the coaches meeting in mid-November. It was brought forward and
mentioned as a subject of conversation at the ADs meeting.
Golf
Work with the coaches to
identify the targeted tournaments for 2006. Coaches will determine the list in
spring of 2005.
Men’s Lacrosse
Move forward with new schedule
(2006) hopefully using the new computer software purchased by the conference.
The new schedule should be complete by the end of December.
Women’s Lacrosse
Make adjustments to the matrix
and create new schedule for 2006 and 2007. Refer to the items in the sport
committee report from spring of 2004 - Should be completed no later than the
end of December.
Men’s Soccer
Will need to obtain the 2006
fall special dates and begin work on the next schedule – assuming that we will
need combined travel in that model as well.
Women’s Soccer
Will need to obtain the 2006
fall special dates and begin work on the next schedule – assuming that we will
need combined travel in that model as well.
Softball
The coaches have created
matrix schedules for two years and rotate them from year-to-year. The 2006
season will be the even matrix while still having to incorporate Sweet Briar
into the mix after they are a full varsity participant in the league. The chair
of the committee will work with SBC to incorporate them into the schedule at
the end of the 2005 season.
Swimming
Work with Dave Holland to
adjust the matrix for the future years with E&H coming into the league.
Current matrix works but we need to refer to the sport committee minutes to
determine the future discussions of starting dates in October. This will be a
continued conversation with the coaches prior to the next matrix.
M&W Tennis
Make sure coaches are working
with the rotation schedule and scheduling teams listed for that particular
year.
Volleyball
Coaches are working on a model
that will allow some flexibility in the annual schedule and will only require
schools to schedule three weekend dates going into the season with an option to
move an additional play date to a weekend if they desire. This goes against
playing six dates on the weekend this past year in the tri-meet format and will
also not be in line with the last request the ADs had with the coaches in 2003
– requiring them to play at least four matches on the weekend. The Board
approved a 2005 schedule. The coaches have a 2006 model for review – The model
will be forwarded to the league scheduling committee prior to final approval by
the Board.
Commissioner
Bankston also offered the results of the conference exploration into combined
travel. The fall 2004 audit of combined opportunities included schools taking
advantage of 21% of the offerings. There are several reasons why schools might
not have used their opportunities – including game times, squad sizes, day of
the week, etc. The question was raised – Why did we head down this path (
financial, missed classtime, safety). Commissioner Bankston indicated that the
initial discussion centered around safety (charters) and financial savings. The
thought of traveling together on the weekend was seen to have little impact on
missed class – but, as some ADs reviewed, the additional time commitment can be
a disadvantage as well. The Board agreed to address the combined travel issue
with the presidents later in the afternoon.
Commissioner
Bankston asked Heather Somers (RMWC) to review the process for the 2006
volleyball schedule. She mentioned she had forwarded all the materials to the
scheduling committee – with a response expected in May.
Commissioner
Bankston continued to stress the importance of obtaining three-year tentative
academic calendars from member schools. He will distribute the most up-to-date
version of 2006-07 following break.
Sportsmanship
Two
main areas were covered in the pre-Board meeting conference call. The first was
a review of the conference games management duties and the recent success we
have had as a league in combating some of the problems of the past. In
addition, Mr. Kendall presented some sample statements provided by conferences
and one member school. The Board discussed the need to have a standard
sportsmanship statement for all schools. As an alternative Valerie Cushman and
Lynda Calkins offered for the conference to compile a list, place it on the
website, allowing schools to pull different statements from that resource for
their use throughout the year. As a condition of membership, member schools
agree to read a statement prior to contests and print a statement in their game
programs as well.
Other
strategies for games management were discussed including
Overall,
the progress of the conference on this front is positive. The committee will
continue meeting on a regular basis to emphasize the importance of
sportsmanship in the conference.
The
2005 conference Division III grant for sportsmanship was reviewed. Six schools
had already hosted Dan Doyle on their campus. RMC, HSC, VWC, RMWC, SBC and LC
addressed Mr. Doyle’s visit to campus. Some expressed disappointment in his
presentation. Many believed the key element in his presentation was
sportsmanship, specially the emphasis on behavior at campus events. Several did
not believe Mr. Doyle emphasized this enough and encouraged each campus
scheduled for the spring to discuss its needs with Mr. Doyle prior to his
arrival. Others praised his presentation and the results with the
student-athletes. A large majority of the sample surveys returned to the ODAC
office indicate that the student-athletes thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Doyle’s
presentation. Commissioner Bankston agreed to communicate with Mr. Doyle and
discuss some of the concerns from the fall in an effort to include perceived
missing points from his fall presentations. Additional information on the
upcoming spring presentations will come following break.
**Prior
to lunch, President Kendall reordered the sports committee reports moving
football up to accommodate Kristine Manning’s (CUA) schedule.
Football
President
Kendall attended the football meeting and presented the committee’s report. There
were three recommendations from the coaches:
1. Coaches voted to mandate the turnover next fall to DVD disc for
film exchange. With present systems out there this can be done for less than a
$1,000.00 and is necessary with the fading of SVHS products. Format should be
+RW to ensure that schools can exchange and play the discs properly.
2. The coaches are going to
explore the possible option of offering Clinics
throughout the state of
exposure for ODAC football. Other programs do it and Michael Clark agreed
to write a proposal to see if we could get a structure where it could
comfortably and economically fit into our schedule and structure. The proposal
will
be distributed to the coaches by Christmas with additional information sent to
the ADs following their review.
3. It
was voted on 7-0 that the Defensive Player of the Year Award should be named
starting in 2005 after retiring Coach Lou Wacker of Emory and Henry.
The
Board APPROVED all three recommendations requesting additional information from
the coaches on the state-wide clinics. It was understood that the coaches would
see additional information from Mike Clark (BC) prior to final implementation.
** In addition, it was requested that the minutes
reflect the endorsement of the Board toward the committee’s desire to name the
Defensive Player of the Year after retiring E&H head coach Lou Wacker.
Coach Wacker’s accomplishments were acknowledged by the Board and noted in the committee’s
report.
At
12:15pm President Kendall suggested the group take its lunch break and asked
the group to return prior to 1:30 – the scheduled starting time for the
combined meeting with the conference presidents.
Monday Afternoon Combined Meeting:
Additional
Attendance for the afternoon’s meeting:
Bridgewater Dr.
Phil Stone
Eastern
Mennonite Dr.
Lauren Swartzendruber
Lynchburg Dr.
Ken Garren
Roanoke Dr.
Sabine O’Hara
Sweet
Briar Dr.
Elisabeth Muhlenfeld
Washington
and
College Sports Project
Commissioner
Bankston called the combined meeting to order at 1:35pm. He welcomed all in
attendance and thanked the presidents for taking the time out of their busy
schedules to meet with the Board. The agenda was reviewed and Commissioner
Bankston introduced the subject of the afternoon’s meeting with a short address
highlighting several key developments for the conference during the past year.
The
first item of business on the agenda was an update on the College Sports
Project presented by Amy Campbell the AD at
September 2004 Meeting Review
Dr.
Bortz (HSC) provided the group with a quick overview of the conference
presidents’ meeting held on September 28 at
He
indicated the presidents’ support of the proposed conference budgets for the
2005-06, 2006-07 academic years and indicated that the presidents had agreed to
increase the commissioner salary to 100 percent of the national average. In
doing so, the presidents in attendance agreed to make up the difference, due to
the salary increase, through their individual budget lines – without having to
dip into the current athletic department allotments for 2005-06.
Dr.
Bortz referenced the master calendar created by Curt Kendall and the Executive
Committee. The calendar shows all the current dates in question for the 2005-06
academic year including the potential conflicts with academic calendars and
spring championships.
The
subject of combined travel was brought up briefly calling on the data from the
2004 Fall travel audit in which 21 percent of the provided opportunities were
used. The Board previously discussed some of the reasons and suggested that the
conference provide opportunities when possible but not make a necessary part of
the future fall schedules beginning with 2006.
NCAA Survey and 2005 Legislation
NCAA
Division III Presidents Council Chair Dr. Phil Stone and DIII Management
Council member Valerie Cushman combined on the next agenda item. Ms. Cushman
began the talk with a brief overview of the recent NCAA Division III survey and
a review of the focus groups currently taking part in evaluating the results of
the survey. Ms. Cushman encouraged the group to continue its involvement in the
survey and review of the preliminary results. She indicated the NCAA would send
a more up-to-date version of the results prior to the convention and mentioned
the conference should gather at the convention to discuss these issues further
– perhaps in an attempt to create a conference position.
Ms.
Cushman mentioned the Councils’ desire to provide aggregate results to
conferences if so desired. Several presidents and ADs added that they thought
the information could prove beneficial but suggested that the information be
released in aggregate form and not school specific. Ms. Cushman said she would
pass that information along to the Management Council at its Convention
meeting.
It was later determined that the conference would make
an attempt to sit together at the upcoming convention and discuss the survey
results as a whole during the prescribed session on Sunday morning.
Dr.
Stone asked if there were any additional questions on the proposed legislation
for the 2005 Convention. He reviewed a couple of the key points and indicated
areas where the Presidents’ Council would place its focus. He encouraged those
able to attend the meeting. He stressed that the intention of the survey was
not legislation based … it was created to serve as an information gathering
document allowing schools and conferences to compare ideas and thoughts hoping
to see them working together to solve some of the additional concerns still
expressed in the membership.
The
conference thanked Dr. Stone and Ms. Cushman for their service to the
conference and Division. They were encouraged to pass on additional information
to the Board prior to the Convention which starts on Jan. 8 in
Long-Range Planning
The
final segment of the afternoon’s agenda was dedicated to long-range planning.
Commissioner Bankston provided a brief explanation on the past history of
long-range planning in the ODAC and reviewed the conference purpose and values
statement prior to breaking the group into four groups.
The
four assigned groups were asked to review one specific values statement in the
conference and take into consideration the membership feedback provided under
that value. Feedback on the conference statement was collected by the
conference long-range planning committee a year ago and was categorized by the
committee at a meeting last spring.
Minutes
from the individual group discussions were forwarded to the conference
Long-Range Planning Committee for review and comment at its next meeting.
Commissioner
Bankston thanked everyone for attending. The long-range planning committee will
collect this information and schedule a meeting prior to the end of the winter
season to set its plan for a presentation to the Board in May. Additional
information following the upcoming winter meeting will come soon. Individuals
interested in serving on that committee were asked to contact its chair Mike
Walsh.
The
Board reviewed the long-range discussion and planned Tuesday’s meeting
schedule. Mr. Kendall announced the meeting would reconvene at 8:30am Tuesday
morning.
Dinner
plans were announced. The group would meet at the hotel prior to departing for
the restaurant and reception, planned for 6:30pm.
Tuesday, December 14
After
welcoming all the ADs, Mr. Kendall resumed the meeting at 8:40am. He reviewed
the agenda for the day and asked for additions to the agenda (new business).
Several items were added to the agenda and will be listed under the new
business section of these minutes.
Mr.
Kendall turned the meeting over to Commissioner Bankston for the semi-annual
Commissioner’s Report.
Commissioner’s Report
Mr.
Bankston addressed the group on several fronts – first recognizing those who
hosted conference championships in the fall. All of the fall championships were
a success based on feedback following the title games. Host institutions did an
effective job handling crowd control and encouraging sportsmanlike behavior
from the spectators.
The
2005-07 ODAC Basketball Tournament contract was discussed. Commissioner
Bankston reviewed the pieces of the contract. He explained that the contract did
not contain major changes from the previous contract … with a slight increase
in the guarantee to the league and contribution to the annual banquets. The
contract was moved and approved prior to presentation to the Rotary Club.
The
Board considered a request from the ODAC Basketball Officials Association (ODAC
BOA) to use the conference ID number to manage its bank account. After
extensive discussion, the Board recommended that Commissioner Bankston meet
with representatives of the organization and express concern about the use of
the conference name (ODAC) in the organization’s materials. In addition, the
Board did not recommend that the conference provide its ID number for the
associations intended purpose. Commissioner Bankston will meet with the association’s
leadership and report back to the Board prior to the end of the basketball
season.
Commissioner
Bankston reminded the group to appoint a person on staff to handle compliance
issues. He mentioned several times this fall when he was approached by a coach
at a member school asking a question about NCAA rules and regulations. In every
case, Commissioner Bankston will involve the AD or compliance staff member of
the coach’s question. The DIII Rules Test is a great chance to familiarize
coaches and staff members of DIII regulations. Additionally, Commissioner
Bankston will make trips to campuses to review requested rules and regulations
if asked to do so.
The
recently completed (2003-04) NCAA Foul Summaries were distributed to the Board.
Commissioner Bankston explained their origin and the history behind the Empire
8’s study. He explained – they simply serve as a bench mark for the conference
to compare itself to others in Division. The plan is to make this
Association-wide in the near future. He reported the conference’s numbers for
the 2004 fall sports were reported in mid-November.
The
final official fee structure was determined for 2005. The fee chart in the
2004-05 ODAC manual was reviewed and affirmed to be the most up-to-date version
for the ADs’ use.
Several
questions were raised following Commissioner Bankston’s report, including a
request from several schools to study the use of HiTek Meet Manager for
swimming and track. Commissioner Bankston commented that the plans are to use
the Meet Manager and Team Manager software this winter as a test for the indoor
and outdoor track performance lists. The purchase of meet manager software for
swimming programs is possible should there be additional funds available in
this year’s DIII Conference Technology Grant.
Mr.
Kendall thanked Commissioner Bankston for his work and asked that the same
thanks be passed on to the members of the conference office staff for their
service each year.
Sport Committee Reports:
The
Board resumed the review of sport committee reports – with the exception of
football which was addressed on Monday morning while a
Athletic Trainers
Denis
Kanach (RMC) presented the committee’s report. There were two recommendations
from the committee (below).
1. The athletic trainers ask
that the out of season contest day be revisited and perhaps limit the number of
contests allowed in a contest day.
2. Suggest the ODAC adopt a
statement regarding athletic departments having an AED available and easily
accessible during practices and competitions.
The
Board reviewed the report including extensive discussion following a review of
the conference training guidelines concerning emergency service personnel in
attendance at football contests in the league. Members of the Board discussed
their policies for coverage at football games – given the rural nature of some
of the schools in the league – some contract with ambulance services while
others have to rely on volunteer response organizations. Weighing all the
options, the Board elected to change the wording in the training guidelines to
call for a dedicated ambulance to be on site for all JV and varsity football
games – with the intention the ambulance is there for the entire contest. The
motion was APPROVED unanimously.
The
Board also reviewed the trainers second recommendation passing the following
statement to be added to the conference guidelines.
“Knowing
the importance of AEDs, the conference Board approves that AEDs are available
and accessible to the athletic department on campus during practice and
competition.” The motion was APPROVED unanimously.
Discussion
on the first recommendation yielded numerous concerns from the ADs about
non-traditional season limits on contests and the importance of being cognizant
of the trainers when planning these out-of-season play dates.
The
remainder of the report was moved and seconded – APPROVED unanimously.
Men’s Basketball
Marion
Kirby (GC) presented the report to the Board. There were no official recommendations
with the exception of working with the committee on the upcoming
2006-07/2007-08 conference schedule. With the help of E&H head coach Bob
Johnson – the committee recommended it work on several versions of the schedule
for review. The Board asked that the league scheduling committee continue its
work on the schedule and communicate with Coach Johnson on the committee’s
progress with additional proposals.
The
report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Women’s Basketball
Val
Cushman (RMWC) presented the report. There were no formal recommendations from
the committee. Several discussion items from the meeting were brought forward
in the Board review. The importance of working with the men on the schedule was
addressed and referred to the scheduling committee.
The
pass vs. pass list debate was discussed. Schools who charge were asked to be
tolerant of pass lists making it to campus prior to the contest. Coaches are
working on the process – and because of the possibility of having changes from
game-to-game – they are completing the lists and getting them to the schools in
question as quick as possible.
The
report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Cross Country
Dr.
Jack Toms (LC) presented the report to the Board. There was one formal
recommendation for review (below)
1. Determination of a new
host for 2005 ODAC Cross-Country Championships as Hollins will not have a
cross-country program after this year. Hampden-Sydney is willing to assist
The
coaches’ site recommendation was APPROVED unanimously.
Commissioner
Bankston also called the Board’s attention to the recently published letter
from EMU head coach Lester Zook concerning the NCAA rule on uniforms. The group
consulted with Dr. Toms on the current uniform policy and common practices.
Overall awareness of the issue was brought forward in an attempt to educate
administrators prior to the purchase of cross country uniforms in the future.
The
report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Field Hockey
Kelly
Morrison (SBC) presented the report. There were a number of recommendations
(below) from the committee:
1. All-Conference Team
Selection
A thorough examination of the
new electronic all-conference ballot ensued.
Enza Steele agreed to create a “players to watch” form to be distributed
before the next meeting and exchanged between coaches during the 2005 preseason
meeting at Sweet Briar. There were
complaints by all that the ballot was sloppy.
The committee then discussed the ranking of the
nominated players. Jennifer Crispen
(SBC) moved that: Coaches were required
to place players in rank order on the ballot, but that the rankings are for
informational purposes only. The
motion was seconded by Kim Michael-Mertes (VWC) and was passed unanimously by
the committee, 9-0.
The committee then agreed to
form a subcommittee to explore other voting options. Laura-Ann Lane (RC)agreed to chair this
subcommittee with Wendy Orrison (W&L) and Sarah Copplestone (HU) assisting
her. The 2004 All Conference team was then presented. Jennifer Crispen suggested that the awardees
be listed in alphabetical order rather than in the order of the number of votes
received.
Specialty Awards Voting
Procedures and Next Year’s Meeting - After the specialty awards were tallied
and winners announced, Kim Michael Mertes (VWC) moved: The Coach of the Year selection process should occur after the ODAC
Tournament as well as the end of the season committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Wendy Orrison
(W&L) and agreed to unanimously by a vote of 9-0.
2. Play Day 2005:
Next was a discussion of the
2005 play day arrangements. It was
agreed that the play day would be hosted by
3. New Chair and Secretary
The final order of business
was to elect a new chair for the committee.
It was agreed that the current secretary would take over the duties of
chair. It was voted on and passed
unanimously that Allyson Kenyon (BC) would become the committee’s new
chairwomen for the next two years. Enza
Steele (LC) volunteered for the position of secretary and was voted into the
position unanimously by the committee.
All of the proposed
recommendations were APPROVED by the Board.
The
Board also reviewed a request concerning the practice of completing all
conference games. The history of the rule of playing all conference contests to
completion was discussed. The Board asked the championships and games committee
to review the current conference policy and report back to the Board in May.
The
report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Men’s Soccer
Sonny
Travis (VWC) presented the report. The three recommendations from the Committee
(below) were discussed. Discussion on each can be found below the
recommendation.
1. - VISOA is proposing a
$400 dollar charge for mileage/travel/scrimmages. Gas is becoming a serious issue for referees.
Assigning fees will stay the same - $25 dollars. The association asked that
this item be voted on by the coaches for final AD approval.
Questions were raised
concerning the determination of the $400 fee – Scott Allison (RC) agreed to
work with George on the figure to determine its origin. Upon review – the
figure was a round figure close to a game fee – and also includes a scrimmage.
Concern was raised about the travel fund – how it is distributed – are we
helping other leagues with further trips, etc. (The recommendation was
TABLED). Commissioner Bankston was asked to contact George Grzenda and
VISOA in an attempt to work through these issues. He will report back to the
Board once that discussion has taken place following the New Year.
2. - The group would like to
move to a ranking system. We would be
asked to rank our players on our team from 1-10. This will help other coaches understand where
we rank our players. All of this voting
will take place through email. The ODAC
Chair or the ODAC office will take care of compiling the data. (APPROVED)
- Coaches voted on adding a
fourth forward to the list of All-Conference.
There was much discussion on whether we should add a fourth forward or a
player from a different position. Commissioner
Bankston and everyone agreed that the committee could add a fourth forward
because the women’s coaches already have a 1-4-4-4 system in place.
3. - The coaches discussed
and voted on moving the ODAC meeting to the day of the semi-final. This will allow for all of the coaches to get
together for the semifinals – hopefully developing more camaraderie. (APPROVED)
In
addition – a note in the committee’s report was brought forward for
clarification. The discussion concerning a woman working a men’s soccer game in
the league was the subject of discussion at the coaches’ meeting stemming from
two games in the 2004 schedule. Further clarification from George Grzenda (VISOA
assigner) indicated a computer mistake in the assignment. Members of the Board
challenged the idea of gender being a factor in working conference matches.
Commissioner Bankston encouraged the assigner to assign qualified individuals
to ODAC soccer games regardless of gender. It was noted, that Commissioner
Bankston will restate this position to the incoming VISOA director once that
person is selected by the association.
The
remainder of the report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Women’s Soccer
Brad
Bankston (ODAC) presented the report. AD liaison Larry Martin was unable to
attend the meeting after departing his position at EMU prior to its scheduled
date. The three recommendations from the committee can be seen below. Discussion on each can be found below the
recommendation.
1. VISOA Referee Trave
Trave
The issue was TABLED per
the discussion concerning the same request in the men’s report.
2. Tournament Structure
The proposa
The proposed change was
brought to a vote and passed with a margin of 5 for, 4 against with 3
The Board had extensive
discussion surrounding this proposal – knowing that it moves us away from the
traditional final-four format. The discussions continued into the coaches’
desire to have additional rest and the impact it would have on teams with
smaller and larger rosters. In the end the Board made the decision to allow the
change in 2005 calling for the women’s soccer tournament to be played in a
Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday format. (APPROVED)
3. Pregame Format
Coaches discussed the use of
the NCAA pre-game schedu
The
report was moved, seconded and APPROVED unanimously.
Women’s Tennis
Cinda Rankin (W&L)
presented the report to the Board. The recommendations forwarded by the
committee can be found below. Discussion
on each can be found below the recommendation.
1. Seeding and the Draw bylaw
change-
Add: II. E. f. vii - All coaches involved in
an appeal will be given proper information prior to the seeding committee’s
decision. (APPROVED)
2. Team Sportsmanship Award bylaw
Add: III G: Team Sportsmanship Award is selected by vote of conference head coaches at the conference tournament. The award is given to the team whose players and coaches display the highest level of sportsmanship throughout the regular season and the ODAC tournament. A coach may not vote for his/her own team. The selected team will retain the sportsmanship award plaque for one year. (APPROVED – noted that the board will ask the awards committee to compile additional information on a league-wide sportsmanship award beginning in the 2005-06 academic year in all sports.)
VolleyballHeather Somers (RMWC) presented the report to the Board. 1. Change the guidelines in All-Conference Team to state the following: A first team and second team, of seven players, will be selected by all the ODAC volleyball coaches before the ODAC tournament. Each coach will email their All-Conference, Rookie of the Year, Libero, and Coach of the Year nominations along with individual stats and other pertinent information to the ODAC office one-week prior to the ODAC tournament. Coaches may nominate an unlimited number of players for All-Conference. The ODAC office will compile a list of nominations that will be emailed to all coaches. The coaches will rank the nominees in order with the 12th player being most favored and the #1 player being the least favored out of the selected 12. The coaches will then email the ballot to the ODAC office by the time set by the ODAC SID. The conference office will then notify the coaches of the results on Wednesday prior to the conference tournament. Certificates will be presented to all 15 players (7-First All-Conference Team, 7-Second All-Conference Team, 1 Rookie of the Year). The honorable mention recipients will not receive a certificate, but will be recognized. A coach may not vote for a player from their team. The All-Conference team will be announced immediately after the conclusion of the 12:30 PM match. (See Old Business, letter B and New Business, letter D, Number 5) (APPROVED)
2. Change the guidelines in Tournament Structure and Schedule to state the following: The tournament will be a single elimination tournament. All matches will be 3 out of 5. Fridays matches will be seed #1 vs. #8 at 10:00 AM, #4 vs. #5 at 12:30 PM, #2 vs. #7 at 3:30 PM, and #3 vs. #6 at 6:00 PM. Warm-up times on the court for the 3:30 match will not begin until after the all-conference awards are announced. All teams are guaranteed 45 minutes of warm-up. Saturday matches will include the semi-finals (winner of 1 vs. 8 vs. winner of 4 vs. 5) at 10:00 AM and (winner of 2 vs. 7 vs. winner of 3 vs. 6) 12:30 PM. The finals will be played at 7:00 PM. (APPROVED – 11y, 1n, 1 abstin)
3. Change the guidelines in Tournament Administrative Personnel and Their Duties, Number 3, first sentence to state the following: A seven-person All-Tournament team, including 1 libero, shall be selected. (APPROVED)
4. Change the guidelines in Regular Season Competition, Letter C to state the following information only: Each team in the conference is required to play at least four matches on a weekend (Fri.-Sun). (REFERRED TO THE LEAGUE SCHEDULING COMMITTEE PRIOR TO DECISION AT SPRING MEETING ON 2006 LEAGUE SCHEDULE)
5. Change the guidelines in Coaches Meetings, Letter A to state the following: One to be held annually at 5:00 PM the Monday after Thanksgiving. (APPROVED)
6. Other changes
a. Change the All-Conference voting ballot to allow for unlimited nominations. Each coach will nominate an unlimited number of players, 1 libero and 1 Rookie of the Year. There will be 7 players on the 1st team (one being the first libero) and 7 players on the 2nd team (one being the second libero). (APPROVED)
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Commissioner Bankston
reported on the conference SAAC meeting conducted on the campus of
The committee was encouraged
to return to their campuses and plan for the 2005 ODAC SAAC Community Service
Project. The third annual food drive will begin when all the schools return
from winter break. The goal will be 100 percent participation. Since these minutes were completed … the
ODAC SAAC collectively compiled over 9,000 food items for local food pantries
across the state.
The report was moved,
second and APPROVED by the Board.
SWA Fall Forum
Hollins SWA Colleen Overacker updated the Board on the recently completed NCAA
SWA Fall Forum held in
Mr. Walsh suggested that the long-range planning committee schedule a meeting
for the late spring or early summer to review the information gathered in
Monday’s joint meeting with the presidents. After taking those responses into
consideration, the committee will make a recommendation to the Board in
December 2005 – with a clear vision of the next step in the strategic planning
process for the conference.
NEW BUSINESS
NCAA Survey Information (Val Cushman, RMWC)
Ms. Cushman asked the group to review the preliminary results from the NCAA
Phase II Division III survey. Many of the members did not feel comfortable
reviewing some of the findings without a more thorough review of the NCAA
report. Ms. Cushman suggested that the group work together at the convention to
sit in a specific area to have the opportunity, as a conference, to review the
results in the scheduled discussion sessions. The group agreed to meet in the
back left of the room to sit together in smaller groups to review the findings.
Several members followed up on the previous day’s discussion of having the
results from conference members compiled and distributed to the league. Ms.
Cushman promised to return to Management Council in January with the
conference’s interest in seeing this accomplished.
Gap Insurance Issues (Lynda Calkins, HU)
Several members of the Board
expressed concern over the 2004 convention legislation which required schools
to show proof of insurance for student-athletes covering the limit up to the
deductable of the NCAA catastrophic insurance coverage. Many of the schools had
just started the process of reviewing this with their business managers. Lynda
Calkins (HU) mentioned she knew that the NCAA was reviewing the issue and
trying to help schools with additional information. The possibility of
purchasing in bulk was discussed.
The Board requested that the commissioner look into possible CICV group
insurance to cover the gap between student policies and the ever-increasing
NCAA deductable. Commissioner Bankston promised to reach Robert Lambeth, CICV Exec.
Director, to discuss prior to the 2005 spring meeting. Mr. Lambeth was contacted and will conduct a discussion on the gap
insurance issue with all school chief financial officers in
Hammer Throw as a Conference Sport (Jack Toms, LC)
The Board brought the hammer throw back to the floor following tabling it at
the spring meeting in 2004. The track committee liaison was asked to research
some costs for the installation of a hammer cage. The rough estimate of $800 was
quoted for an in-house job with a factory installed cage costing more.
The motion was made to
support adding the hammer as a conference sport at the outdoor track and field
championships – second – APPROVED.
2006 Conference Spring Championship Dates
(Kendall, Walsh)
Mr. Kendall asked that the
Board review the previously distributed master 2005-06 calendar to choose the
best dates to host spring championships. After a thorough discussion of the
options and the opportunity for schools with conflicts to discuss the pros and
cons, a motion was made to host the conference baseball championship a week
later than the 2005 scheduled event – playing at a yet-to-be-determined
location on April 27-30, 2006. Second. Approved (8Y, 1N, 2Abstin).
Three schools indicated they would be in a portion of their exam period during
those dates but agreed to make the necessary adjustments on campus to allow the
conference to play a week later. Commissioner Bankston was asked to relay the
selected dates to the Lynchburg Hillcats in an effort to host the event in
Convention Legislation (Bankston,
Cushman)
Commissioner Bankston distributed a sheet indicating the upcoming NCAA
legislation for the 2005 Convention in
Announcements
Commissioner Bankston made a special presentation to Emory & Henry’s Lou
Wacker in recognition of Coach Wacker’s contribution to the conference during
his 20+ years at E&H. Mr. Wacker had previously been honored by the
conference football coaches – having the Conference Defensive Player of the
Year named in his honor. He was presented with a plaque commemorating his
assistance in the administration of the conference and years of service as the
E&H Director of Athletics and service on the ODAC Board of Directors.
The meeting was adjourned at
1:10pm
Respectfully submitted,
Brad Bankston
Commissioner