2006 ODAC Board of Directors Meeting
December
5-6, 2005
In Attendance:
Eastern Mennonite Dave
King
Emory and Henry JP
Barfield
Stephanie
Flamini
Hampden-Sydney Joe
Bush
Hollins Lynda
Calkins
Carleen Overacker
Randolph-Macon Denis
Kanach
Jeff
Burns
Randolph-Macon Woman’s Kevin
Porterfield
Heather
Somers
Sweet Briar Kelly
Morrison
Washington and Lee Mike
Walsh
Cinda Rankin
ODAC Office Brad
Bankston
Chris
Kilcoyne
Roll Call
President Curt Kendall welcomed everyone and took a roll
call for all schools present. All 13 member schools were represented.
He introduced Dave King as the new AD at Eastern Mennonite. He also thanked Kevin Porterfield and Heather
Somers for attending the meeting as representatives for RMWC, covering for AD
Val Cushman who was out for back surgery.
Approval of Spring Meeting
Commissioner Bankston explained the computer malfunction
that caused the spring of 2005 minutes to be lost. The group agreed to hold off on approving the
minutes until the spring meeting, moving to approve the Fall
‘05 and Spring ‘05 meeting minutes in May of 2006.
Dan Dutcher,
NCAA DIII Chief of Staff
Mr. Dutcher was introduced. Mr.
Kendall thanked Dan for making the trip to the meeting in an effort to keep the
ODAC up-to-date with recent NCAA developments. Dan reviewed several items
including the upcoming changes to the NCAA Division III conference/strategic
initiatives grant program and the upcoming legislation for the 2006 Convention.
Several members of the Board asked Dan questions about the upcoming convention
and provided him feedback on the proposals.
Dan urged the group to have a committee or body in charge of
creating the mechanism to distribute the new conference grant funds – a
committee should be in place by April with the structure of distribution
determined prior to the start of the 2006-07 academic year.
Dan discussed the Financial Aid audit review, explaining
that 60 schools in the Division were above the 4% variance established from the
pilot program the year prior. Continued pursuit of the reasons behind their
inflated variances was scheduled for the spring.
Standing Committee Reports
Awards / (Heather Somers,
Randolph-Macon Woman’s)
Ms. Somers asked the AD liaisons for each sport to remind
each sport to define guidelines for a sport-specific sportsmanship award. She
explained it is a slow moving process and help is needed.
Somers also distributed photos of the proposed Commissioners
Cup that would be named after Dan Wooldridge and presented to the winner at the
Men’s Basketball Tournament Banquet. The trophies were won by Washington and
Lee.
Calendar/(Jeff
Burns, Randolph-Macon)
Mr. Burns talked about how the group has changed over the years and the
activities among the group has slowed down.
He suggested looking at few new places to have the spring
meeting. A few examples were Benards’ Landing, Wintergreen and The Homestead. Concern
was expressed over the perception school administrators would have about
certain locations. The group agreed to have Mr. Burns explore options. Overall
the consensus was to return to the Va Beach area in
late May. Mr. Burns agreed to pursue those options and report back to the group
following the holiday break.
Championships and Games (Mike Walsh,
Washington and Lee)
Mike Walsh discussed several issues surrounding a recent
survey by the baseball coaches concerning an additional third game in the
conference weekend series. The Board
reviewed concerns about the missed class time and potential added cost. They
also brought up the factor of fewer options for making up postponed games. The proposal was DENIED.
Tuesday, December 6th
Special Presentations
The Board also welcomed three additional presentations on
the morning of December 6th.
VCU Sports Management Program
Joe Cantafio attended the meeting
on behalf of the VCU Sports Management program. Mr. Cantafio
encouraged the conference members to contact the program if they are interested
in having an intern for six months to a year. The program provides interns
across the state and nation – he distributed information on the program and
encouraged anyone with questions to contact him directly.
David Harlowe
– Sport Management Group
Marion Kirby introduced David Harlowe
of the Sport Managament Group. David introduced the
Board to his company and the work it does across the country. The Group
primarily does risk assessment studies of athletic facilities/programs,
municipal facilities and fitness centers. David also mentioned that long-time
Bob Malekoff
–
Commissioner Bankston introduced Bob Malekoff
– an assistant professor of sports studies at
The first involved a recent College Sports Project held in
In addition, Mr. Malekoff proposed
that he use the ODAC as the focus for his doctoral dissertation – the study
would involve interviews of each conference AD in the summer/fall of 2006.
Commissioner’s Report
Commissioner Bankston reviewed several items in his fall
commissioner’s report.
He complimented the schools who had hosted fall conference
championships. All reports back to the conference office were very positive on
the planning and execution of the recently completed tournaments.
Mr. Bankston updated the group on the status of the 2007
ODAC Softball Tournament. He indicated he had been contacted by the Virginia
Sports Complex including making a trip to visit the facility earlier in the
fall. As of the fall meeting he had not received a financial proposal for the
2007 tournament.
The Board discussed the communication with
Mr. Bankston reminded the ADs of
the NCAA Division III Regional Rules Seminars – the sites are
The conference grant changes and the need for the conference
to prepare was mentioned. Commissioner Bankston
referred to Mr. Dutcher’s comments and encouraged
members to get involved with the process as the committee is formed and the
grant is distributed in 2006-07. This will be very different from those who had
used the system when it was housed in the NCAA office. The new set-up would
allow a greater coverage of the monies as long as schools expressed an interest
to provide programs in the approved areas.
Two additional items were brought forward for consideration.
Commissioner Bankston mentioned the possibility of pursuing an intern in the
conference office for 2006-08 to help with conference championships and NCAA
events. He also brought a proposal forward to provide a new coaches seminar on
NCAA/ODAC rules in early August. The Board was in support of both proposals and
left it up to Commissioner Bankston and the conference office to complete.
Constitution and Manual (Brad
Bankston ODAC)
No Report
Eligibility / (Cinda
Rankin-Washington and Lee)
No Report
Membership / (Lynda Calkins-Hollins)
Ms. Calkins
agreed that this discussion could be tabled for the long-range planning
discussion scheduled for the next day.
Officials / (Joe
Bush-Hampden-Sydney)
The committee had several issues to bring forward after its first
conference call in early fall
.
The roles of an assigner and a supervisor were discussed. The
committee questioned whether the assigner is holding the referees accountable
for their actions on the field. Opinions vary across the league on the
professionalism and knowledge of the conference officials.
The committee also discussed fees. Everyone is battling the
increasing gas prices. Other higher division leagues are paying more and
attracting newer officials. We need to continue to recruit new officials for
the future while working to train those officials in a positive manner.
A concern about soccer officiating was expressed - along
with the action of conference men’s soccer players on the field. The Presidents
are aware of the problem and would like it addressed. Commissioner Bankston
indicated that he would contact the VISOA chair in the offseason
to discuss ODAC concerns.
Scheduling / (Brad Bankston-ODAC)
A variety of issues were discussed about scheduling for each
sport. Important dates for 2007 were
brought forward. Commissioner Bankston emphasized how important it is to have
yearly schedules made up three years in advance. The 2006-07 academic combined calendar was distributed via email following the meeting.
Sportsmanship / (Curt Kendall-Bridgewater)
Sport Committee Reports
Men’s Basketball / (Marion
Kirby-Guilford)
A proposal by the men’s basketball coaches to split into
division was discussed. This would allow for more flexible schedules that would
not have so many games in such a short-time and could cut down on cost. The group did not have any official
documented guidelines for this proposal. It was agreed to refer it back to the
coaches for further review and more specifics. The report was APPROVED.
Women’s Basketball / (Brad
Bankston-ODAC)
The group discussed the on-going dialogue of not allowing male practice players
– This will not only affect DI but all levels of NCAA play.
The women’s basketball coaches expressed concern over
equitable playing time with the men’s teams. A request was made to the
scheduling committee to discuss this issue. The material was forwarded to the
committee at its March 2006 Meeting. The report was APPROVED.
Cross-Country / (Jack
Toms-Lynchburg)
A new rotation for cross-country championships was set;
Field Hockey / (Kelly Morrision-Sweet Briar)
The field hockey committee expressed concerns with pre-game procedures. The
coaches want an official protocol. The
coaches expressed concern over two officials; they agreed to ask one to step
down.
There was a
recommendation to limit all-conference nominations to six for each school and
there were questions on Rookie of the Year and how it is defined.
Starting time
concerns for ODAC Tournament games were reviewed. There was agreement to steer
away from the guidelines if the host institution has lights. In this case – the
host should contact the schools in the championship round to review the suggested
times and see what works best with travel issues, etc. The report was APPROVED
along with all recommendations..
Football / (Joe Bush-Hampden-Sydney)
The
football committee expressed concern over football officiating and losing so many
quality people each year. There was
also discussion about adding a team to even out the scheduling or rotating it
to add variety. There were no formal recommendations for action. The report
was APPROVED.
Men’s Soccer / (Scott
Allison-Roanoke)
The men’s
soccer committee requested that the awards committee consider adding a
defensive player of the year award and a top scorer award to the list of annual
men’s soccer awards. The Top scorer award would be named after retiring RMC
head coach Helmut Warner. The information was referred to the awards
committee for continued review.
The coaches
were asked to give more clarification about using a conference call to decide
all-conference honors. Starting times
for tournament games were discussed - especially when lights come into play.
The group
asked the committee to explore some options but made no formal recommendations
for times, etc. The report was APPROVED.
Women’s Soccer / (Scott
Allison-Roanoke)
The women’s
soccer committee also had concerns surrounding starting times for tournament
games, especially when lights come into play.
The group asked the committee to explore some options.
In
all-conference procedures, the coaches asked if they can rank their players 8-1
for all-conference consideration.
Early problems
with the Brine balls were discussed. The representative has been made aware and
they are working on the problem.
A motion is
made and approved that no games can be scheduled to start after 7:00 p.m. in
regular season or conference tournament play.
The
report was APPROVED.
Women’s Tennis (Cinda
Rankin-Washington and Lee)
The subject of EMU
women’s tennis was brought forward. EMU AD Dave King was asked and had no problem
paying the committee Eastern Mennontie’s dues for the
2006 tournament at
Virginia
Wesleyan and
There were
a few clerical guideline changes noted in the report. There were no additional
items for the ADs’ review. The report was APPROVED.
Volleyball (Heather Sommers-Randolph-Macon Woman’s)
There was a motion made to remove recommendations 1-5 from
the initial Board consideration – noting that all five related to the proposed
tournament format change. The five items were later moved for discussion and
eventually were approved changing the conference tournament format in 2006. Quarterfinal
tournament matches will be played at the home site of the higher seed and the
semifinals and finals at the highest remaining seed – effective the 2006
conference tournament. See report for specific details on the format proposal.
An agreement not to share film on fellow league members with
non conference opponents was reached.
The volleyball committee also asked the sports information
directors to explore the possibility of in-game stats.
The report was APPROVED.
Student Athlete Advisory Committee
(Brad Bankston-ODAC)
Bankston
reviewed meeting was held at SBC.
Everyone was an attendance; the one missing school has a legitimate
excuse.
Dr. Joel
Fish talked with the group about leadership and proper behavior of a leader and
team member. He was well received by the SAAC.
Commissioner
Bankston reminded the group that the canned food is scheduled to end on March
31, 2006. Please
encourage your SAAC to take part in this worthwhile event.
Senior Women’s Administrators / (Joann Renn-Virginia Wesleyan)
Joann Renn related her experience at the nationwide gathering of SWAs. Upon returning, it is Joanne’s goal to have 100%
participation of every SWA in the league at the May 2006 meeting.
Sportsmanship Plans
The members of the Board were reminded to review their
conference sportsmanship action plans and be prepared to present an assessment
of their plan at the annual spring meeting on May 22-24.
Long-Range Planning
The bulk of the conference new business surrounded the
continued discussion surrounding the next steps in the future of the ODAC.
Chairman Mike Walsh directed the conversation on behalf of the long-range
planning committee.
The conference has addressed many of the easier issues as it
relates to planning and operations. We have worked together to build consensus
on various topics and accomplished a lot in the past seven to eight years. The
next step in the process is dig further and address some of the continued
concerns expresses in past studies – competitive equity across the league and
in specific sports; scheduling challenges, etc.
It was recognized that we are in an era of change with many
DIII conference shifts in our immediate region. There are numerous reasons for
the shifts including AQ considerations. Part of this discussion focuses on who
should be in leagues – thus the ODAC and its members are engaged in similar
discussions in an attempt to become a better league as a whole.
Overall, the consensus was to find a way that all members
could help others improve their programs. Specific sports were discussed. The
focus turned to the single-gender institutions and the competitive level of
competition in the league in the past several years. Numerous thoughts were
exchanged on the reasons why some schools/sports were more competitive in the
league than others.
The idea of federations and league associations were
discussed. Would we want to provide an association for schools in the league to
guarantee a schedule but not full membership? Would we want to pursue a set-up
where every school in the league could opt out of playing a sport in the
conference?
In the end, it was determined that having a record to
reflect wins and losses would help the discussion. The Board agreed to study
the competitive history of all schools in the league. E&H Director of
Athletics JP Barfield agreed to have a student intern pursue the study in the
spring of 2006. Mr. Barfield was asked to develop a model to show the past
success of all schools in each sport sponsored in the league. He agreed to
create the document and said he would have a finished product in the spring.
Once the report is complete – the information will be
distributed to the conference members (probably at spring meeting) for
continued study.
Announcements
A reminder about the league meeting at the NCAA Convention
on January 8th from 2:00-4:30 p.m. in