NAC Summary June 2017 The NAIA National Administrative Council (NAC) met at the NACDA Convention in Orlando, Fla. on June 14-15. Below are important actions taken during the meeting:
Drug Education & Testing
• The NAC approved the policy manual for NAIA Drug Testing, which will begin in 2017-18. The manual was developed over the past several years by the Drug Education & Testing Committee.
Selection Committees
• After a one year pilot program in 2017, the NAC approved the permanent establishment of a selection committee to oversee the postseason selection process for men’s and women’s tennis beginning in 2018. • Men’s & women’s soccer will pilot a selection committee program in fall 2017.
Qualification Deadlines & Championship Dates
• The NAC moved the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Invitationals one week later to May 9-12, 2018, which will allow more time for regular season play. • The conference qualification deadline for softball was moved to May 7, 2018.
Qualification Plans
• The NAC approved 2017-18 qualification plans for all sports which determine both automatic qualifiers and at-large berths to all NAIA postseason events. • NAIA wrestling will move to a conference-based qualification format in 2017-18.
NAIA Softball Format
• The NAC gave preliminary approval to a proposed softball postseason format which would bring all 40 postseason qualifiers to a single, final site beginning in 2018-19. Final approval is subject to review by the NAIA Council of Presidents.
NAIA Men’s and Women’s Bowling
• The NAC approved men’s and women’s bowling for invitational status beginning in 2017-18. NAIA sports must operate under invitational status for at least two years before being considered for NAIA championship status, which means bowling could be eligible for a championship as early as 2019-20.
NAC Summary June 2017 Competitive Cheer & Dance
• The NAC approved the separation of competitive cheer and competitive dance, which will now be considered two separate sports. Future championship competitions will remain at a single location.
NAIA Cross Country Championships
• The NAC approved moving the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships from a Saturday to either a Friday or Monday to accommodate institutions whose religious beliefs prevent Saturday participation, effective for 2018-19. The final dates are yet to be determined.
NAIA Statistical Policy
• The NAC approved requiring NAIA host institutions to record official statistics for all games hosted, regardless of venue or if the host institution competes. This includes tournaments and multi-team events. Sports affected include volleyball, football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, softball, and baseball.
Opening Round Live Streaming
• The NAC approved the requirement of all opening round hosts to produce a live video stream for all contests during the opening round competition. This includes all rounds of the football championship series.
Coaches Top 25 Polls
• The NAC approved the elimination of the football spring poll and Division I and Division II men’s basketball postseason polls. (Division I and Division II women’s basketball postseason polls were previously eliminated.)
Bi-Weekly Ratings
• The NAC applied a three year sunset period to all sport motions requesting weekly ratings periods or a hybrid model. Currently, most sports are adhering to a bi-weekly ratings period and must continue to do so through the 2018-19 academic year. This provides the NAC a larger pool of data to evaluate.