The NCAA recently extended legislative relief to NCAA sport sponsorship requirements for members.
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Division I Sport Sponsorship Minimums
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on NCAA spring sports, the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee recently extended legislative relief to member institutions from having to meet NCAA sport sponsorship requirements due to the outbreak.
To better understand why this legislative relief is instrumental for Division I institutions in meeting their membership marks, it is first helpful to understand what the Division I’s core sport sponsorship requirements are to start.
All 350+ Division I institutions across the country offer a variety of sports ranging from high-profile sports like women’s basketball, which 99% of Division I institutions sponsor as of 2019, to the more boutique sports, like men’s water polo, which is only sponsored by approximately 7% of the Division I membership.
As you look at your own institution’s sport sponsorship listing on the athletics department homepage, it is helpful to know what the NCAA’s minimum sponsorship requirements are for all Division I member institutions, regardless of conference affiliation, enrollment size, or membership tenure in DI.
NCAA regulations state that a member Division I institution shall sponsor teams according to one of the following two criteria:
Seven (7) varsity intercollegiate sports, including at least two team sports, based on prescribed minimum requirements and involving all-male teams or mixed teams of males and females, AND seven (7) varsity intercollegiate sports (of which a maximum of two emerging sports may be used), including at least two team sports, based on the minimum requirements specified and involving all-female teams.
OR
Six (6) varsity intercollegiate sports, including at least two team sports, based on the prescribed minimum requirements and involving all-male teams or mixed teams of males and females, AND eight (8) varsity intercollegiate sports (of which a maximum of two emerging sports per may be used), including at least two team sports, based on the minimum requirements specified and involving all-female teams.
The prescribed minimum sports a Division I institution must sponsor assumes a minimum number of participants involved in the sport and a minimum number of competitions played by those teams. There are many distinctions (e.g., "event" sports like track and field vs. a "contest" sport like basketball), waivers, and other nuances to sport sponsorship, ranging from differences between a “club sport” and a “varsity sport” to sponsorship expectations for a single-gender institution.
In terms of the type and classification of a sport that would count toward the above Division I sport sponsorship minimums, the NCAA states the sport must:
Be among those for which the Association sponsors a championship or an emerging sport for women;
Be recognized by the institution as a varsity intercollegiate sport; and
Involve all-male teams, mixed teams of males and females or all-female teams
Check your school’s sport sponsorship listing. How diverse is it? Is it closer to the 14-sport sponsorship minimums (7 & 7 or 6 & 8) or does your institution’s sport sponsorship run into the 20s, 30s, or even 40s? Conference-affiliation can play a significant factor in terms of the scope of sports your institution may sponsor.
Back to the present, the legislative relief from the normal sport sponsorship requirements due to COVID-19 was an appropriate decision. A Division I institution that, for example, sponsors the bare minimum number of Division I sports (14 varsity sports; 7 per gender)---would be first in line seeking this NCAA legislative relief through a waiver hadn’t the NCAA stepped in and granted blanket relief for all.
As context, a Division I institution’s baseball team and softball team, by rule, must each compete in a minimum of 27 contests in order for each sport to count toward Division I sport sponsorship requirements.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Division I institutions’ baseball and softball teams this spring had not played in 27 contests by the time COVID alarm bells were ringing across college campuses. Hence, relief from the sport sponsorship requirements becomes an easy call to make for the NCAA when a pandemic disrupts sports (and life) across the country.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
