The Division I Board of Directors on Thursday approved the recommendations from the Division I Transformation Committee's final report. Many of the concepts have been referred to respective Division I committees to create specific proposals to move these recommendations forward. Restructuring work will begin immediately, meaning many elements of enhanced support could be in place by the next academic year, beginning in August.
The board met during the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio.Â
The Transformation Committee, which was appointed by the board to lead the division's modernization efforts following the adoption of a new NCAA constitution during the 2022 NCAA Convention, has now concluded its work.Â
"Over the course of the last decade, the legal, political and cultural environment surrounding college sports has evolved faster than the rules, processes and structures we use to govern it," said Greg Sankey, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, and Julie Cromer, director of athletics at Ohio University, who together co-chaired the Division I Transformation Committee. "The Transformation Committee spent the last year looking at Division I from all angles and carefully crafting these meaningful recommendations we feel will modernize Division I. We're confident these important changes will meet the needs of student-athletes because they were rooted in the perspective of student-athletes. In fact, we're confident that student-athletes' voices have never featured more prominently in shaping how college sports is run."
"The process of transforming the NCAA cannot be limited to a committee or a 12-month timeline. Transformation must be a commitment accepted and embraced by all in Division I, particularly for those in key leadership positions. We must overcome reluctance to change the status quo through a continuing commitment to both the discomfort and opportunity created by an ongoing transformation effort," said Sankey and Cromer.
