The Division II Management Council on Wednesday accepted noncontroversial laws to allow student-athletes and athletics division staff members to bet on skilled sports. The rule change required approval by all three divisions and will likely be efficient Nov. 1. It applies to any sports betting actions that happen on or after Nov. 1.
The change was approved by the Division I Cabinet earlier this month and by the Division III Management Council this week.
The NCAA prohibition towards betting on school sports — and sharing details about school competitions with different bettors — stays in place. The change additionally wouldn’t impression guidelines prohibiting promoting and sponsorships related to sports betting for NCAA Championships.
The council emphasised in approving the rule change that the motion just isn’t an endorsement of sports betting, notably for student-athletes. It additional emphasised the significance of colleges utilizing hurt discount methods and assets offered by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and the Sport Science Institute. The NCAA already engages in vital efforts to present academic assets obtainable to student-athletes concerning the impression of sports betting, that are detailed on its sports betting page.
“Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports,” mentioned Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council. “This change recognizes the realities of today’s sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes.”
Convention proposals
The council took formal positions on the ten membership-sponsored proposals that will likely be voted on on the Division II enterprise session of the 2026 NCAA Convention. Those positions are famous beneath.
Members additionally reviewed the six governance-sponsored proposals for the 2026 Convention. In specific, the council highlighted a question-and-answer resource lately launched on a proposal that may allow Division II student-athletes to take part in up to 5 seasons of competitors throughout their first 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time enrollment. The Management Council additionally issued a blanket waiver, contingent on the adoption of the proposal, that may allow student-athletes, no matter sport, who would have used their remaining season of competitors throughout or on the conclusion of the 2025-26 educational yr, to obtain athletics help for the 2026-27 educational yr with out counting towards group equivalency limits. Relief will solely apply if the student-athletes stays at their unique establishment.
The 16 proposals will likely be voted on through the division’s one-school, one-vote legislative course of. For a proposal from the Division II membership to be voted on at an NCAA Convention, it should have no less than 15 lively Division II colleges or two Division II conferences on behalf of 15 or extra of their member colleges as sponsors.
The council supported the next membership-sponsored proposals:
- In soccer, to specify the next as recruiting lifeless durations: Dec. 22-Jan. 1, the Monday via Wednesday through the week of the annual conference of the American Football Coaches Association, and the Saturday prior to Memorial Day via Memorial Day. The Division II Football Committee and Division II Legislation Committee additionally supported this proposal.
- To allow colleges to present retroactive athletics help throughout a tutorial yr. The Division II Legislation Committee additionally supported this proposal.
- In basketball, to specify {that a} faculty’s first contest (recreation or scrimmage) with exterior competitors can not happen prior to the Monday that’s 17 weeks earlier than the Division II males’s and ladies’s championship choice dates. The Division II Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees and the Division II Legislation Committee additionally supported the proposal, and the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no place.
The council opposed the next membership-sponsored proposals:
- In baseball, to restrict a student-athlete’s participation in countable athletically associated actions to a most of 4 hours per day and 18 hours per week through the nonchampionship phase. The proposal would additionally allow an intrasquad scrimmage to exceed the four-hour each day restrict, offered a baseball student-athlete doesn’t exceed the restrict of 18 hours per week. The Division II Baseball Committee supported this proposal, whereas the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no place.
- In baseball, to improve the college and student-athlete taking part in season most limitation to 52 contests (video games and scrimmages). The Division II Baseball Committee supported this proposal, whereas the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no place.
- In soccer, to specify that preseason apply shall start with a four-day acclimatization interval for each first-time contributors and persevering with student-athletes. Additionally, the proposal specifies that colleges can not start apply periods any before 21 days earlier than the primary permissible contest or 9 days earlier than the college’s first day of lessons, whichever is earlier. The Division II Men’s and Women’s Soccer Committees supported the proposal, whereas the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no place.
- In softball, to specify {that a} faculty or student-athlete’s taking part in season is restricted to 56 contests (video games and scrimmages) through the phase that concludes with the NCAA championship and 4 dates of competitors (video games and scrimmages) through the nonchampionship phase. The Division II Softball Committee supported the proposal, whereas the Division II Legislation Committee opposed it. The Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports took no place.
The council took no place on the next membership-sponsored proposals:
- In golf, to improve the college and student-athlete taking part in season most limitation to 24 dates of competitors and specify {that a} faculty might take part in not more than 10 regular-season occasions. The Division II Men’s and Women’s Golf Committees supported the proposal, whereas the Division II Legislation Committee took no place.
- To exempt ladies’s area hockey and ladies’s rowing from sustaining the minimal variety of sponsoring colleges required to keep a Division II championship. The Division II Championships Committee, NCAA Division II Women’s Field Hockey Committee and the NCAA Division II Women’s Rowing Committee supported the proposal.
- To allow conferences to depend colleges within the remaining yr of the membership course of towards the minimal of six colleges wanted to fulfill the sponsorship requirement for computerized qualification. The Division II Championships Committee took no place on the proposal.
Division II working plan and long-range finances
The council really helpful the Division II Executive Board approve a proposed new six-year working plan that will likely be launched on the 2026 NCAA Convention and prolong via 2031-32, which aligns with the rest of the NCAA’s present broadcast agreements. The new plan outlines 5 broad focus areas: lecturers, athletics, well being and wellness, governance, and operations and positioning.
Additionally, the council really helpful the Executive Board approve a proposed long-range finances via 2031-32, which was developed particularly to assist the brand new working plan. In the revised long-range finances for Division II, the division allotted new income and reserves to three core areas: championships, income distribution and initiatives.
Other gadgets
- The council voted to sponsor a proposal for the 2027 NCAA Convention that may eradicate the restrict of 60 whole awards in all males’s sports apart from soccer and basketball in any educational yr. This proposal doesn’t change group equivalency limits, and colleges will stay accountable for adhering to Title IX necessities.
- The council adopted, in idea, a number of noncontroversial proposals impacting Bylaw 15, which covers monetary help laws. If adopted in legislative type in January, the proposals can be efficient Aug. 1, 2026.
- The council adopted, in idea, noncontroversial laws to eradicate the June 15 deadline for when student-athletes should present their faculty with written notification of switch. If adopted in legislative type in January, the proposal can be efficient instantly.
Make It Yours marketing campaign
Division II staff offered an replace on the division’s fall advertising marketing campaign that launched Oct. 3 focusing on the Make It Yours model. The marketing campaign features a focused paid media technique amongst potential student-athletes and fogeys that’s geared toward strengthening the notion and understanding of Division II nationally by growing consciousness that the division gives steadiness between athletics, lecturers and group engagement. Division II is utilizing paid media on Facebook, Instagram and TikTook; utilizing paid search; using video on YouTube and over-the-top streaming companies; and creating geofences round choose highschool competitions to promote the division to potential student-athletes and fogeys.