BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Presidents, Chancellors and Athletics Directors from Conference USA’s 14 members held their annual Winter Meetings this week.
“We had great participation and discussion from our members,” said John Broderick, Old Dominion President and Chair of the C-USA Board of Directors. “Everyone continues to be actively involved in conference business and initiatives to improve the experiences of our student-athletes collectively and on each of their campuses.”
The group spent considerable time on the issue of student-athlete time demands.
“While we remain respectful of the process nationally and the need for additional study, following the discussions at the NCAA Convention and with our own student‐athletes, we felt we could act now on a few of the concepts, implementing them as C‐USA rules next year, while actively participating in the national dialogue to ensure further improvements in the years ahead,” added Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod.
The conference unanimously passed the following effective August 1, 2016:
- Mandatory two-week discretionary period following the completion of a student-athlete’s championship season with no required athletically related activities allowed.
- Requirement for each university to conduct a time management session for all in-coming student-athletes.
- Commitment to continue to work with our Conference SAAC to develop additional initiatives to ensure a balanced experience.
The group also voted to opt-in as a conference on all of the autonomy legislation passed at the NCAA Convention, ranging from independent medical care and baseball representation to the permissive legislation regarding Institutional pre-enrollment fees and official visit meals and accommodations.