cg
Full Member
Posts: 194
|
Post by cg on Feb 20, 2012 11:31:52 GMT -6
There’s been an idea I’ve been toying around with for a while now. The NCDA has gotten large by most any measure – 500+ students, 20+ schools, maybe a 100-game regular season this year – and you’ve even got people (read: Zig) working on a sponsorship or two. This group is literally kind of a big deal. There’s also a lot of money involved: we’re talking tens of thousands here between apparel, equipment, lodging, facilities, hosting the website, etc.
The idea is straightforward: Apply for non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) similar to that of other club sports. USA Ultimate, Little League, even the International Quidditch Association is exempt from taxation. Being a corporate entity would make sponsorships easier to attain, the NCDA would become eligible to apply for federal grants, and being a board member of a 501(c) organization at age 21-22 looks incredibly nice on a resume.
How it would go down: Teams talk about this in April. If the move to become a non-profit goes forward, I would interact with the teams over the summer to establish a charter spelling out how the league acts and has acted. I would then take the NCDA charter, the 2012-2013 rules, and whatever other materials are necessary, and incorporate the NCDA as a Michigan non-profit organization and apply for 501(c) status. After the application, I would handle all paperwork that needs to be filed at the state or federal level going forward and remain available as counsel in exchange for being able to call the NCDA a client and for a nominal retainer, say $250/yr. My involvement would be strictly limited to paperwork and legal representation.
That’s the concept, so hopefully we can get some discussion going on this in the next month or so.
|
|
|
Post by Josh Raymer on Feb 22, 2012 11:43:09 GMT -6
I love this idea. As an organization, I think we've added enough schools, played enough games and developed a strong enough online presence to take the next step toward becoming a more legitimate organization. The benefits of becoming a non-profit as you've laid them out sound pretty appealing: more money, more recognition and a nice resume booster for active members.
I do have a couple questions though. First, would becoming a nonprofit require the league to adopt a governing board? I did a story on a group in Frankfort that raises money to help high school athletes and I know they had a board before they received non-profit status. I'm not sure if that's a requirement of becoming non-profit, but if it is, I could see that potentially being a problem as the Nationals meeting would be too brief a time to set up something like a governing body.
Also, how would becoming a non-profit impact the NCDA's ability to get NCAA consideration down the road? Felix and I talked about this recently after I read a story on UK's rifle team. Originally we were told the league would need around 60 member schools to get NCAA consideration, but according to the story, there are only 25 varsity rifle teams across the country and several other rifle teams at the club sports level. Sound familiar? I told Felix he should ask WKU's AD about the application process, but do you know how becoming a non-profit would impact that process, Bomis?
I'd be interested to see how other active NCDA members (Spencer, McCarthy, Zig, etc) feel about this proposal.
|
|
|
Post by hiller 87 on Feb 22, 2012 12:21:55 GMT -6
This is all way over my head, but if it leads to our league getting more recognition, more money, and potentially more teams, then I am more than down to help out in any way possible.
|
|
|
Post by KFitz on Feb 22, 2012 15:30:20 GMT -6
This is all way over my head, but if it leads to our league getting more recognition, more money, and potentially more teams, then I am more than down to help out in any way possible. My thoughts exactly.
|
|
cg
Full Member
Posts: 194
|
Post by cg on Feb 22, 2012 20:14:05 GMT -6
On NCAA Recognition
Short version: To get the Association, you need the Athletic Directors.
Long version:
There are two primary obstacles to the sport of dodgeball receiving recognition by the National Collegiate Athletics Association. The first is to meet the NCAA standards for recognition. This is difficult as pertains to dodgeball, as no materials exist delineating what requirements exist for a men's sport. However, it would stand to reason that the requirements for a women's sport is the minimal hurdle.
The requirement for a women's sport to receive recognition by the NCAA as a championship sport is to first become recognized as an "emerging sport." To become an emerging sport, a petition must be filed with the appropriate NCAA committee that demonstrates, at a minimum:
*At least 20 varsity teams and/or competitive club teams currently exist on college campuses. *Other data demonstrating ample support, such as professional leagues, high school programs, conference interest in sponsorship, US Olympic involvement, etc. * A demonstrated understanding that, assuming emerging sport status is given, all NCAA institutions intend to abide by regulations regarding practice time, eligibility, etc. * A general business proposal outlining schedules, etc. * In addition, at least 10 letters of proposal must be submitted by Athletic Directors and their Presidents expressing their intent to sponsor an NCAA team in the emerging sport.
At that point, and on approval of the NCAA committee, the sport receives emerging sport status and has 10 years to demonstrate continuing support and to amass a total of 40 letters from ADs and their Presidents.
The other and in my opinion critical hurdle is that of Title IX compliance. Virtually every NCAA institution receives public funds and therefore must comply with federal law.
An institution must meet all of the following requirements in order to be in compliance with Title IX:
1 For participation requirements, institutions officials must meet one of the following three tests. An institution may: a Provide participation opportunities for women and men that are substantially proportionate to their respective rates of enrollment of full-time undergraduate students; b Demonstrate a history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented sex; c Fully and effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex; and, 2 Female and male student-athletes must receive athletics scholarship dollars proportional to their participation; and, 3 Equal treatment of female and male student-athletes in the eleven provisions (listed elsewhere on the NCAA FAQ - ed)
Title IX compliance is by far the larger sticking point, one WKU is aware of, having upgraded their football team to Division I in order to get more male scholarship athletes, thereby meeting compliance requirements. Even if no additional scholarship moneys were given, NCAA recognition includes access to tutors, facilities, departmental travel budgets, etc, that may or may not bring a school out of NCAA compliance. The practical matter is that most if not all schools are unwiling to upset what is a delicate balance.
Non-profit impact
Forming a non-profit organization as a governing body would actually improve chances for NCAA recognition as stated above. Currently the National College Dodgeball Association is a concept. It doesn't exist. If someone were to land a sponsorship, there would be no one and nothing to write the check out to. Establishing the NCDA as a corporate entity is a step towards recognition, not away from it.
As for requirements of a non-profit, you form the corporation and the board at the same time, the same as a for-profit organization. The incorporation process is when you file a document explaining how the entity "works," and that includes defining leadership positions. My personal opinion is that there should be two distinct bodies - the first would be that of the permanent board, primarily alumni who are interested in acting as caretakers in a way, occasionally pursuing sponsorships for the Association, coordinating and providing advice for new teams or the team charged with running the April Tournament, etc. - it could be that in future years the board would actually have the funds to take care of this on their own if sufficient funds exist. The other body would be that of the rules committee, which would essentially be the same group of people it is now - the representatives of the various NCDA teams. These are just my own thoughts, mind you.
|
|
|
Post by vanerme3 on Feb 23, 2012 11:35:36 GMT -6
Bomis, wouldnt having the NCAA preside over eligibility be a negative thing?
"all NCAA institutions intend to abide by regulations regarding practice time, eligibility, etc."
I thought we had the "as long as you attended the school this school year, you can play" because of schools with different schedules like trimesters. Plus, i personally dont want practice time regulated, but that is sort my own selfish agenda. While that would cut down on the number of players who stay in the league for 4+ years, is that really a problem that needs to be addressed?
|
|
|
Post by Josh Raymer on Feb 23, 2012 13:02:01 GMT -6
From what I understand, even if some NCDA teams became recognized as NCAA varsity programs, that doesn't mean every NCDA team has to join the NCAA. If dodgeball were to get recognized as an NCAA sport (many, many years down the road), the NCDA could still exist separate from the NCAA and teams – OSU perhaps – could remain a member of the NCDA and follow the league's rules for membership and practice.
|
|
cg
Full Member
Posts: 194
|
Post by cg on Feb 23, 2012 14:30:43 GMT -6
Bomis, wouldnt having the NCAA preside over eligibility be a negative thing? Given the requirements, I would say that any talk of NCAA recognition would be premature unless and until such time as Athletic Directors express a solid commitment towards establishing varsity dodgeball programs. As far as I know, nobody's ever dared to approach an AD on this, let alone get a vote of support.
|
|