Sport Structure

The sport structure working group explored current and potential policies to protect broad-based varsity sport offerings and reimagine the NCAA sport structure through flexible sport management strategies. As part of the sport structure work, several subcommittees were formed to further explore remedies that would lead to greater sustainability and sport growth. Specifically, the group leaned on the expertise of the collegiate men’s volleyball sustainability committee, which included representation from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and the men’s gymnastics sustainability committee, which included representation from the College Gymnastics Association.

On a sport-by-sport basis, the groups dove into existing policies and membership requirements that both facilitated and hindered sport sustainability. The groups discussed the need for cross-divisional scheduling, flexible conference affiliation and flexible postseason management. A survey was conducted across 15 college-centric National Governing Body leaders to explore their appetite to further partner on sport management. Through their work, underlying themes surfaced as focus areas for recommendation building, including piloting a flexible membership category and deepening structural alignment.