The opening session of the 98th annual Convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, held at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee, was called to order at 4:30p.m., with Executive Committee Chair Carol Cartwright, president of Kent State University,presiding.

Division I Manual from the year 2004-05.

Division II Manual from the year 2004-05.

This publication incorporates the final legislative actions taken by the Division I Board of Directors from August 1, 2002, through the Board’s April 26, 2003, meeting. In addition, interpretations identified by the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet Subcommittee on Legislative Review/Interpretations are included in the Manual.

This Official Notice contains all legislation for initial consideration by the NCAA Division I Management Council at its January 11, 2004, meeting. This publication includes all proposals properly sponsored or introduced by conferences, cabinets and the Division I Management Council. To assist the membership in communicating positions through its conference offices and conference Management Council representatives, the proposals appear in topical groups.

This publication presents all proposed amendments to NCAA legislation that were properly submitted by Division I conferences and cabinets in accordance with the July 15 deadline in the NCAA legislative calendar adopted by the Division I Management Council at its April 2003 meeting. The proposals herein are printed in numerical order. No attempt has been made to place them in topical groupings or in the order in which they eventually might be voted on.

This publication incorporates the legislative actions of the 97th annual NCAA Convention, January 11-13, 2003. In addition, interpretations identified by the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee, noncontroversial amendments adopted by the Management Council, pursuant to Constitution 5.3.1.1.1, and modifications of wording adopted by the Management Council, pursuant to 5.4.1.1.1, are included in the Manual.

This Official Notice contains a composite schedule of all the meetings and sessions that are a part of the 2004 Convention. [Please note: The composite schedule is subject to change. Please refer to your Convention Program for the most up-to-date meeting sites and times.] This Official Notice also contains legislation for consideration at the Divisions II and III business sessions of the 2004 Convention, including amendments-to-amendments. It also contains the necessary information concerning the accreditation of delegates, voting procedures and other Convention policies.

This documents outlines the NCAA's Strategic Plan, including goals relating to academics, the student-athlete experience, informed governance and decision-making, effective national office administration, and perceptions of the Association and intercollegiate athletics.

This information provides a general view of historical trends in participation and sponsorship by gender, sport and division. Much of this information has been collected in detail since the 1981-82 academic year but the added teams, dropped teams and net change data are only available since 1988-89. Statistics from the 1956-57 through the 1981-82 academic years are included but are only available at five-year intervals and include recreation programs. Therefore, they are not directly comparable to the statistics for the years that followed.

For the fifth consecutive year, the NCAA compiled the following statistical information regarding student- athlete ethnicity in intercollegiate athletics at its member institutions. This information provides a general view of recent historical student-athlete ethnicity trends by gender, sport and division.

Consistent with the NCAA’s ideals of encouraging ethnic and gender diversity, Division II developed and implemented the NCAA Strategic Alliance Matching Grant Enhancement Program.

The NCAA compiled the following statistical information regarding participation in intercollegiate athletics at its member institutions. This information provides a general view of historical trends in participation and sponsorship by gender, sport and division. This information has been collected in detail since the 1981-82 academic year.

This report provides summary information concerning participation, personnel, revenues, expenses and other comparative variables of men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics programs at NCAA member institutions for the 2002-03 fiscal year. The summary information may be used to help track gender-equity issues at the collegiate level.

This report provides summary information concerning revenues and expenses of NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics programs for the 2002-03 fiscal year.

For the fifth consecutive year, the NCAA compiled the following statistical information regarding student- athlete ethnicity in intercollegiate athletics at its member institutions. This information provides a general view of recent historical student-athlete ethnicity trends by gender, sport and division.

The purpose of this guide is to help you, your family, athletics administrators and others understand NCAA transfer rules.

In 1988, the National Collegiate Athletic Association established the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program as a means of recognizing the contributions of the former executive director through encouraging excellence in academic performance by student-athletes. Under this program, one male and one female student-athlete annually will be awarded a postgraduate scholarship in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and potential for success in postgraduate study. It is intended that an individual named a Byers Scholar will be recognized as one who has combined the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for his or her achievements, and promises to be a future leader in his or her chosen field of career service.

The opening session of the 97th annual Convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, held at the Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, California, was called to order at 4:30p.m., with Robert Lawless, chair of the NCAA Executive Committee, presiding.