Draft minutes of the May 1 IAAC meeting 1. The meeting began at 10:55 a.m. Members attending were Athletic Director Steve Kirkham; Faculty representatives Jackie Berning, Jim DesJardin, Travis Peterson, and Charlie Shub; Academic Coordinator Robert King; Staff Representative Glenn Steimling; and UBAC Representative Al Schoffstall. Also in attendance was Coach Peterson. 2. Coach Peterson gave his season wrapup report. He began by noting the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in six years. He noted that the team was picked to finish first, but things happen. He noted the length of the winter, the horrendously cold playing conditions, and provided the committee with more details of being stranded in Wagon Mound, NM owing to bad weather. The population is under 500, but the townspeople were extremely gracious hosts. A writeup can be found at After returning to campus, the team collected three boxes of souvenirs and sent them to the school. Given that the school has only 84 students (k-12) there was enough for every student to receive something. Coach Peterson wrote a glowing letter to the Governor and noted receiving a nice reply. Peterson noted that despite the poor record, Stacy Haney was named first team all conference and three others were honorable mention. He discussed the closing of the Bullpen, an indoor facility for practice in Colorado Springs. He felt that the combination of the bad weather and lack of an indoor facility might have contributed to the poor performance. Peterson noted the team continued to excel academically, achieving a 3.2 team GPA. He noted that the team has a bat sponsorship, the only one in the conference, and received donation of 500 bags of sunflower seeds. That, along with the rise in scholarships and the dorm waivers is huge. He still loves the job. He and director Kirkham are exploring getting access to the CSCS batting cage in exchange for CSCS getting more afternoon practice time at Mountain Lion Field. Peterson noted that the student athletes were disappointed, that he was frustrated and disappointed, but pleased that the players never gave up. They had great attitude. Finally, in response to a question from the committee, Peterson noted that the relationship with the faculty has seemed to improve. He said that he is no longer getting complaints from professors because the athletics department keeps them informed about absences. 3. A motion by Al Schoffstall seconded by Jackie Berning to approve the minutes of the April meeting passed without dissent. 4. Director Kirkham gave his report. He noted that coach Peterson had been invited to be a Clinician at the NCAA Division I National championships. Kirkham also noted that the RMAC has entered into an agreement with B2 Networks to webcast competitions. B2 provides the equipment and once subscriptions pay for the equipment, the institution will receive a portion of the subscription fees. Kirkham discussed regionalization for Division II. While we used to be grouped with Texas, we are now grouped with Minnesota. Missouri used to be grouped with Minnesota, but is now grouped with Texas. Kirkham noted that transportation costs will be going way up. Kirkham reported that Nic Fuller received a 4000 dollar RMAC degree completion scholarship and the Sky Sox Award, both of which will help him complete his studies. Kirkham reported attending the SAAC produced CUSPYs. CUSPYs are modeled after the ESPYS. SAAC did an outstanding job and the event was enjoyed by all. Kirkham noted that he was working on an apparel deal with Adidas. The winners of the McLaughlin awards were announced as Jim Bettner and Stacy Haney. Finally, he noted that UCCS had self reported a violation of the rules for the new amateurism clearing house and had allowed a student athlete to compete before all the paperwork was completed. Despite the clearing house not flagging the student as not being compliant, they assessed a fine for failure to comply. Kirkham announced that the RMAC, the oldest athletics conference in the country will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. 5. Shub gave the FAR report. The RMAC spring FAR meeting was held by teleconference. a. Commissioner Smith gave updates on Strategic Grants, FARA, Rules seminars, the RMAC strategic plan, FAR fellows, SAAC, and Broadband. b. The upcoming AD agenda was reviewed. There was discussion about encouraging schools to adopt Saturday afternoon games in basketball for longer road trips. Potential code revisions will include looking at flexibility in last minute weather related rescheduling, quorums, and the coach reprimand process. c. Again, there was discussion on membership. Affiliates for swimming might be added. candidates might include Texas-Permian basin, Grand Canyon, and Incarnate Word. The topic of increasing membership was discussed. Potential candidates might be Dixie State, Southern Utah, Black Hills State, South Dakota Tech, Hastings College. With 16 teams, a school would have 18 conference games. 14 would be in division and 4 would be out of division 2 at home and 2 away. That would mean only one trip to the other division. The frequency of visiting a particular out of division opponent would be once every 4 years. d. There was discussion of the role of the FAR and how it varies from school to school. The point was made that engagement of the FAR in meetings and as advisor to the AD and President is important. Also emphasized was the role of campus advocate with the faculty. e. The committee reviewed the degree completion application process. There is less money this year (24k insteads of 28k). Staff will look at electronic submission rather than paying overnight courier fees. f. The group was reminded that 2009 will be the centennial celebration for the conference. g. The group set meeting dates for next year. Tentatively, the fall meeting will be held in San Diego in conjunction with the FARA meeting. The fallback would be October 10. The spring meeting will be held with the Basketball championships in March. Shub announced he had been appointed to the NCAA Men's Division II soccer committee. 6. Shub was elected as chair for next year by acclamation. 7. Shub was asked to deal with the process of finding members for next year. 8. At 12:05, the meeting was adjourned.