Division I institutions may attract most of the headlines when it comes to diversity and inclusion issues, but the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee is making sure Divisions II and III are included, too.

On the heels of its work with the Division I Committee on Athletics Certification to strengthen diversity and gender-equity elements of the certification process, the MOIC has offered to help the Divisions II and III Membership Committees enhance the diversity and gender-equity portions of their Institutional Self-Study Guides (ISSGs).

Eastern College Athletic Conference Commissioner and MOIC Chair Rudy Keeling said while the media and public may focus primarily on Division I, the committee wants to ensure that the interests of ethnic minorities and women are addressed throughout the entire membership.

The MOIC in many ways is taking a cue from the Black Coaches and Administrators association, which has experienced some success with its annual Hiring Report Card that evaluates Division I schools on their hiring procedures. The report card was created primarily for Division I head football coach and high-profile athletics administrator searches, but the MOIC believes the attention to hiring in all three divisions can be achieved through schools’ primary accountability programs. In Division I, that’s athletics certification, while in Divisions II and III it’s the ISSG.

Diversity elements are included in the Divisions II and III ISSGs, but not an overwhelming number. As part of both instruments, institutions are required only to check yes/no responses.

The Division II Membership Committee plans to meet with members of the national office’s diversity and inclusion staff during its July meeting in Indianapolis and may look at adding questions at that point. Meanwhile, the Division III Membership Committee is currently reviewing recommendations from the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee to enhance what’s already in place. MOIC is looking forward to playing a supporting role as both membership committees move forward on the issue.

“We want to look at all divisions and not just at football, but at the whole athletics department,” Keeling said. “I think this has to be addressed at all levels of the NCAA, and we need to make sure there are opportunities in all divisions.”

To his point, as well publicized as the lack of ethnic minority football coaches leading Division I programs has been, the numbers are even lower within the other two divisions. The same may be said for administrators, and especially ones within senior management, in Divisions II and III.

One of the big takeaways the MOIC hopes to gain from its outreach efforts is ensuring fair hiring practices are in place across the Association, Keeling said.

“Schools feel like they can or need to hire someone quickly to keep their recruiting alive, which, as an ex-coach, I kind of understand,” he said. “But, I also know it’s a way around doing what’s right. Those types of things have to be exposed and explored. We have to keep trying to get our colleges and universities to do things in the right way.”

The proposed partnership with the Divisions II and III Membership Committees is one of the ways the MOIC is working to encourage the NCAA membership to do just that.

Minority Opportunity and Interests Committee Chair Rudy Keeling at the 2008 NCAA Convention.