Legislative Requirement:  Every active member conference shall designate an athletics diversity and inclusion designee to be the primary contact and conduit for diversity and inclusion-related information.

 

Rationale: The designation of an athletics diversity and inclusion designee symbolically and practically represents the Association's recognition of inclusion as a core value. It also supports the Presidential Pledge and Commitment to Promoting Diversity and Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics. It is the responsibility of each member institution to establish and maintain an environment that values cultural diversity and gender equity as acknowledged in Constitution 2.2.2 (Cultural Diversity and Gender Equity). While the NCAA national office provides valuable resources and programming to support the membership's efforts toward creating and maintaining inclusive environments, often institutional and conference personnel are not aware of available resources or opportunities. This proposal seeks to create a network of colleagues who will serve as the conduit for consistent and thorough dissemination of diversity and inclusion-related information between conference offices, campuses, the athletics departments and the NCAA. The staff member given the designation may be either internal or external to the athletics department. The contact information for the designated staff member will be entered on the institution or conference's NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Demographics Form.