Amend NAIA Bylaws Article I, Section N, Note 2 as follows:

I SECTION N DECLARATION OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE IN NAIA POSTSEASON COMPETITION

Every year, each active member institution shall be required to submit to the National Office its declaration of intent to participate in the national championship program in all NAIA sponsored sports. By declaring its intent to participate in NAIA postseason competition, the institution is also committing to compete in the minimum number of contests required for postseason eligibility, as determined by the National Administrative Council (see NAC Policy Article V, Section D). The declaration period shall take place from April 1 to June 1. Declarations are due no later than June 1 and apply to the following academic year.
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Should the institution’s chief executive officer determine that an earlier declared sport team does not meet institutional standards to participate in any postseason competition, written notification of this decision must be sent to the NAIA National Office at least four weeks prior to the beginning of postseason competition. An institution that provides such notice has properly undeclared and is not held to the commitment of competing in the minimum number of contests or competing in postseason. Failure to adhere to these procedures shall require the selected institutional team to fulfill its obligation of participating in postseason play to its conclusion.

NOTE 2: An institution that properly declares its intent to participate in postseason play, and later removes itself from that obligation, shall count toward an approved qualifying group’s membership total for determining whether the qualifying group earns a single automatic qualification to the NAIA national competition. The institution shall also count toward any sport-specific minimum participant requirements for the applicable NAIA qualifying tournament. The institution shall not count toward the approved qualifying group’s membership total that enables the qualifying group to earn multiple automatic qualifications to NAIA national competition.

AND

Amend Article I, Section T, Item 16 as follows:

16. An affiliated conference/Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) (formerly the Association of Independent Institutions) shall include in its governing documents if it allows for multiple tiers of membership. When multiple tiers of membership are allowed, an affiliated conference/CAC may permit an NAIA active member to join the conference/CAC on a per-sport(s) basis if the institution otherwise holds membership in an affiliated conference/CAC which has fewer than six institutions declaring intent to participate in NAIA postseason in the given sport(s).
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Should an affiliated conference receive be awarded an automatic qualification berth in a given sport at the conclusion of a Declaration of Intent to Participate (DOI) cycle, and in the following year DOI cycle lose a full or per-sport member institution(s) thereby falling to five member institutions with a declared intent to participate in NAIA postseason in the given sport, a grace period shall be extended and the conference shall remain eligible for one automatic qualification berth in that sport. The grace period will last for two academic years beginning with the DOI cycle in which following the date the conference officially drops to five members sponsoring the given sport, provided and requires the conference maintains a minimum of five member institutions sponsoring that sport with a declared intent to participate in NAIA postseason at all times.

If the affiliated conference invokes the grace period to continue to sponsor the sport and retain its automatic qualification berth, a full member institution is not permitted to join another conference as a per-sport member in that sport. An affiliated conference that fails to regain six full or per-sport member institutions by the expiration of the grace period shall no longer be eligible for automatic qualification until it again satisfies all standard requirements for automatic qualification as determined by the National Administrative Council.

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Intent: To eliminate the provision that permits a conference to receive an automatic berth to NAIA postseason when six institutions have appropriately declared their intent regardless of whether or not the institutions fulfill the intent or undeclare, thereby resulting in the requirement that six institutions must successfully fulfill their Declaration of Intent in order for the conference to receive the automatic berth.

Effective Date: August 1, 2024

Submitted by: The Sun Conference

Co-sponsored by: Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association