Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Report of the Athletic Administrator Council February 18, 2016 Teleconference
Action Items.
1. Recommendation. To require the following minimum standards for webcasting for
the sports of men’s & women’s basketball, football, volleyball and wrestling.
Basketball Minimums
 One camera that is manned and follows action (including zooming in and out
if needed)
 Score Graphic (score, period/quarter, time)
 Play-by-Play Announcer
 Stretch live stats included in portal
Football Minimums
 One camera that is manned and follows action (including zooming in and out
if needed)
 Score Graphic (score, quarter, time)
 Play-by-Play Announcer
 Stretch live stats included in portal
Volleyball Minimums
 One camera that is manned and follows action (including zooming in and out
if needed)
 Score bar (Includes set number, set score and match score)
 Natural sound (crowd mic) for audio
 Stretch live stats included in portal
Wrestling Minimums
 One camera that is manned and follows action (including zooming in and out
if needed)
 Natural sound for audio
 Score bar (Includes teams scores, match score and weight class)
Rationale. The recommendation from the NSIC Webcasting Working Group is to set
a standard in the NSIC webcasts for the sports of volleyball, football, basketball and
wrestling. The minimums proposed were shared with the membership and no
negative feedback was given to implementing these standards. The motion was
supported by the entire working group.
Effective Date. 2016-17 academic year.
APPROVED.
2. Recommendation. To approve the football and basketball Wilson ball contract as
proposed.
Rationale. The football and basketball coaches supported extending the ball
agreement with Wilson as Wilson is the official ball for the NCAA in both sports.
Effective Date. July 1, 2016- June 30, 2019
APPROVED.
3. Recommendation. To approve the baseball Rawlings contract as proposed.
Rationale. The coaches want to use the official NCAA baseball. There is a difference
in the seams of the baseball and the core of the ball. Coaches feel that this is
important to have a consistent ball when moving into post season play.
Effective Date. July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2019
APPROVED.
4. Recommendation. To increase the soccer match fees to $180 for center officials and
$135 for assistant referees effective for 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Rationale. The current soccer match fees are set at $170 for center officials and
$125 for assistant referees through 2017-18. While these fees were established as
part of a multi-year plan, the current fee structure has become antiquated, making it
harder for our coordinator of officials to attract the best officials in the region. The
average match fee for Division II soccer officials is $180 for center officials and $135
for assistant referees, making our current fee structure $10 per official behind the
average. Additionally, other conferences in our geographic officiating pool have
recently approved graduated fee increases which would put our fees behind starting
with the 2016 season. Increasing the soccer match fee would assist the coordinator
of officials in attracting the best officials. The recommended fee increases for the
NSIC would result in a $30 per match increase in fees or an approximate total
increase of $225 for the conference season.
Effective Date. 2016-17 and 2017-18.
APPROVED.
5. Recommendation. To accept the bid from the Rochester Amateur Sports
Commission and Rochester Recreation Center for the 2017 NSIC Women’s
Swimming and Diving Championship Meet.
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Rationale. The Rochester Recreation Center meets the facility and staffing
requirements to host the conference championship meet. As the only complete bid
submitted, the coaches are willing to be flexible on the proposed dates
Effective Date. 2016-17 swimming and diving season.
APPROVED.
6. Recommendation. To adopt the revised volleyball schedules for 2016-18.
Rationale. The revised schedules were developed in response to concerns regarding
equitable team travel. By rotating the order of opponents for all teams from year-toyear the schedule will provide a more equitable approach to team travel by ensuring
that the teams with the longest road trips would not be making the longest return
trips on consecutive years.
Effective Date. 2016 conference volleyball season.
APPROVED.
Informational Items.
1. NSIC Compliance Items.
a. NCAA Mini-Compliance Seminar. As a reminder the compliance seminar will
be held at the Best Western Premier, Burnsville, MN on April 11 and 12. A
detailed agenda was provided. The registration link will be send to the
membership by Melissa Sewick.
b. Quarterly Interpretations Update. The group was provided the July through
December 2015 requested interpretations. This document is posted on the
compliance web page. Please use this document as you see fit on your
campus. The conference office uses this document to track trends, which
then assists in planning for future rules education sessions.
2. Webcasting Committee Report. A report of the webcasting teleconference was
provided. The webcasting committee was joined by J.D. Fox and Dan Chelgren of
Stretch Internet to help answer questions on expanding NSIC webcasts beyond the
proposed minimums. The group discussed the needs for streaming in HD. Above
the cost of bandwidth from stretch ($1000 per year) institutions need HD cameras,
HD cabling, HD capture devices and computers with enough processing power to
handle HD. Mr. Fox provided a Spec Sheet outlining requirements for live
streaming. It was asked that this information was shared and discussed with IT
people on each campus.
There was also discussion on HD and choppy video or buffering during webcasts.
Mr. Powicki explained that a choppy feed (or frame skip) is usually caused by the
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encoding computer trying to process the video on campus. Buffering can be caused
by the user not having enough bandwidth on their internet connection to view the
stream. Currently Stretch is working on “Transcoding” the video, which would give
users the option of picking their bit rate for the best viewing experience. Stretch’s
goal was to have this ready for fall of 2016, but could not guarantee it would be fully
functioning by then. A current option was to send two streams, an HD and an SD
stream that a viewer could choose from the portal. The group also discussed the
Stretch Live Stats and the lag associated with them. Mr. Fox said on the working
group call that Stretch has already updated their server and is continuing tests to
have live stat lag cut to a minimum.
The webcasting working group plans to gather more information on HD with the
goal of making it a requirement in the future. The working group felt a question and
answer session with Stretch could be beneficial for the league administrators.
3. Ball Contracts.
a. Football/Basketball Wilson Proposals. The football and basketball coaches
reviewed the Wilson ball contract proposal. The proposal is an extension of
the current ball contact. The football and basketball coaches are in favor of
extending the Wilson ball contract.
b. Baseball Rawlings Proposal. The baseball coaches reviewed ball proposals
from Rawlings and Wilson for the 2016-19 seasons. Although the Wilson
proposal provided some additional institutional incentives, the coaches
voted 8-7 in favor of the Rawlings proposal as the coaches preferred to use
the NCAA ball.
4. Officiating Committee Report. The officiating committee participated on a
teleconference February 5th . The committee reviewed our current pay scale for
officiating fees in the sports of soccer, softball and volleyball. The committee also
participated in conversation pertaining to the NSIC officiating policies and
procedures manual, conflict of interest and post-game reports.
5. NSIC Swimming and Diving Update. A report from the February swimming and
diving teleconference was provided. It was noted that the swimming and diving
coaches continued their discussion on conference scheduling. While there was some
interest among the group to further explore conference schedule formats, there was
no consensus reached on preferred dates or formats. Therefore, it was determined
that the coaches will work independently to schedule conference competition for
the 2016-17 season. The coaching group reviewed the championship proposal
submitted by the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission and the Rochester
Recreation Center. It was noted that due to various reasons, bids were not
submitted for the BCS Aquatic Center or Midco Aquatic Center. Overall, the coaches
felt the Rochester Recreation Center would meet the needs of the conference and
the staff would do a good job hosting the meet.
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6. 2016-2018 NSIC Volleyball Schedule. A report from the February volleyball
teleconference was provided. It was noted that the volleyball coaches reviewed a set
of revised schedules in which the order of opponents for all teams alternates from
year-to-year. The purpose of the revisions was to provide a more equitable
approach to team travel by ensuring that teams with the longest road trips would
not be making the longest return trips on consecutive years. Overall, the coaching
group felt the intent of the changes made sense and that the impact was relatively
minor. The volleyball coaches also talked briefly about film exchange providers and
ball contracts, although no action was taken on these items.
7. Baseball and Softball Preparation.
a. Baseball. An active link was provided to access the baseball rescheduling
form. The use of this form is required for all reschedules.
b. Softball. An active link was provided to access the softball rescheduling form.
The use of this form is required for all reschedules.
8. NCAA Management Council Update. An update from the January 13th Management
Council meeting was provided.
9. Miscellaneous Items.
a. Future Teleconferences.
i. March 17th, 2016
ii. April 21, 2016
iii. May 19th, 2016
b. Division II, ADA NACDA Stipend. The stipend is still available. Please email
Erin, [email protected] if you are interested in the stipend.
Mr. Schoh encouraged all member institutions to complete the D2 ADA salary
survey. The deadline is within the coming days.
c. NSIC Basketball Tournament. As a reminder, there is a teleconference on
Monday, February 22 at 10:00 a.m. for all head men’s and women’s
basketball coaches and administrator(s).
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Participants.
Name, Title
Slade Larscheid, Director of Athletics
Ann Traphagen, Senior Woman Administrator
Sarah Levesque, Senior Woman Administrator
Roger Thomas, Director of Athletics
Patty Keller, Senior Woman Administrator
Steph Helgeson, Director of Athletics
Kamille Wahlin, Senior Woman Administrator
Abbey Strong, Assistant Athletic Director
Kevin Buisman, Director of Athletics
Lori Meyer, Senior Woman Administrator
Chad Markuson, Deputy Director of Athletics
Gloria Riopelle, Senior Woman Administrator
Rick Hedberg, Director of Athletics
Jamie Nelson, Senior Woman Administrator
Josh Moon, Director of Athletics
Terri Holmes, Senior Woman Administrator
Heather Weems, Director of Athletics
David Miller, Director of Athletics
Danielle Rosario-Mullen, Senior Woman
Administrator
Mike Powicki, Director of Athletics
Muffin Morris, Senior Woman Administrator
Eric Schoh, Director of Athletics
Myranda Nash, Senior Woman Administrator
Erin Lind, Commissioner
Nick Kornder, Assistant Commissioner
Crystal Lanning, Assistant Commissioner
Melissa Sewick, Assistant Commissioner
Travis Wagers, Intern
Institution
Augustana University
Augustana University
Bemidji State University
University of Mary
University of Mary
University of Minnesota Crookston
University of Minnesota Crookston
University of Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minot State University
Minot State University
Northern State University
Northern State University
St. Cloud State University
Upper Iowa University
Upper Iowa University
Wayne State College
Wayne State College
Winona State University
Winona State University
Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference
Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference
Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference
Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference
Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference
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