DIIICA Officiating Sheet 
DIIICA Full Strategic Plan

Capping off an extensive process, the Division III Commissioners Association announced its Strategic Plan to address a key component of athletic competition. The DIIICA believes that officiating is at a crisis level due to a shrinking pool of officials and the lack of interest or incentive among current or new officials to enter or remain in the field.

The DIIICA's vision statement centers on the elevation of officiating as a respected and an integral component of the Division III athletics experience through a cross-divisional commitment to broad-based and diverse recruitment and comprehensive education and retention strategies.

"The Division III Commissioners Association Officiating Strategic Plan is the culmination of nearly two years of research and work," said Patrick B. Summers, President of the DIIICA. "I am grateful for the steadfastness and resilience of the committee members and the collaboration and directions the PICTOR Group provided us. It is without question an aggressive and detailed plan that outlines a clear path to address the challenges facing officiating in college athletics. I am excited for the DIIICA to continue to move this charge forward on behalf of the NCAA membership."

The strategic plan focuses on five pillars:

• Partnerships that develop NCAA cross-divisional initiatives, including pre-NCAA recruitment, and other collaborations that will advance DIII officiating.
• Recruitment to NCAA Division III by targeting officials prepared or preparing for entry to NCAA officiating.
• Advancement Pathway whereby that pathway is clarified through onboarding, education, training, evaluation, mentoring, aspects of assigning, review of officials' costs and fees, and other retention strategies.
• Culture and Environment by addressing treatment, sporting behavior, and the bond of the officiating community.
• Administration to move toward centralizing leadership and management, and to support conference level engagement.

The Strategic Plan was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was a comprehensive assessment of officiating across 13 NCAA Division III sports. The study was expanded at the request of the NCAA to include Divisions I and II and to add two sports for a total of 15 (baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. Over 15,000 people were included in the data collection and 6,826 of the 10,300 officials reported officiating in Division III. Data were collected from Conference commissioners and staff, conference coordinators, assignors and/or supervisors of officials, officials, coaches, NCAA staff, and stakeholders outside the NCAA (e.g., the National Federation of High School Associations and various officiating associations and organizations).

The results of the comprehensive data analysis became the foundation for Phase 2, the strategic planning process that involved more than 600 stakeholder engagements. The broader Division III membership was engaged through NADIIIAA by partnering on six regional seminars to share the data findings by region. A draft of the Strategic Plan was presented to NADIIIA membership in a national webinar in December 2020.

Goals and strategies have been developed and prioritized for implementation over the next five years. A comprehensive oversight and accountability system is being developed to ensure successful implementation. Full implementation will begin in Fall 2021 with regular progress reporting to the membership.

STORY COURTESY OF DIII COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION