DIVISION III Johns Hopkins lobbying against NCAA proposal

A waiver allowing the school to give Div. I lacrosse scholarships may be revoked.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Johns Hopkins' storied lacrosse program faces its toughest opponent yet in a NCAA proposal that would eliminate scholarships to its two Division I teams.
The university's athletic department is lobbying against the legislation that will be voted on at an NCAA convention to be held Jan. 9-12 in Nashville, Tenn.
If it passes, Johns Hopkins would lose a waiver that's allowed it to give athletic scholarships, which Division III schools normally don't offer, to the Division I lacrosse athletes. The change would go into effect in the fall of 2008.
Part of package
It's part of a larger Division III reform package, with legislation that would also eliminate redshirting and limit the lengths of seasons.
Leaders at Hopkins and the seven other schools that have teams in two divisions are calling their counterparts at the other 418 Division III schools, asking them to vote against the proposal.
"If I were out in Kansas or Wisconsin, where lacrosse is not a big sport, I probably wouldn't understand Johns Hopkins and lacrosse," Johns Hopkins President William Brody said. "It's the one thing that binds our alumni."
Most school representatives contacted say they will vote against the legislation, Hopkins Athletic Director Tom Calder said. Each school president who is present can cast a vote on the waiver question.
"In many cases, they understand our situation," Calder said. "They're sympathetic to what we've been doing with our sports."
The Hopkins' men's lacrosse team has won seven NCAA titles, falling short of eight in May with a 9-7 loss to Virginia. The Blue Jays' record is 820-261-15 in 114 seasons. The women's team, entering Division I in 1999, finished 11-5 last season. All other Hopkins teams play at the Division III level.
Reputations
"When I think about Johns Hopkins, I think about medicine and lacrosse," said Steve Ulrich, executive secretary of the Centennial Conference, of which Hopkins is a member.
The 11-member league is backing Johns Hopkins and supports the school's contention that it doesn't have a competitive or financial advantage over other schools by having its lacrosse players compete at the Division I level with scholarships.
"If Johns Hopkins was gaining any type of advantage, you would figure our 10 [other] schools would have a gripe," Ulrich said. "We don't see this as an issue."
Representatives from the conference schools met last week to craft ways to help Johns Hopkins, including having two presidents of member schools speak during the debate on the issue at the convention.
John McCardell, chairman of the Division III Presidents Council and president of Middlebury College in Vermont, said he's been the recipient of hate mail over the proposed change.
He said it was drafted after the majority of Division III presidents surveyed this spring said they opposed the continuation of multidivisional classification with scholarships.
The lucky 8
The waiver, which dates to 1983, has allowed the eight schools to continue giving athletic scholarships to their Division I teams, but "it might be revisited and modified at any time," McCardell said. The waiver specifies the eight schools and has no provision under which new schools can be added.
"There are a great many successful lacrosse schools that don't offer scholarships," said McCardell, adding that awarding money to athletes is against the philosophy of Division III schools.