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Note: This story appeared in the Winter 2020 February edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
From the President's Desk
Modernizing CoSIDA's Governance Model
by Herb Vincent – CoSIDA President 2019-20 / Southeastern Conference Associate Commissioner/Communications
The current framework of CoSIDA’s governance structure looks much the same as it did during its first years of existence. Board of Directors positions have been added over time, but the structure itself has changed little while our organization has grown exponentially, and our profession has changed dramatically.
As CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance outlined in a story he penned for the summer edition of CoSIDA360, a Governance Review Working Group was formed to examine the governance structure of our organization. I'm writing to update you on our progress.
The first task of the Working Group was to determine if the current model is the most effective leadership approach for 2020 and beyond. We believe there is a need to update it.
To modernize the governance structure, we started with four objectives:
- Create opportunities for members with common issues to effectively engage on those issues
- Create more leadership opportunities
- Develop a more engaged and efficient Board of Directors
- Develop more opportunities for diversity in leadership positions
The Working Group is considering a three-tier governance structure that would consist of a layer of
Divisional Cabinets whose leaders would populate an
Advisory Board, which would serve as a communications bridge for proposals, concepts and strategies with an
Executive Board of Directors.
DIVISIONAL CABINETS
My personal experience in Board discussions is that often half of our group is not engaged on an issue because it involves a topic that is not relatable to the entire group. At the same time, we have very organized and effective divisional management groups (i.e. DII-SIDA, D3-SIDA, NAIA-SIDA, 2YSIDA, etc.) that conduct business with members who are engaged on common issues. Yet, those organizations are not formally part of the CoSIDA governance structure.
The Working Group is considering the creation of a number of Divisional Cabinets -- comprised of five to seven members each and organized by the existing divisional groups -- that would have decision-making ability within the CoSIDA governance structure.
Within existing divisional management groups there are discussions on important issues that are taking place outside the official CoSIDA governance structure, so the new structure would bring experienced and knowledgeable leaders from those divisional groups into the official management structure of CoSIDA.
There currently is not a “DI-SIDA” so a cabinet would need to be created for Division I and an additional cabinet would be established to represent Past Presidents.
ADVISORY BOARD
As part of this new concept, each of these Divisional Cabinets would designate one representative to participate on a CoSIDA Advisory Board that would serve as a conduit between the Divisional Cabinets and an Executive Board of Directors. Initial thoughts would have this Advisory Board consist of one leader each from Division I, D-II, D-III, NAIA, 2-Year schools and Canadian schools, as well the first and second vice presidents of CoSIDA and a past president, creating an Advisory Board of nine individuals.
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A key element of this new structure would be an evolution to a smaller Board of Directors. The purpose of developing a smaller board would be to create better engagement among board members, more efficiency and, in turn, better decision-making. The trend for organizations like CoSIDA is to have smaller, more nimble management boards.
The current Board of Directors consists of 16 people, including a president, three vice presidents, the past president, the secretary, four at-large members and six college division reps. That’s a big, somewhat unwieldy board.
The Working Group is studying the viability of an Executive Board of Directors that would consist of eight members: a president, three vice-presidents, the past president, the secretary and two at-large members. It would be a requirement that at least one of the two at-large members must be a college division representative.
SUMMARY
In summary, this concept is designed to create groups --
Divisional Cabinets -- that have substantive discussions among like groups of people, with a conduit –
Advisory Board -- to effectively and efficiently move information, recommendations and issues to and from an
Executive Board of Directors.
TIMELINE
The Working Group will continue to meet by conference calls in the coming months. We will continue to communicate with you throughout this process and hope to have a proposed new governance structure to bring forward for consideration at the CoSIDA Convention in Las Vegas this summer. The implementation of any new governance structure would likely involve a multi-year transition.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
A critical step for our Working Group is to hear from you, the membership. It is still relatively early in the process, so let us know what you think. What do you like? What are your concerns? Do you have suggestions about how to make this better? This is about creating a structure that will best serve our profession in the 2020s and going forward, so your input is important. I hope you will write to me at
hvincent@sec.org, or if you feel more comfortable communicating with someone from your division, the Working Group members are listed here for your convenience. Thank you. We hope to hear from you.
Working Group
Herb Vincent (SEC) – CoSIDA President
hvincent@sec.org
Mary Beth Challoner (Toronto) – CDMAC Vice Chair
mb.challoner@utoronto.ca
Tyler Cundith (Johnson County CC) – Former board member/2YSIDA president
tcundith@jccc.edu
Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) – Secretary, CoSIDA Board of Directors
sportsInformation@una.edu
John Kean (Missouri S&T) – CoSIDA Board College Division Rep / former DII-SIDA chair
jkean@mst.edu
Pete Moore (Syracuse) – CoSIDA Past President
pimoore@syr.edu
Jessica Poole (Chicago State) – CoSIDA 3
rd VP
jpoole23@csu.edu
Cindy Potter (Columbia College) – CoSIDA 2nd VP / former NAIA-SIDA chair
cnpotter@ccis.edu
Lenny Reich (Mount Union) – CoSIDA Board At-Large / former DIII-SIDA Chair
reichl@mountunion.edu
Will Roleson – CoSIDA Associate Executive Director
willroleson@cosida.com
Jay Stancil (Union) – Former CoSIDA Board College Division Rep / former NAIA-SIDA Chair
jstancil@unionky.edu
Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director
dougvance@cosida.com
Herb Vincent
Southeastern Conference
CoSIDA President 2019-20
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