Region VI Constitution and By-Laws
Updated
The purpose of Region VI,
ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of this organization
shall be Region VI of the National Junior College Athletic Association. (NJCAA).
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall include those institutions in good
standing who are affiliated with the NJCAA within the geographic district
designated by the National Junior College Athletic Association Legislative
Assembly as Region VI,
ARTICLE III - OFFICERS AND DUTIES
Section 1: Officers
The elected officers of Region VI shall include a director
and an assistant director for Men's Division and a Women's Division.
Section 2: Duties
A. The
directors shall prepare
B. During
joint meetings, the appropriate director will pre
C. The
directors shall pre
D. The
Senior Director shall:
1. collect dues and assessments for the Region
2. pay and administer necessary monies for the Region (Men
& Women) operation expenses.
E. The
Directors will, as required:
1. file with the
National Office a yearly financial report for the combined Region
2. make a financial
report to the membership of Region VI at each regularly scheduled meeting
3. be authorized to
invest surplus monies in interest-earning accounts.
4. be a co-signatory for checking and
savings accounts.
F. The
assistant director of each division shall:
1. serve as acting director in the absence of the director of
that division.
2. assist the directors with duties as assigned by the
directors in the performance of their duties.
G. The
Assistant Director of the Women's Division shall serve as recording secretary for
all joint meetings and for all special meetings of the Women's Division. The
Assistant Director of the Men's Division shall compile a directory of all
Region VI athletic departments and be the recording secretary for all special
meetings of the Men's Division.
H. The
directors may bring to the attention of the Standards and Ethics Committee
alleged violations concerning standards and ethics.
I. The
Regional Directors and/or their Assistants are encouraged to attend regional
championships or to designate a representative to attend such events in an
official capacity. In some cases, the
host athletic administrator in attendance at the event will be designated as
the official representative of the Regional Director. If it is possible for the Regional Director
or Assistant Director to be in attendance at a Regional event in an official
capacity, motel and meal costs will be reimbursed and a mileage allowance if
college car not available will be authorized in the amount allowed by the IRS.
J. The
directors shall be the official representatives to the NJCAA legislative body
and shall carry out those responsibilities outlined in Article III, Section D
of the NJCAA by-laws. The assistant
directors shall attend the NJCAA legislative meetings and represent Region VI
at those sports and other committee meetings not attended by the
directors. In the event a director
cannot attend any legislative body meetings, the assistant director for that
division becomes the official voting representative at that meeting. Expenses of the assistant director to the
NJCAA legislative meetings will be paid by the region with funds from the
appropriate division.
K. The
directors and assistant directors shall be elected at the same time for a term
of two years, from August 1 until July 31. Under the NJCAA rules, Region VI
shall elect its officers at the spring meeting, to be held by May 15, in even
years.
NOTE: Prior to
election, the NJCAA requires all candidates for a director's position to secure
written permission from their chief administrative officers.
L. Pay
Regional Directors a stipend of $850 per year. Secretary for Region Directors
will be paid $300 per year. Region VI agrees to fund up to $1,000 per Region
Director to attend NJCAA Tournaments
ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS
A. Regular
meetings shall be held in the fall and spring of each year. An NJCAA pre-legislative meeting shall be
held at the time of the Region VI Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship. A
special meeting may be called by either the director or by the assistant
director when a written request for a special meeting has been signed by
representatives of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership.
B. A
quorum shall be declared present when a simple majority of the organization's
institutions are represented. Proxies
are not allowed in determining a quorum.
C. Each
member institution represented at official meetings of Region VI shall have one
vote on all matters of business.
D. Expenses
of the regional directors to attend Region VI meetings which are not funded by
their employing institutions may be paid from the appropriate Region VI funds
using the same criteria found in Article III, Section 2-I.
ARTICLE V - FUNCTIONS AND
COMMITTEES
A. Region
VI shall conduct those activities which will qualify entries from Region VI for
the national competitions conducted by the NJCAA. Advisory committees for each activity shall
be appointed by the directors.
B. Region
VI shall set the standards of conduct for coaches, individuals and institutions
participating or sponsoring activities recognized by Region VI. As a guide, Region VI shall follow Article I
and Article II of the Code of Conduct as established by the NJCAA.
C. A
Standard and Ethics Committee composed of the two Region Directors
(ex-officio), the two Assistant Directors (ex-officio), and three at-large
members from each division (men & women), will rule on all standard and
ethics violations. The committee shall choose its own chairperson. The three
at-large members from each men's and women's division will be appointed by the
Regional Directors for a two-year term at the same time the directors and
assistant directors are elected.
ARTICLE VI - DUES
The work of Region VI will be financed through
a dues assessment to each member institution and revenues received from
regional championships, if any. The
amount of the dues assessment will be set at the regular spring meeting and
will be due by October 1 of the next school year.
ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS
This Constitution may be amended by a favorable two-thirds
(2/3) vote of a quorum of the members present at any regular meeting provided:
1) A
thirty (30) day written notice of the proposed amendments has been sent to the
member institutions; and
2) A
quorum is present.
BY-LAWS OF REGION VI
ARTICLE I - STANDARDS AND ETHICS
COMMITTEE
Section 1: Purpose
The
purpose of the Standards and Ethics Committee is to provide an orderly and fair
process for ruling on standards and ethics violations that may occur involving NJCAAA Region VI athletic teams, players,
coaches and/or institutions.
Section 2: Regulation
Any
violations concerning standards and ethics that are officially submitted in
writing by a member institution or by a Regional Director to the NJCAA Region
VI Standards and Ethics Chairperson will be acted upon by the Standards and
Ethics Committee (See Appendix A.)
Section 3: Standards and Ethics
Violations
Violations
of standards and ethics shall include, but may not be limited to the following:
A. violation of
the National Junior College Athletic Association Code of Conduct;
B. any incident
of fighting between athletic teams;
C. forfeiture
of a scheduled contest with a signed contract with insufficient reasons for the
forfeiture;
D. improper
conduct by a coach or athlete;
E. breaking of
any NJCAA or Region VI Rule of Eligibility;
F. failure to
pay NJCAA or Region VI dues and assessments by the established date; and
G. breaking a
contract without mutual consent of all parties involved.
Section 4: Procedure of
Operation for the Standards and Ethics Committee and the Appeals Process of
Those Decisions
A. Any
incident that occurs that cannot be resolved by the involved institutions is to
be reported to the appropriate Region VI Director in writing within forty-eight
(48) hours. This should include reports
from the game officials, appropriate administrative body, and statements from
the involved party or parties.
B. The
Region VI Director will refer the incident to the Standards and Ethics
Committee Chairperson.
C. The
Chairperson of the Standards and Ethics Committee shall notify the charged
party or parties by e-mail of the complaints which have been brought to the
director's attention. After receiving
the letter stating the complaints and the party or parties involved, the
institution must reply to the complaints in writing within seven (7) days. Replies must be sent by e-mail to the
Chairperson of the Standards and Ethics Committee.
The Standards and Ethics Committee
Chairperson must notify the party or parties involved by e-mail of a formal
hearing of the Standards and Ethics Committee ten (10) days before the date of
the formal hearing on the complaints. At
the hearing, the party or parties mentioned in the complaint and an
administrator from the institution are to be present. The party or parties involved have a right to
be represented by legal counsel. All
parties have a right to question or cross-examine any evidence or witnesses
presented. Witnesses, other than the party
or parties involved, will not be allowed in the hearing room except to testify.
Any member of the ethics committee directly involved in the incident will be
replaced by a designated appointee of the Standards & Ethics chair.
The party or parties involved have
a right to bring a stenographer to the hearing. As the hearing will be a
discussion of personal matters, it will be closed except to the party or
parties involved, representatives of the institutions involved, members of the
Standards and Ethics Committee and any special guests the Committee requests to
be present. Members of the media and
press will be excluded from the hearing room.
Following the close of the
hearing, the Standards and Ethics Committee will meet to make a decision.
D. The
decisions of the Standards and Ethics Committee must be officially communicated
by e-mail to the charged party or parties.
A letter must be sent within forty-eight (48) hours of the conclusion of
the formal hearing of the Standards and Ethics Committee. The following must be included in the letter:
1. the decisions of the Standards and Ethics Committee;
2. the amount of any expenses owed by the institution for
holding the hearings and meetings of the Standards and Ethics Committee; and
3. the institution's right to file a Notice of Appeal to the
Region VI Director by e-mail within forty-eight (48) hours after the Standards
and Ethics Committee's decision has been received. The Men's Region Director
will handle appeals of the Women's Division. The Women's Region Director will
handle appeals of the Men's Division
E. The following types of action may be
taken by the Standards & Ethics Committee:
1. no action;
2. letter of reprimand to the athletic director and pre
3. probationary period for the institution, coach or individual
athlete or athletes involved;
a. the
probationary time period can be variable according to the incident;
b. probation
could involve one or more sports;
4. other action as deemed appropriate; and
5. fines.
Section 5: Expenses
Any
institution found guilty of any violations will bear the financial expenses the
Standards and Ethics Committee incurs because of special meetings and
hearings. If not found guilty, the
institution submitting the complaint will bear the cost. In the event that no action is taken and the
initiative to hold the hearing was taken by the Chairperson of the Standards
and Ethics Committee, any expenses incurred from holding the meeting, hearing
or appeals shall be defrayed by Region VI funds.
Procedure for Appeals
Section 1 – General
A. Procedures set forth in this
Article VIII are the sole methods for challenge of decisions of the Regional
Directors and Standard and Ethics Committee. No member college or any of its
athletes or employees can institute any suit, at law or in equity or seek any
court injunction or restraining order concerning any dispute or controversy
involving Region VI enforcement or interpretation of any of the Bylaws, rules,
or regulations of Region VI or any sanctions imposed by Region VI.
Only member colleges may challenge
the interpretation and enforcement of the Bylaws, rules, and regulations of
Region VI and they may do so only pursuant to and in the manner set forth by
the provisions of this Article VIII. No individual coach, athletes, booster
club, or other entity affiliated directly or indirectly with the member college
shall have any standing to challenge a decision of Region VI.
As a condition to membership in
Region VI, each member college consents to be bound by the provisions of this
Article VIII. Any member college who institutes any suit at law or in equity or
seeks any court action or restraining order against Region VI in connection
with on or enforcement of the Bylaws, rules, and regulations of the sanctions
imposed by Region VI shall be subject to sanctions, penalties, expulsion,
fines, probation, or other penalties as may be prescribed by the Standards and
Ethics committee of Region VI.
Section 2 – Authority of Region VI
All decisions concerning
challenges and/or questions of the interpretation and the enforcement of the
Bylaws, rules, and regulations of Region Vi shall be made in the first instance
by the Region VI Directors.
Questions concerning the
interpretation or enforcement of the Bylaws, rules, and regulations shall-be
made in writing to the Region Vi Directors. Such
questions shall set forth in detail the facts giving rise to the question,
including, but not limited to the name and address of the member college
presenting the questions, the name and address of each college involved in the
question, any background facts involved in the questions, and the citation of
Region VI Bylaws, rules, and regulations involved in the question. Such request
for decision concerning questions must be signed by either the pre
Challenges to the interpretation
or the enforcement of Region VI Bylaws, rules and regulations shall set forth
in detail the name and address of the member college presenting the challenge,
the factual basis for the challenge, the jurisdictional basis of the challenge,
citation of the Bylaws, rules, and regulations involved in the challenge, name
and address of any other member college that would be affected by the
challenge, and any documentation to support the challenge.
The Region VI Directors shall issue
its written decision concerning any such questions or challenge to the member
college presenting the question or challenge. The written decision shall set
forth:
a. The decision of the Region VI directors
b. The jurisdictional basis for the decision
c. The citation of the Region Vi
Bylaws, rules, and regulations involved in the decision.
d. Any other matter deemed appropriate by the Region VI
Directors.
e. The written decision of the Region VI Directors shall
be effective, final and enforced immediately, subject to the following
provisions of this Article VIII.
Section 3 – Appeal to the Standards and Ethics Committee
Any member college affected by a
decision of the Region VI Directors shall have a right to appeal that decision
to the Standards and Ethics committee of the Region VI.
The request for appeal must be
sent to a Director of Region Vi. That request for appeal to the Standards and
Ethics committee must be in Writing and must be received by the Region Director
within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the written decision by the
Region Director. The request for appeal must be signed by the pre
The appealing college may present
its appeal in writing to the Standards and Ethics committee or may request an
oral hearing. Oral hearings before the Standards and Ethics committee may only
be had at the time of regularly scheduled meetings of the Standards and Ethics
committee and at the location determined by the Standards and Ethics committee
for its meeting.
In its