Traci Murphy
Daemen Director of Athletics Traci Murphy has been named to a special National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) committee that will aid the organization in implementing historic changes to its constitution.
By changing its constitution, the organization is seeking to restructure the governance of college sports to better benefit student-athletes and streamline decision-making.
Murphy has been chosen to represent the East Coast Conference (ECC), of which Daemen is a member, on the Implementation Committee, which will begin meeting in January in Indianapolis.
“I’m honored to be selected to represent the ECC and Daemen as the NCAA pursues this important work,” said Murphy. “I’m looking forward to the discussions ahead and engaging with D-II membership.”
Murphy and others – including college presidents, chancellors, conference commissioners and student-athletes – will review rules and policies for NCAA Division II and make recommendations to ensure that future NCAA operations are consistent with principles embedded in its new constitution, according to a press release from the organization.
A special constitutional convention was convened in November by the NCAA Board of Governors. Murphy’s appointment comes ahead of final recommendations by the NCAA Constitution Committee to the NCAA Board of Governors on Dec. 15.
NCAA President Mark Emmert with Daemen student-athletes Katie Titus and Ziv Basden during a town hall meeting, August 2021
An association-wide vote on a new constitution will take place at the 2022 NCAA Convention on Jan. 20.
Once finalized, the revised constitution is expected to provide each of the NCAA’s three divisions “the authority and autonomy to reorganize and restructure themselves,” according to a draft of the constitution.
The new document also “embraces name, image and likeness benefits for student-athletes while prohibiting pay-for-play.”
NCAA President Mark Emmert spoke about the process during his visit to Daemen in August, when he hosted a town hall meeting with student-athletes and received an honorary doctorate from the college.