North Central and more than 50 other NCAA Division III schools will get a chance to compete for a Division III national title in the 2027-28 season after the proposal passed, 451 votes to 1. North Central athletics photo by Steve Woltmann

At the recent NCAA convention, a number of proposals to bring new championships to women's sports came up for vote among the Division III member schools and conferences, and they all passed handily. That includes a new Division III-specific championship for women's wrestling, and new NCAA-wide championships in women's flag football, women's acrobatics and tumbling, and women's stunt. 

For women's wrestling and flag football, specifically, the votes were 451-1 in favor, and 447-1 in favor.

The same person cast both 'no' votes: Donald Tencher, who has been athletic director at Rhode Island College since 1995. Here is why he cast those dissenting votes.

Though I have tremendous faith in President (Charlie) Baker and his leadership, I am deeply concerned at this point in time with the future funding and financing facing all of college athletics.

You don’t have to read between the lines to fully understand that the NCAA is at a crossroads, in which there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty, and many of the new initiatives, problems and issues that face our campuses require enormous amount of added work for our staffs.

Whether it is the portal or NIL, these new challenges facing us are taking an enormous toll on our staffs, especially at a public institution like Rhode Island College with a large contingency of sports and student-athletes.

My goal, as it has been my whole professional life, is to provide the best possible athletic experience for all student-athletes, which includes the opportunity for postseason competition.

My votes at the convention represented the fact that, at least myself, do not have a clear picture of the future. Until we are sure of our future finances, and in support of a healthy NCAA, my votes were against any expansion until we have a clearer picture of the future.

I am most concerned with how this relates to Rhode Island College, our student-athletes and staff as we continue to work extremely hard at everything we do, while being funded at pre-Covid levels, with the greatest percentage of our coaches being part-time.

We have two tremendous women’s programs in equestrian (not an NCAA sport) and gymnastics (not an NCAA Division III sport). Most don’t know, except those extremely dedicated Division III schools who sponsor women’s gymnastics, that the NCAA dropped their financial support of an NCAA Division III championship in the 1980’s, despite the fact that gymnastics is one of the top athletic activities for young women across the country.

Rather than expand sports, the NCAA should look to enhance and solidify the experience of the great student-athletes who compete in currently established sports such as women’s gymnastics. In addition, all student-athletes should have every possible opportunity to compete in a fair and equitable fashion when it comes to their regular season and postseason opportunities.

My votes at the convention reflect a need I felt, especially representing Rhode Island College, to take a step back and fully take care what we have.

Currently, 84 schools sponsor women's gymnastics NCAA wide, and there is a National Collegiate Championships for women's gymnastics. According to the NCAA, 18 Division III schools offer women's gymnastics, while 66 sponsor women's wrestling.