A University Council committee Wednesday proposed the NIU Athletic Board’s size be reduced to increase effectiveness and raise it to the standards of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which the committee said it does not meet.

Linda Sons, chairwoman of the Rules and Governance Committee, said her committee recommended the board be reduced from 34 to 20 members to conform more closely to national standards.

She said an athletic board subcommittee survey of 26 colleges and universities showed the average athletic board size to be 13 to 14 members.

Sons said the survey results showed a positive relationship between smaller board sizes and efficiency.

The athletic board also should be changed to meet NCAA standards, she said.

Athletic Board Chairman Curt Norton, who also spoke at the council meeting, said the NCAA requires the “institutional control of such boards be constituted by a majority of faculty or administration people.”

Sons said NIU’s board is in violation of that requirement by having 14 faculty and administration voting members out of the total number of 30.

Norton disagreed with the committee, saying the board’s compliance with NCAA regulations was a “matter of how guidelines are interpreted.”

He said questions might have arisen concerning which board members are “administrative officials” eligible to serve.

The changing of board members from year to year adds to the confusion surrounding eligibility, Norton said.

“I, personally, have taken no official position on the proposal. A smaller athletic board might be easier to work with. However, I don’t think it (a reduced board) would be more effective with a smaller number of members,” he said.

Student Association President Jim Fischer said at the meeting he was concerned about the reduction in student representation on the board that would occur if the proposal was passed.

Under the proposed revisions, the number of SA representatives would be cut from seven to two.

“This reduction would be completely unacceptable and would not be consistent with the philosophy of the board,” Fischer said.

He said taking away SA positions would be interfering with the representation of “students who pay the fees which provide 45 to 50 percent of the board’s funds.”

Fischer said in addition to opposing the board’s reduction, he did not believe the issue of the board’s NCAA status was as serious as the Rules and Governance Committee had indicated.

He said, “That is a completely different issue which can be easily resolved by moving members, since they are only one or two faculty members short (of the NCAA requirements).”

Norton said the athletic board has not been officially informed of the UC proposal for its reduction. He said he expected the board to take a position on the plan at its Feb. 17 meeting.

He said Sons and UC Executive Secretary Judy Bischoff have been invited to speak at the board meeting.

The council will vote on the proposal at its March 9 meeting.