ARTICLE I: Membership

Section I:  Members

• Any school for the deaf is eligible for NDIAA membership, provided that the school meets all obligations set forth in this Constitution.  Each school should be affiliated with its state athletic association. Schools must be in good standing with NDIAA to be eligible for major awards.

Schools with at least 75 eligible students enrolled in grades 9-12 will be placed into Division 1.  Schools with 74 or fewer eligible students will be placed into Division 2.

Section II:  Dues

In August at the start of the academic year, NDIAA will send an invoice to each member school. All membership dues must be paid in full by November 1 of that year. Schools not fulfilling the deadline will not receive major awards aside from All-American recognition for their athletes.

Annual dues:

• $200 for schools with 9 or more athletic teams
• $100 for schools with 8 or fewer athletic teams

ARTICLE II: Executive Board and Commissioners

Section I:  Meetings

A national conference for athletic directors and assistant athletic directors shall be held every other year in March.

Section II:  Governance

NDIAA is governed by a nine-member Executive Board. Each board member must be an athletic director at a school for the deaf. There must be a fair and equal representation of school sizes and geographical locations (Eastern, Southern, etc.) on the board.

Section III:  Officers

All officers, consisting of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Past President, shall serve beginning on the date of their elections until the next national conference. Each officer may serve four two-year terms; at the end of their fourth term, they may be re-elected for additional terms.

Elections shall be held at each national conference.

• The President shall perform the duties of directing the association, including:
  • Announcing any and all NDIAA awards.
  • Receiving all referrals from member schools and directing them to the appropriate decision-making body.
  • Assigning duties to other board members.
• The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence or inability to fulfill presidential duties.
• The Secretary shall record minutes for all board and general meetings and perform such other secretarial duties as assigned.
• The Treasurer shall oversee the finances of the association, update membership standing, track revenues and expenses, and submit a financial report to members at each national conference. Along with the President, the treasurer shall also remind member schools that are not meeting their obligations.
• The Past President, who does not have any voting power, may participate in discussions, give guidance when appropriate, share experiences and organization history, and support the President.

Should a position on the board become vacant, whether by death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or otherwise, the Executive Board shall select a new individual to fulfill the duties of the vacant position for the remainder of the term.

Section IV:  Sports Commissioners

• NDIAA Executive Board members will also serve as NDIAA Sports Commissioners and will determine the National Champion, Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and All-Americans for each of the sports listed below. Sport Commissioners are responsible for collecting nominations from each member school, and reporting back to the NDIAA Executive Board. The Executive Board will then collectively make the final selections.
  • Football: 11-Player
  • Football: 8-Player
  • Football: 6-Player
  • Volleyball: Division I
  • Volleyball: Division II
  • Soccer: 11-Player
  • Soccer: 8-Player
  • Cross Country
  • Wrestling
  • Boys Basketball: Division I
  • Boys Basketball: Division II
  • Girls Basketball: Division I
  • Girls Basketball: Division II
  • Baseball
  • Softball
  • Boys Track and Field: Division I*
  • Boys Track and Field: Division II*
  • Girls Track and Field: Division I*
  • Girls Track and Field: Division II*
    
    

  *The United States Deaf Track and Field organization handles the selection process, and submits results to NDIAA, which then recognizes the award recipients.

  ARTICLE III: Awards and Procedures

  Section I:  Awards

  Award categories include:

  • National Champion (chosen from a minimum of four teams)
  • Coach of the Year
  • Player of the Year
  • All-American Selections

  Awards are awarded to teams in all divisions after the end of each athletic season. For football and soccer teams, classifications of divisions will be determined prior to the season’s start, based on the majority of games during the school’s season/division.

  Section II:  Awards Procedure

  At the end of each season, each coaching team will nominate athletes for Player of the Year and All-American recognition, and athletic directors will nominate teams and head coaches for the National Championship title and Coach of the Year award.  Nominations are submitted online; any nomination submitted past the due date will not be considered.

  Athletic directors will submit online nominations for athletes for the Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year awards.  This award will be recognized in each division at the end of each school year.

  Sport Commissioners will lead the selection process, and submit final recommendations to the NDIAA Executive Board, which will then collectively make final selections.

  Awards criteria may be revised from time to time.

  ARTICLE IV: Voting

  The quorum requires a minimum of 15 active member schools in attendance at business meetings in order to vote on business matters.

  The NDIAA bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of all active members at any regular business meeting held every two years, unless otherwise notified in advance.

  Policies and procedures may be amended at any meeting, without prior notice, by a two-thirds majority vote of active members present at the meeting.

  Officers or board members may be removed based on a two-thirds majority vote of active members present at the meeting. Other special situations also require a two-thirds majority vote.

  ARTICLE V: Dissolution

  NDIAA may be dissolved only by authorization of its executive board. This authorization must be given at a special meeting called for that purpose, and then may be executed with subsequent approval of a two-thirds majority of voting members (whose membership status must be determined by the Membership Committee). Upon dissolution or other termination, all remaining assets of NDIAA, after payment in full of all its debts, obligations, and final expenses, or after the making of adequate provisions therefore, shall be distributed to such tax-exempt organizations with purposes similar to NDIAA as chosen by the NDIAA Executive Board.

  National Athletic Directors Conference Sites

  2007: New Mexico School for the Deaf (Santa Fe, NM)

  2009: Model Secondary School for the Deaf (Washington, DC)

  2011: Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (Faribault, MN)

  2014: Colorado School for the Deaf & Blind (Colorado Springs, CO)

  2017: California School for the Deaf (Fremont, CA)

  2019: Marie Philip School (Framingham, MA)

  2021: Texas School for the Deaf (Austin, TX)

  2023: California School for the Deaf – Riverside (Riverside, CA)