Valparaiso University director of athletics Mark LaBarbera has been appointed to represent the Horizon League on the first NCAA Division I Council.

The division’s Board of Directors has appointed the first members to serve on the Division I Council, which is charged with conducting the day-to-day business of Division I.  At its first meeting in January 2015, the Council will elect an athletics director to chair the group. That person will also serve on the board.

The Council replaces the current Legislative and Leadership councils, and 60 percent of Council members must be athletics directors. Any rules adopted by the Council will be subject to a review by the board.

The group’s first order of business will be to design the subgroups that will assist in developing legislation, running championships and performing other necessary functions. The group will meet in January to begin that work.  The Council will cast votes on new rules for the first time in the 2015-16 legislative cycle.

LaBarbera previously served as a member of the NCAA Baseball Committee, completing his four-year term in 2013.  He has also previously been the chair of the Horizon League’s Television Task Force, and currently serves on the league’s Strategic Alignment and Membership committees.