DI C/C Cabinet 6/07
REPORT
OF THE
1. ACTION ITEMS.
a. Appointment of
Committee Chair.
(1) Recommendation. That effective September 1, 2007, Brad Traviolia, deputy commissioner of the
Big Ten Conference, serve as chair of the committee.
(2) Rationale. This individual was the choice of the
remainder of the wrestling committee, and they believe Mr. Traviolia will
capably serve in this capacity.
(3) Estimated
Budget Impact. None.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. None.
b. Automatic
Qualification.
(1) Recommendation. That the Big 12 Conference be granted an
exception per NCAA Bylaw 31.3.4.5 (c) to the six-team requirement to receive
automatic qualification for their conference champions in each weight class to
automatically qualify for the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
(2) Rationale. The conference only has five
institutions which sponsor wrestling, and this exception has routinely been
granted in previous years.
(3) Estimated
Budget Impact. None.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. None.
c. Qualifier
Allocation Criteria.
(1) Recommendation. That effective with the 2008 allocation
of qualifiers, the criteria be modified such that any references to historical
data using five years of data, will now only be based on three years of
data. These modifications will be
reflected in the Qualifier Allocation Criteria referenced in the appendix
section of the championships handbook.
(2) Rationale. The committee noted that although the cabinet
reaffirmed during their June 2006 that the
wrestling committee be allowed to retain its current formula for determining
the number of qualifiers allocated to each of the qualifying tournaments, the
committee has continued to study this matter in an attempt to be proactive and
look at ways to possibly improve the current structure. During a coaches’ meeting at the
2007 championships, the one topic in which most coaches agreed was that the
number of years used in the historical data piece of the qualifier allocation
criteria should be reduced. After
reviewing various models, the committee believes that the use of three years of
historical data for 2008 will be a positive step for the sport. The committee will continue to monitor
these changes during the 2007-08 academic year and possibly make additional
recommendations. Additional
components of the qualifier allocation criteria study are also listed below as
an informational item.
(3) Estimated
Budget Impact. None.
(4) Student-Athlete
Impact. None.
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEM.
Qualifier Allocation Criteria.
The wrestling committee noted from the June 2006 cabinet report that
the cabinet endorsed the action taken by the Bracket/Format subcommittee in
confirming the wrestling committee’s current application of its qualifier
allocation criteria. The committee,
however, also realizes that the cabinet wanted the committee to further
consider the possibility of eliminating the use of historical data and the
wildcard process in conjunction with the Division I Wrestling Championships.
After some further deliberation, the committee wanted to provide the following status update:
a. The committee plans to develop a long-term strategic plan for the sport. For such a plan to be successful, it will need the support of not only the NCAA Wrestling Committee, but the member institutions which sponsor the sport.
b. The committee does not currently support a regional concept for the sport.
c. The committee acknowledged that the extent that historical data is currently being used is not ideal and incremental steps should be made to move away from the reliance on such data. The committee has presented an action item on this topic as part of this report.
d. The committee
plans to change references to wildcards to “at-large.” The selection of such at-large berths
will be delegated from the NCAA Wrestling Committee to each respective
qualifying tournament’s games committee. The intent is that the head
wrestling coaches in each qualifying tournament select these berths, as they
are the most qualified to know the wrestlers in their respective conference or
regional qualifying tournament.
3. LEGISLATIVE
ITEM.
Wrestling – Number of Dates of Competition.
a. Recommendation. That effective for the 2008-09 academic
year, for purposes of counting dates of competition, teams be allowed to
substitute dual meets contested on two consecutive days in place of two-day
meets. Currently, wrestling teams
are allowed to compete in 16 dates of competition, two of which may be two-day
meets that shall each count as a single date of competition.
b. Rationale. Dual meets are the cornerstone of
building a fan base for the sport of wrestling, and therefore, the committee
believes that to continue to grow the sport, there needs to be more dual meet
matches during the regular season.
In addition, this change would not increase the number of dates of
competition or impose a hardship on the student-athletes. This change will simply allow for flexibility
in the type of competitions (e.g., two-day meets or dual meets contested on two
consecutive days) scheduled for those particular dates. Finally, the length of the playing and
practices season would remain unchanged.
c. Estimated
Budget Impact. None.
d. Student-Athlete
Impact. None.
Committee Chair: Colonel William P. Walker,
Staff
Liaisons: Randy L. Buhr,
Championships
Mark
Bedics, Championships