Report of the
NCAA DIVISION I women’s SOCCER Committee
1. ACTION
ITEMS.
a. Officials Flights.
(1) Recommendation. The committee recommends, that effective with the 2008 championship, there be four flights available during the preliminary rounds of competition to fly middle officials to competition sites.
(2) Rationale. Currently, the committee is permitted to use air transportation for all six officials, if necessary, at the Women’s College Cup. This recommendation would extend the ability to fly officials to the first, second, third and quarterfinal rounds, if necessary. Currently, the men’s championship is allowed to fly the middle official for the quarterfinal round games, if necessary. The committee feels that having this ability will allow for all sites to have the highest quality officials on all games of the championships.
(3) Estimated Budget Impact. $2,400 ($600 per flight).
(4) Student-Athlete Impact. None.
b. Pairing Policies.
(1) Recommendation. That the committee be allowed to avoid first- and second-round conference matchups, effective with the 2008 championship.
(2) Rationale. Currently, the committee has the ability
to avoid first-round conference matchups in the tournament. The committee feels that by avoiding both
first- and second-round conference matchups, it is allowing for more of a
national tournament by allowing teams to not necessarily have to play a team
they have already played multiple times in a season. This policy is currently in place for women’s
volleyball and softball. After an
analysis of the 2005 and 2006 brackets, there were a total of 11 sites over the
two-year period where the potential for the second-round matchups occurred.
(3) Estimated Budget Impact. $148,000.
(4) Student-Athlete Impact. There would be additional student-athletes flying; however, they would not be missing any more class time than in previous years.
c. National and Regional
Assignors of Officials.
(1) Recommendation.
That effective with the 2008
championship, funding be provided to establish the positions of national and
regional assignors of officials to assist the committee in the selection and
evaluation of officials for the championship and coordinate educational
efforts.
(2) Rationale. Currently, both the men’s and women’s soccer committees select officials for all rounds of the championships. In their selection process, the committees rely on recommendations by conferences, regional advisory committees and various officiating organizations, as well as written evaluations. Creating these positions would streamline the process and provide for consistency and quality control. It would also provide an opportunity to develop national educational strategies for officials throughout the country and assist in the recruiting of new officials.
(3) Estimated Budget Impact. $12,000 ($24,000 total for men’s and women’s soccer).
(4) Student-Athlete Impact. None.
d. Increased Fee for
Officials.
(1) Recommendation. That effective with the 2008 championship, fees for championship officials be increased as follows: middle referee from $180 to $240; assistant referee from $135 to $160; alternate referee from $80 to $100; and the flat fee paid for officials at the finals from $450 to $600.
(2) Rationale. The committee believes that an increase is warranted at this time since fees have not been increased since 2000. In 2000, fees were increased by $20. Information also was gathered from sponsoring conferences that indicated their payment for regular season fees ranged from $175 to $260 for the middle referee; $125 to $170 for the assistant referee and $60 to $95 for the alternate official. Although the committee feels that officials selected for NCAA championship competition should be compensated at a higher rate than they are during the regular season, the recommended adjustments would minimally serve to align the fees with the current market.
(3) Estimated Budget Impact. $8,700.
(4) Student-Athlete Impact. None.
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEM
List of Financial Priorities. The committee established the following financial priorities for the cabinet’s consideration:
a. Avoid first- and second-round conference match-ups. (Budget Impact - $148,000)
b. Four officials flights during preliminary rounds. (Budget Impact - $2,400)
c. Officials Fee Increase. (Budget Impact - $8,700)
d. National and Regional Assignors of Officials. (Budget Impact - $12,000)
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
August 3, 2007 KWF:pjw