REPORT OF
THE
NCAA
MEN’S WATER POLO COMMITTEE
ACTION ITEMS.
a. Bracket Expansion (eight-teams played to eight
places).
(1) Recommendation. Based on an invitation from the cabinet
at its February 2007 meeting, the men’s water polo committee recommends
that the championship tournament field size be expanded from the current
four-team tournament format to an eight-team tournament format, beginning with
the 2008 championship. This
expansion would increase the number of participants from a four-team
The committee also recommends that the national
championship be increased from a two-day to a three-day format to accommodate
the expanded eight-team championship format. The eight-team championship format would
consist of playing four games each of the three days of the tournament, which
is consistent with the current format for the women’s championship. The tournament competition would be
played out to all eight places but awards would be given only to the top four
teams. Please note, that currently
the men’s water polo championship does not require a day off in between
competition days as other sports do.
(2)
Rationale. Until 1994, the National Collegiate Men’s Water
Polo Championship tournament fielded eight teams. Because of dwindling participation
of member institutions due to programs being dropped, the determination was
made to make the championship tournament a four team format. The fact is that men’s water polo
provides the second lowest number of championship opportunities to its eligible
student-athletes among all sports and is currently one of only two sports in
which the championship bracket size is less than eight. While the committee is sure that the
management of the championship is administered efficiently and equitably within
the current system, the committee believes that the championship opportunities
that are being afforded to eligible student-athletes at the end of their sport
season relative to the nationwide quality of institutions sponsoring the sport
is not being represented at this time.
The committee also believes that the future of the sport’s
expansion is linked to more opportunities for teams to compete in post-season
play as well as the television exposure that the sport has enjoyed over the
last few years. These are key
elements in marketing the sport to administrators and decision makers at
institutions considering the addition of a men’s sport.
The committee believes this proposal will provide an
expanded championship field size for the 43 institutions that sponsor
men’s water polo; therefore, providing more championship opportunities
for competing student-athletes. The
committee notes that expansion of the championship from two to three days
should provide ample time to complete the competition and provide more games
and opportunities for team competition.
The committee believes that
playing out the championship to all eight places will enhance the championship
experience for the student-athletes.
All of the conference championships, as well as every national or international
championship (e.g., Olympic Games) of any stature plays out all places. This is a tradition in the sport of
water polo. Due to the brevity of
each game and having all eight teams at the championship site, participants
would have the opportunity to play more games and provide spectators an
opportunity to view the traditional attributes of the game. Additional games will increase revenue
for the championship and save money because institutions would not have to
change airline tickets to send teams back to their home institution after they
lose a game.
(3) Estimated Budget
Impact. $72,900 (see attached financial spreadsheet).
(4) Student-Athlete Impact. This change will most likely result in
one additional day of potential missed class time for the participating
student-athletes.
b. Officiating
Improvement Program Increase.
(1) Recommendation. That
effective 2008-09, the budget for the officiating improvement program for water
polo be increased by $5,000.
(2) Rationale. Currently, the allocated figure for the
program is $14,800, and this is significantly below other improvement programs in
the other Division I sports. The men’s and women’s water polo
committees are putting forward the same request to help continue to enhance
this program. The officiating coordinator has been building the plans
through the first two years of the program and the committees feel with a larger
(3) Estimated Budget
Impact. $5,000.
(4)
Student-Athlete Impact. None.
c. Increase in
Championship Officials.
(1) Recommendation.
That effective for the 2008 championship, pending an approved increase in the
championship bracket from four to eight teams, the number of officials selected
and assigned by the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Committee shall increase from
four to eight officials and is consistent with the women’s championship
format.
(2) Rationale. Currently, there are four officials
selected who serve as referees. This recommendation would allow each of
the eight officials to continue to only have to work one match per day in an
expanded bracket, which is ideal for this championship.
(3) Estimated Budget
Impact. This would result in a total annual budget increase of
$6,060. Current
Travel
- $5,200 (Eight x $650 per ticket);
Per
Diem - $1,800 (Eight x $45/day x five days)
Game
Expenses - $3,840 (goal judges: $35/game x 2 x 12 games and referees: $125/game
x 2 x 12 games)
(4) Student-Athlete Impact.
None.
d. Increase Fee for Championship
Officials.
(1) Recommendation.
That effective for the 2008 championship, the fees for championship officials
be increased from $125 to $150 per game.
(2) Rationale. Currently, officials receive $125 per
game at the championship. The committee feels that the championship is the
elite event in collegiate water polo and thus the officials that are qualified
and selected to work this event should be compensated accordingly. Information
also was gathered from sponsoring conferences that indicated their payment for
regular season games ranged from $75-$115 and for conference tournament games
ranged from $90-$115. Thus, the committee feels it necessary for the payment
for officials to work the NCAA championship to be a step higher than the compensation
provided at the conference level.
(3) Estimated
Budget Impact. This would result in a total annual budget increase of
$200 (if maintaining the current format of four games and four officials).
If the recommendation for the eight team/12 game format is approved along with
increasing the number of officials to eight, the total annual budget increase
would be $600 in official fees.
(4) Student-Athlete
Impact. None.
e. Increase
Fees for Table Workers.
(1) Recommendation. That effective 2007-08, the fee for key
table personnel (official scorer, exclusion secretary, exclusion board operator,
game clock operator, 35-second clock operator, timeout secretary and announcer)
be increased from $50/day to $35 per game to be consistent with the fee paid to
goal judges during the championship.
(2) Rationale. Currently, these workers receive $50/day
and the committee would like to see the fee move to a per game format and to
the level of that of a goal judge.
The host institutions are responsible for finding and securing these
individuals from the local area.
This arrangement often leads to multiple people with limited experience
filling a position at the scorer’s table. These positions are important to the
championship to keep accurate information and statistics and to keep the
matches running effectively. Increasing the level of compensation for these
individuals would help to ensure consistency throughout the weekend and help
attract qualified individuals to these positions, which are often difficult to
find, especially when the championship is located away from the west
coast.
(3) Estimated Budget
Impact. This would result in a
total annual budget increase of $280 (if maintaining the current format of four
games). If the recommendation for the eight team/12 game format is approved,
the total annual budget increase would be $2,240 in table worker fees.
(4) Student-Athlete
Impact. None.
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