SUPPLEMENT NO. 7

DI C/C Cabinet 9/07

REPORT OF THE

NCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL COMMITTEE

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. Bracket Format.

(1) Recommendation. Based on an invitation from the cabinet, it is recommended that the men’s volleyball championship bracket be expanded from four teams to eight teams effective with the 2009 championship. Also, that all eight teams selected participate at the final site. Competition will be held the first full weekend in May (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). The championship format will be single-elimination without a third-place match, which is the current practice.

(2) Rationale. Inviting all eight teams to the final site will minimize the amount of missed class time in addition to creating a festival atmosphere that will allow all student-athletes the opportunity to have the same championship experience. It will also allow the committee to correctly pair the seeds (one versus eight, two versus seven, etc.). By expanding the bracket, it will provide 84 additional student-athlete opportunities.

Please also reference the informational item (put forward by the men’s volleyball committee to be reviewed at the February 2007 meeting) which will highlight where men’s volleyball stands in comparison with other National Collegiate and Division I Championships when looking at their bracket access ratio.

(3) Estimated Budget Impact. The financial impact is as follows: [Attachment]

Proposed

Eight team bracket

Transportation: $40,317

Per Diem: $34,650

Game Expenses: $9,263

Overhead Expenses: $8,400

Awards: $840

Total Increase: $93,470

Note: The budget impact of the recommendation (having all teams at the championship site) will be less in comparison to having regional sites before reaching the championship site.

(4) Student-Athlete Impact. There will not be any additional missed class time with this format. Under the current format, teams arrive at the site of

the championship on Tuesday and return to campus on Sunday. Competition is not currently held on Friday. By bringing all eight teams to one site, competition will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Teams will still be able to return to campus on Sunday.

b. Automatic Qualification.

(1) Recommendation. That the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation be granted automatic qualification to the 2008 championship.

(2) Rationale. All eligible conferences are being recommended for automatic qualification.

(3) Estimated Budget Impact. None.

(4) Student-Athlete Impact. None.

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEM.

Bracket Size Calculation.

The NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee requests that the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet re-evaluate the criteria that are used to determine the bracket sizes for National Collegiate Championships. These championships are intended to provide an experience for all student-athletes in multiple divisions. The current system only considers the sport sponsorship by Division I institutions, thus not considering any sponsorship and/or growth in Divisions II and III.

Bracket Access Ratio. In evaluating the championship opportunities that are provided to the student-athletes in the Division I and National Collegiate Championships, there appears to be a distinct difference in the opportunities provided to the men’s volleyball student-athletes. Below is a chart that illustrates the bracket access ratio (number of eligible institutions divided by the bracket size) of Division I team championships and National Collegiate Championships.

Sport	Division I sponsorship	Total Sponsorship	Bracket Size	Bracket Access Ratio
Men’s Basketball	326 (100%)	326	64	1:5.1
Women’s Basketball	325 (99%)	325	64	1:5.1
Women’s Volleyball	315 (97%)	315	64	1:4.9
Baseball	284 (87%)	284	64	1:4.4
Women’s Soccer	301 (92%)	301	64	1:4.7
Softball	269 (83%)	269	64	1:4.2
Men’s Soccer	195 (60%)	195	48	1:4.1
I-AA Football	116 (36%)	116	16	1:7.3
Field Hockey	78 (24%)	78	16	1:4.9
Women’s Lacrosse	81 (25%)	81	16	1:5.1
Men’s Lacrosse	56 (17%)	56	16	1:3.5
Men’s Ice Hockey	58 (18%)	58	16	1:3.6
NC Women’s Ice Hockey	33 (10%)	35	8	1:4.4
NC Women’s Water Polo	31 (10%)	61	8	1:7.6
*NC Women’s Bowling	28 (9%)	51	8	1:6.4
NC Men’s Volleyball	22 (7%)	82	4	1:20.5
NC Men’s Water Polo	21 (6%)	43	4	1:10.8

All figures are taken from the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet Policies and Operating Procedures [December 2006], Appendix D.

*National Collegiate women’s bowling is classified as an individual-team sport; however, only the team portion is currently conducted.

Percentage of Total Membership. Under the current system, National Collegiate Championships are evaluated on the percentage of Division I institutions that sponsor the sport. Sports that have a loss of sponsorship in Division I or a growth in sponsorship in Division II or Division III may never be offered the opportunity for bracket expansion. For example, men’s volleyball sponsorship has increased by 32 institutions since 1987-88. A majority of this increase occurred in Division II and Division III and, therefore, is not included in the calculation for bracket expansion. Below is a chart of the national collegiate championships and their sponsorship percentage in relation to the entire membership of the NCAA. Also listed is the current bracket size.

Sport	Total Sponsorship	Total Percentage	Bracket Size
NC Women’s Bowling	51	4.9%	8
*NC Women’s Ice Hockey	35	5.8%	8
NC Men’s Volleyball	82	8.0%	4
NC Men’s Water Polo	43	4.2%	4
NC Women’s Water Polo	61	5.9%	8

*National Collegiate women’s ice hockey provides championship opportunities for student-athletes in Division I and Division II. Therefore, the total percentage is taken from the 607 institutions in Division I and Division II.

This chart illustrates the fact that the sport of men’s volleyball has the largest sport sponsorship of the National Collegiate team championships at 8.0 percent of the membership, yet remains a four-team championship.