APRIL 2004 NCAA DIV_ III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL, SUPP_ NO

REVISED REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS COMMITTEE

1. ACTION ITEMS.

a. Men’s Golf Automatic Qualification (AQ) Principles.

(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2005 NCAA Convention to establish Division III Men’s Golf automatic qualification principles, effective 2006-07. The committee proposes that all teams selected (Pools A, B and C) be invited to one championships site. The site would be required to have two 18-hole golf courses on which to conduct the championships. One-half of the field would alternate play on each 18-hole course during days one and two of the championship. After 36 holes of play, the field would be cut to the top 18 teams and the top six individuals not on those teams. The remaining teams would play 36 additional holes on one golf course to determine the national championships.

(2) Rationale. Based on the 2003-04 sports sponsorship, 19 conferences would automatically qualify for Pool A, with 167 institutions in those conferences. Using current ratios, there would be 10 Pool B berths and five Pool C berths. Teams would be selected using existing criteria, which includes head-to-head competition within their respective region, place/finish in all competition, stroke differential, results versus in-region common opponents, strength of schedule and individual stroke averages.

The committee believes this recommendation will have a positive impact by allowing all student-athletes to experience a championship environment. The committee believes that hosting regionals will negatively impact institutions and student-athletes as they will incur additional missed class because it is typically easier to secure golf courses for play on weekdays rather than weekends.

The individual portion of the championships remain unchanged. Five individuals will be selected to participate for the individual championship.

(3) Budget Impact. $109,000. [Attachment A]

(4) Selection Criteria. The following selection criteria, based on regional and conference competition (in priority order), will be used:

· Head–to-head results;

· Results against common opponents; and

· Strength of schedule.

The national committee will also consider the following (not in priority order):

· Head to head competition versus other teams/individuals within the respective regions;

· Place/finish in all competition;

· Stroke differential, results against common opponents/team;

· Individual stroke averages; and

· Golfstats statistical data.

A secondary, but important, factor for selection will be end-of-season performance.

Both fall and spring schedules will be considered, and in order for a team or individual to be eligible, they must compete in a minimum of four contests after January 1 of each year.

b. Women’s Golf AQ Principles.

(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the2005 Convention to establish Division III women's golf AQ principles, effective 2006-07. Based on current sports sponsorship, 11 conferences would automatically qualify for Pool A; Pool B would include five teams, and Pool C would include two teams. Criteria for the AQ would be determined at the conference level. Pool B, C and individuals would be selected using previously established criteria.

(2) Rationale. Based on the numbers provided by the Championships Committee, the women’s golf committee supports the expansion of the tournament field from 60 to 100 players and from 10 teams and individuals to 18 teams and 10 individuals. The tournament format would remain a 72-hole event played over four days preceded by two practice-round opportunities. The 72-hole format would include a two-wave tee time configuration, using early and late morning tee times. Team and individual champions would be determined based on medal stroke play over the duration of the tournament.

(3) Budget Impact. Estimated total projected increase: $36,000 to $39,000 (based on 2006-07 inflation).

(4) Selection Criteria. The women’s golf committee is responsible for the selection of all participants in the championships. Regional advisory committees assist in the evaluation of the teams and individuals and make recommendations to the national committee. The women’s golf committee, subject to the approval of the Championships Committee, will determine annually the total number of allocations for the championships. The Division III philosophy assures there is representation from each region (reference: Philosophy in the Division III General Section). The best teams and individuals will be selected from those regions.

Teams and individuals must play a minimum of 12 18-hole rounds, including a minimum of three rounds in the spring, in order to be considered for selection to the national championships. Individuals and teams will be selected to the championships based on a complete review of the following criteria. In the event a tie exists, the above criteria will be used in priority order from (a) to (g).

(a) Head-to-head competition within regions;

(b) Win-loss record (in region and overall);

(d)....... Scoring average (adjusted scoring average, team and individual stroke average and score versus par);

(e)....... Strength of schedule (quality of the field, number of teams in tournaments, and number of rounds of tournaments);

(f)....... Spring results compared to fall results; and

(g)....... Eligibility/availability of student-athletes.

c. Men’s and Women’s Tennis AQ Principles.

(1) Men’s Tennis.

(a) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2005 Convention to establish Division III Men’s Tennis AQ principles, effective 2006-07. The championship would consist of 40 teams as determined by a bracket access ratio of 1:7.5, and the pool allocation be as follows:

Pool A: 24

Pool B: 10

Pool C: 6

Pool A is reserved for eligible conference automatic qualifiers.

Pool B is determined by calculating a “pool access ratio.” This ratio is determined by the number of eligible institutions in Pool A divided by the number of Pool A berths. (210 Pool A institutions divided by 24 berths is a pool access ratio of 1:8.75.) When this ratio is applied to the 93 Pool B eligible institutions, Pool B is 10.

Pool C is reserved for institutions in conferences with automatic qualification that are not the conference champion plus remaining independents and members of non-qualifying conferences. The number of Pool C berths is determined by subtracting Pool A and Pool B from the total bracket size.

(b) Rationale. The championships format will consist of eight preliminary sites that will host five teams. Three rounds of competition will be held at each site Friday through Sunday. One team will advance from each preliminary site to the final championships site.

The individual portion of the championship will remain unchanged at 32 singles and 16 doubles teams.

(d) Selection Criteria. When selecting and seeding teams, individuals, and doubles teams for the championships, the committee will use the following criteria:

Primary criteria based on in-region, Division III competition (not in priority order).

· Win-loss percentage against regional opponents;

· Strength of schedule;

· In-region head-to-head competition;

· In-region results versus common regional opponents, and

· Late-season play.

Secondary criteria based on out-of-region and out-of-division competition (not in priority order).

· Head-to-head competition;

· Results vs. common opponents;

· Overall Division III win-loss percentage; and

· Results vs. Division III teams ranked in other regions.

Strength of schedule is defined as results against regionally ranked teams. Teams will be ranked once at mid-season and again one week prior to selections using the primary criteria.

Late season play is defined as a team’s or individual’s win-loss percentage in the last 50 percent of the season.

(2) Women’s Tennis.

(a) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2005 Convention to establish Division III Women’s Tennis AQ principles, effective 2006-07. The championship would consist of 47 teams as determined by a bracket access ratio of 1:7.5, and the pool allocation would be as follows:

Pool A: 32

Pool B: 8

Pool C: 7

Pool A is reserved for eligible conference automatic qualifiers.

Pool B is determined by calculating a “pool access ratio.” This ratio is determined by the number of eligible institutions in Pool A divided by the number of Pool A berths. (285 Pool A institutions divided by 32 berths is a pool access ratio of 1:8.90.) When this ratio is applied to the 72 Pool B eligible institutions, Pool B is 8.

The championships format will consist of seven preliminary sites that will host six teams and one site that will host five teams. Three rounds of competition will be held at each site Friday through Sunday. One team will advance from each preliminary site to the final championships site.

The individual portion of the championships will remain unchanged at 32 singles and 16 doubles teams.

(d) Selection Criteria. When selecting and seeding teams, individuals, and doubles teams for the championships, the committee will use the following criteria:

Primary criteria based on Division III in-region competition (not in priority ranking).

· Head-to-head competition;

· Win-loss record;

· Strength of schedule;

· Results against common opponents and teams;

· Late season play;

· Consistency of lineup; and

· Eligibility and availability of student-athletes.

Secondary criteria includes out-of-region and out-of-division play (not in priority order).

· Results against common opponents and teams;

· Head-to-head competition;

· Overall strength of schedule; and

· Overall Division III win-loss record.

d. Men’s and Women’s Cross Country AQ Principles.

(1) Recommendation. Establish Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country AQ principles. The cross country championship would reduce from eight regional sites to four regional sites. It is suggested that the regions be combined as follows: Atlantic/Great Lakes; New England/Mideast/South/
Southeast; and Central/Midwest/West.

(2) Rationale. The four regional sites (preliminary round) would have 11 men’s teams at three sites and 12 at one site. There would be 12 individuals at each of the four sites for a total of 363 men. The women would have 12 teams at four sites and 12 individuals at each site. There would be a total of 384 women.

(a) Based on 2003-04 sports sponsorship sponsorship (men – 340; women – 367), pool allocations would be as follows:

		Men	Women
Pool Allocations for Teams	Pool A	30	30
	Pool B	4	4
	Pool C	11	14
		45	48

Total Number of team participants		315	336
Individual participants		48	48
Total in Championships		363	384

(b) Advancement to Finals. Sixteen teams will advance to each final for men and women. Thirty-two individuals will advance to each final for men and women. The championship site would include a total of 144 participants for men and 144 participants for women.

(3) Budget Impact: $928,100. [Attachment D]

(4) Selection Criteria.

(a) Team Selection.

Primary Criteria. (Only competition against Division III institutions will be accepted. Further, meet results will be taken as printed.)

· Conference finish;

· Head-to-head competition;

· In region winning percentage; and

· In-region record against common opponents.

Secondary Criteria (tentative).

· Time interval between first runner and fifth runner of the same team. (The time between an institution’s first runner and last runner in comparison with the time interval between another institution’s first runner and fifth runner can denote which team, as a whole, is quicker.)

(b) Men’s and Women’s Individuals.

The top-12 individuals from each of the four regions would advance based on the following criteria:

· From conference championships meet, the first individual not on the team automatically advances to the regionals for a total of 30 individuals each for men and women.

· Head-to-head competition within the region, comparing time and place finish.

· A ranking system that considers both time and place finish will be developed. To be considered, a student- athlete must finish in the top-15 percent of at least four meets.

e. Amend NCAA Bylaw 31.1.8.2. (Misconduct).

(1) Recommendation. Approve a modification to NCAA Bylaw 31.1.8.2 from, “Other acts of misconduct may be dealt with at the governing sports committee’s convenience,” to, “Other acts of misconduct should be dealt with in a timely manner by the governing sports committees.”

(2) Rationale. The committee believes that too much time exists between the time an incident occurs and is investigated and the response time to the specific institution. This modification will ensure more timely notification to an institution of a possible misconduct issue and permit more immediate opportunity for the institution to investigate and respond to the governing sports committee.

2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

a. 2004-05 and 2005-06 Budget Requests. The committee reviewed all sports committees' requests and recommends the following for the 2004-06 budget cycle. [Attachment E]

(1) Baseball. Predetermined regional sites.

(a) Recommendation. Increase the number of predetermined regional sites from two to five.

(b) Rationale. Currently, there are two predetermined regional sites, one in the New England region and one in the South region. The additional predetermined sites would be in the New York, Mideast and Mid-Atlantic regions. This will help with attendance, generate more publicity and provide more time for the host sites to prepare. Moreover, in looking to long-range planning with the increase in the number of teams in 2006 due to the ratio change, there will need to be additional sites.

(2) Men’s Golf. Rules officials’ expenses.

(a) Recommendation. Reimburse the 10 rules officials assigned to the Division III Men’s Golf Championships for ground transportation expenses, effective 2004-05.

(b) Rationale. Currently, the NCAA provides lodging and per diem for the 10 rules officials selected to work the championships. Transportation expenses will enable the committee to continue to secure the top officials for the championships.

(3) Women’s Golf. Rules officials’ expenses.

(a) Recommendation. Reimburse the 10 rules officials assigned to the Division III Women’s Golf Championships for ground transportation expenses, effective 2004-05.

(b) Rationale. Currently, the NCAA provides lodging and per diem for the 10 rules officials selected to work the championships. Transportation expenses will enable the NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Committee to continue to secure the top officials for the championships.

(4) Women’s Lacrosse. Flights for officials.

(a) Recommendation. Increase the number of officials’ flights from three to six for the Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

(b) Rationale. The sport of women’s lacrosse is growing on a national level from its traditional East Coast base, and this will ensure quality officials at every round of the championship. In 2003, a non-nationally ranked official was used as the flight limit had been reached.