The NCAA News - News & Features

Wrestling Committee -- Other highlights

Wrestling Committee
April 8-12/Kansas City, Missouri

The Division I subcommittee of the Wrestling Committee:

* Recommended to the NCAA Executive Committee that Pennsylvania State University be selected as host for the 1999 championships.

* Voted to have all wrestle-back matches last seven minutes. Previously, these matches have been six minutes long. The rationale is to make the length of the matches the same as the majority of those contested during the regular season.

* Voted to form a subcommittee to investigate the possibility of moving the season so that the championships dates are approximately one month later. The subcommittee would determine whether such a move would increase media coverage and make more institutional administrative staff available to attend both qualifying tournaments and the championships.

* Voted to develop selection criteria for championships referee evaluators that would be similar to those used to select referees.

The Division II subcommittee:

* Recommended to the Executive Committee that prospective host institutions be required to guarantee net receipts of $10,000 or more. Recent sites have generated at least that much and the subcommittee wants to impress upon future sites the importance of promotion and prudent spending.

* Determined that the following sites will serve as hosts for the 1997 qualifying tournaments: North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference -- University of North Dakota; East regional -- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania; Midwest regional -- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville; South regional -- University of Indianapolis; West regional -- Chadron State College. The 1997 national championships will be at North Dakota State University. No 1998 site was proposed.

* Agreed to express to Spectator Sports Services its desire that art on merchandise sold at the championships be site-specific and that more of selected items be provided to enhance sales.

* Noted that because of a double flagrant misconduct in the fifth-place match in the 158-pound class at the 1996 championships, the team scores for the University of North Dakota and Portland State University have been adjusted, resulting in the following official placements and scores: 18. (tie) Southern Connecticut State University and North Dakota, 14 points; 20. Moorhead State University, 9¹/₂; 21. (tie) University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Portland State, 9. Championships standings otherwise remain unchanged.

* Announced the following allocations for the 1997 championships: East region 22, Midwest 27, North Central 36, West 35, South 20.

* Changed the length of championships wrestle-back matches from seven to six minutes. Periods will be two minutes long.

* Noted that some coaches are not reporting their complete records to the host site after the regional tournaments. The subcommittee determined that in the future, when completed records are received after the deadline listed in the championships handbook, a late-entry fine of $100 per individual and $300 per team will be levied.

The Division III subcommittee:

* Recommended to the Executive Committee that funds for a seventh alternate official be allocated for the championships. This official would rotate mats with the other officials so that the original six will not have to work every match, as has been the case in the past.

* Recommended that brackets be expanded from 200 qualifiers to 220. The subcommittee provided as its rationale the quality of competition, which it said results from the high number of high-school athletes relative to the number of college wrestling opportunities available.

* Noted that it will release qualifier allocations in September after sports-sponsorship numbers are available, since that information is one of the criteria used in determining allocations.

* Recommended Ohio Northern University as host for the 1997 championships. Regional sites will be finalized in May.

* Noted that coaches are not reporting their complete records to the host site after the regional tournaments. The subcommittee determined that in the future, when completed records are received after the deadline listed in the championships handbook, a late-entry fine of $100 per individual and $300 per team will be levied.