The NCAA News - News & Features

I baseball committee evaluates regional, CWS administration

The committee, which met June 23-26 in Amelia Island, Florida, conducted discussions with Jack Diesing Jr., president of College World Series, Inc., in Omaha, Nebraska, regarding the administration of the College World Series, Rosenblatt Stadium and the involvement of corporate partners and local contributors in the College World Series.

The committee agreed to forward a recommendation to the NCAA Executive Committee for its August 7-9 meeting requesting that a more liberal interpretation of local contributor involvement by the host institution or by the local organizing committee be permitted at the College World Series.

Currently, the College World Series operates as one of four NCAA championships under the strictest corporate-involvement guidelines.

The committee also met and discussed a number of issues with Dave Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Keilitz asked the committee to continue to study avenues for expanding the Division I championship bracket to 64 teams.

He also discussed a change-of-season proposal; informed the committee of an ABCA Board of Directors vote to recommend that the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee enact performance standards for the nonwood bat that more closely parallel the wood bat; and discussed an ABCA request to the rules committee that it implement a one-year waiting period for any major rules change proposal.

The committee also reviewed automatic qualification and play-in conferences as determined by the computer-generated Rating Percentage Index (RPI).

The committee will recommend to the Executive Committee that the following 19 conferences receive automatic qualification for the 1997 Division I Baseball Championship: the Atlantic Coast, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big 12, Big South, Big Ten, Big West, Mid-American Athletic, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Pacific-10, Southeastern, Southland, Southern, Sun Belt, Trans America Athletic and Western Athletic Conferences; the Colonial Athletic Association; and Conference USA.

In addition, the following 1997 conference play-in pairings will be recommended to the Executive Committee for consideration in August: Mid-Eastern at America East, Southwestern Athletic at West Coast, Midwestern Collegiate at Mid-Continent, Patriot at Ivy Group, and Northeast at Metro Atlantic.

Other highlights

Division I Baseball Committee
June 23-26/Amelia Island, Florida

* Reviewed Division I Baseball Championship selection criteria and agreed to retain the same criteria for the 1997 championship.

* Agreed to allow only 35 persons in the dugout during games. The 35 persons include 25 players, four coaches and six others. The committee agreed that bat handlers will be counted among the six others.

* Approved the second annual satellite uplink umpire clinic for January 11, 1997.

* Agreed that institutional personnel will be prohibited from using radar guns during championship competition in 1997.

* Addressed concerns regarding playing conditions at regional sites and agreed to monitor field conditions as part of its site-selection process.

* Reviewed and agreed to retain the current format at the College World Series.