The NCAA News - News & Features

III men's, women's basketball focuses on championship issues

Men concerned with reduction of tournament field from 64 to 48

A potential reduction in championship bracket size dominated discussion at the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee meeting July 14-17 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The committee discussed the ramifications and implementation of a 48-team tournament -- the size dictated by current restructuring plans. The committee expressed concern about the effect of a reduction on automatic qualification -- specifically, that not all currently eligible conferences will be eligible for automatic qualification with a 48-team format.

The committee noted that it would explore possible options involving automatic qualification for implementation in 1998.

The Division III Men's Basketball Championship bracket was increased from 40 to 64 beginning with the 1995 tournament.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Division III Men's Basketball Committee
July 14-17/Kansas City, Missouri

* Agreed to recommend to the NCAA Executive Committee that Salem, Virginia, host the 1998 championship.

* Voted to retain the third-place game at the championship finals.

* Discussed realignment but agreed to make no decisions until restructuring issues are resolved.

* Set sectionals and finals pairings and dates for the 2000 championship: Sectional pairings -- Northeast at Mid-Atlantic, Atlantic at East, Midwest at Great Lakes, South at West. Finals pairings -- Northeast/Mid-Atlantic vs. Atlantic/East, Midwest/Great Lakes vs. South/West. Dates -- March 2 for first-round games, March 4 for second-round games, March 10-11 for sectionals and March 17-18 for championship finals.

* Voted to recommend to the Executive Committee the following 29 conferences for automatic qualification to the 1997 championship: the Capital Athletic, Centennial, City University of New York Athletic, Commonwealth Coast, Constitution Athletic, Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic, Indiana Collegiate Athletic, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic, Little East, Massachusetts State College Athletic, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic, Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic, Midwest Collegiate Athletic, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic, New Jersey Athletic, North Coast Athletic, Ohio Athletic, Old Dominion Athletic, Pennsylvania Athletic, Presidents' Athletic, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic, Skyline, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic, Southern Collegiate Athletic, State University of New York Athletic and Wisconsin State University Conferences; College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; and Empire Athletic and University Athletic Associations.

Women's committee recommends predetermined sites for finals

Meeting July 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri, the committee voted to forward the recommendation to the NCAA Executive Committee in May 1997. Currently, the Division III women's finals are played at an on-campus site.

In addition, the committee agreed to recommend the adoption of a power rating to assist in measuring a team's strength-of-schedule ranking, which is part of the championship selection criteria.

If approved by the Executive Committee, the rating would encompass the following point system: Five points for a win vs. a ranked team with a record of .600 or better; four points for a win vs. a team with a record of .600 or better; three points for a win vs. a team with a record of no more than four games over or under .500; two points for a win vs. any team with a record of four or more games under .500; one point for a loss to a team with a record of .600 or better; and one-half point for each road win. Also, one-half point would be deducted for each home loss.

OTHER HIGHLIGHT

Division III Women's Basketball Committee
July 8-11/Kansas City, Missouri

* Revised the schedule for the Division III women's basketball poll to start later in the season. The first poll will conducted during the first week in February instead of the first week in January (1997 polls will be released February 4, 11, 18 and 25).

* Noted that a 48-team bracket, as dictated by current restructuring plans, will not accommodate automatic qualification for all eligible conferences. Therefore, the committee will explore possible options for implementation in 1998.

* Agreed to recommend the following conferences for automatic qualification: the Capital Athletic, Centennial, City University of New York Athletic, Commonwealth Coast, Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic, Indiana Collegiate Athletic, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic, Little East, Massachusetts State College Athletic, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic, Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic, New Jersey Athletic, North Coast Athletic, Northeast Women's Athletic, Ohio Athletic, Old Dominion Athletic, Pennsylvania Athletic, Presidents' Athletic, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic, Southern Collegiate Athletic, State University of New York Athletic and Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Conferences; the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and Midwest Athletic Conference for Women; the Empire Athletic and University Athletic Associations; and the New England Women's 8;

* Noted that future pairings listed in previous championships handbooks were incorrect, beginning with the 1998 regional rotation. The 1997 rotation was published correctly. The rotation for the 1998 through 2002 tournaments follow: 1998 -- Mid-Atlantic at Northeast, East at Atlantic, Great Lakes at West, Central at South; 1999 -- Atlantic at Northeast, East at Mid-Atlantic, South at West, Central at Great Lakes; 2000 -- Mid-Atlantic at East, Northeast at Atlantic, Great Lakes at Central, West at South; 2001 -- Atlantic at Mid-Atlantic, East at Northeast, South at Great Lakes, Central at West; 2002 -- Mid-Atlantic at Atlantic, Northeast at East, Great Lakes at South, West at Central.