National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 17, 1997

Field hockey returns to previous 16-yard scoring rule

Because of a change made by the NCAA Field Hockey Committee, the college game no longer will extend the scoring area beyond the international boundary of 16 yards to 25 yards, beginning with the 1997 season.

The committee, meeting February 10-12 in Kansas City, Missouri, rescinded a 12-year-old NCAA modification to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) rules, which, except for a list of other modifications, govern the playing of the college game.

One of the reasons for the return to the old rule is that the FIH recently eliminated its offsides rule, another change designed to increase scoring. The committee reasoned that, given that change, the 25-yard rule no longer is necessary.

The committee also expressed a desire to make the rules under which college teams compete more consistent with the rules governing other levels of play.

Next year, the person who interprets NCAA rules modifications also will change. Kathy Tierney, coach at Lebanon Valley College, will replace West Chester University of Pennsylvania's Kathy Krannebitter, whose term on the committee ends in August.

In another action that affects all divisions, the committee voted to eliminate the umpire evaluation forms that coaches have been asked to complete and return for committee review after each game. In lieu of the forms, each division subcommittee of the Field Hockey Committee will seek input from coaches, umpires and conferences by other means to help it select top umpires for its championship.

Division I

In actions involving Division I, the committee made the following recommendations to the NCAA Executive Committee:

  • Repeated last year's request to schedule a day off between the first and second day of the championship, so that games would be played on Friday and Sunday instead of Saturday and Sunday. If the recommendation is approved, all play-in games would have to be completed by the previous Monday. If it is not approved, the committee will continue to require those games to be completed by the previous Tuesday.

  • Asked that the committee be permitted to arrange championship brackets to prevent two teams from the same conference from meeting in the first round of the tournament. This would require that the Executive Committee grant an exception to the geographical requirement that all nonrevenue championships arrange brackets according to geographical proximity.

  • Recommended that automatic qualification for the Division I championship to granted to the Big Ten Conference, the Big East Conference, America East and the Ivy Group. Play-in games would involve the Patriot League champion at the Atlantic 10 Conference champion and the Mid-American Conference champion at the Colonial Athletic Association champion.

    In other actions, the committee:

  • Agreed that effective in 1997, a team must have a record of .500 or better to be considered for ranking and selection purposes.

  • Amended the policy regarding watering the field for championship games. Every effort will be made to water the fields for competition.

    Division II

    In an action involving Division II, the committee recommended that Mansfield University of Pennsylvania be moved from the North region to the South.

    Division III

    In actions involving Division III, the committee:

  • Noted that next season, under a recommendation that was approved last year by the Executive Committee, there will be six regions. Championship allocations for those regions will be: Great Lakes region, one to two teams; New England East, one to two teams; New England West, two to three teams; North Atlantic, two to five teams; South, two to four teams; and South Atlantic, two to five teams.

  • Recommended that, effective in 1997, the semifinals and finals be played on a Saturday and Sunday and that the third-place game be eliminated. The committee also recommended that the semifinals and final be played at a predetermined site in 1998.