National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

July 21, 1997

Division I softball panel OKs 10 automatic qualifiers

The NCAA Division I Women's Softball Committee, meeting June 22-26 in Kansas City, Missouri, voted to recommend to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that there again be 10 automatic qualifying conferences for next year's championship tournament and that play-ins be used to determine which representatives from 12 other conferences will advance to the tournament.

Under the recommendation, the only change in automatic bids would see the Midwestern Collegiate Conference replace the Big South Conference. The Big South would move into the play-in round vs. the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The other nine conferences recommended to receive automatic bids are the Pacific-10, Big Ten, Big Twelve, Big West, Western Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big East, Missouri Valley and Mid-American Conferences.

The other conference pairings recommended for play-ins are Trans America Athletic Conference at Southland Conference, Mid-Continent Conference at Ohio Valley Conference, Northeast Conference at Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Patriot League at the Ivy Group, and the Atlantic 10 Conference at America East.

The committee also will recommend to the cabinet that the minimum financial guarantee required to host a regional tournament be increased from $2,000 to $3,000.

Other highlights

Division I Women's
Softball Committee
June 22-26/Kansas City, Missouri

  • Announced that the ratings percentage index (RPI) soon will be released to conferences.

  • Determined to waive the eight-run rule for the Women's College World Series championship game. In other games, if a team is ahead by eight runs or more after five or more innings, the game is terminated.

  • Determined that it will not reseed the tournament after regional games.

  • Listened to presentations from Oklahoma City; California State University, Fresno; and Columbus, Georgia, to host the Division I tournament in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Hosts will be selected at a later date.