National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

August 4, 1997

Golf committee OKs regional sites for 1998 championships

Site selection and championships administration issues dominated the NCAA Men's and Women's Golf Committee's annual meeting June 23-26 in Monterey, California.

Four of the five subcommittees recommended regional sites for the 1998 championships.

Two changes were recommended for all women's championships beginning in 1998. The hem of the team uniform shorts must be no higher than four inches above the knee. In addition, coaches and players must wear spikeless shoes during regional and championships competition, including all practice rounds.

The following actions, including site recommendations for the 1998 championships, are classified by division subcommittees.

Division I men's subcommittee

The Division I men's golf subcommittee recommended that the University of South Carolina, Columbia, host the 1998 East regional at Daufuskie Island and that Arizona State University host the West regional.

The subcommittee also discussed future finals sites, noting that in-person proposals regarding the 2003 and 2004 championships would be reviewed during the 1998 Golf Coaches Association of America convention. Each prospective site will be asked to consider hosting the championships for consecutive years and, possibly, on a permanent basis.

In addition, the subcommittee will submit an "ideal championships" document to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that includes the following recommendations: (1) adjusting the championships format to Thursday through Sunday, with play concluding before noon on Sunday; (2) conducting three regionals with 150 participating teams and nine individuals, or two regionals with 120 teams plus individuals; (3) providing for a 54-hole cut; (4) conducting one practice round; (5) eliminating the East/West matches; and (6) establishing regional finish as the sole determinant of the practice-round pairings.

In other actions, the subcommittee:

  • Voted that violation of the spikeless-shoe policy be penalized two strokes per hole per occurrence up to a maximum of four shots. Subsequent violation during that round shall require disqualification. Should a host course's spikeless-shoe policy be more restrictive than the NCAA policy (for example, any type of nontraditionally designed spike), the NCAA shall notify the participating teams through the participant manual.

  • Voted that teams must wear caps with institutional logos, regardless of color, or if the cap does not have a school logo, the caps must be of school colors.

  • Determined that the current misconduct rule shall be renamed "unsportsmanlike conduct" in order to differentiate between it and the NCAA misconduct policy. The unsportsmanlike conduct rule shall be enforced by the USGA and the NCAA and will not be subject to appeal.

  • Stipulated that head coaches are required to communicate directly with Golfstat before each tournament in which it plans to have a junior varsity team participate. Institutions that fail to report will be subject to a $500 fine. In addition, the junior varsity results will not be changed by Golfstat if notified after the event.

    Division II men's subcommittee

    The Division II men's subcommittee will recommend to the Division II Championships Committee that Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania host the 1999 championships at the Avalon Lakes Golf Course.

    The 1998 championships will be held at the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, and will be cohosted by Rollins College and the Orlando Area Sports Commission.

    The subcommittee's recommendations for 1998 regional sites include Bryant College (North regional), Columbus State University (South regional) and Cameron University (West regional).

    In other actions, the subcommittee recommended the following district allocations for 1998: North regional (District 1, three teams; District 2, five teams; District 4, seven teams); South regional (District 3 South, nine teams; District 3 North, six teams); and West regional (District 5, three teams; District 6, five teams; District 7, three teams; District 8, four teams).

    The subcommittee will evaluate the teams coming out of these regionals after the 1998 championships to determine if further changes need to be made in future regional allocations.

    Division III men's subcommittee

    The Division III men's subcommittee will recommend to the Division III Championships Committee that Emory University host the 1998 championships at Jekyll Island.

    The subcommittee also will recommend that institutions hosting championships be granted an automatic berth in the championships. The subcommittee believes this will increase an institution's incentive to host the event.

    In addition, the subcommittee decided to survey the Division III membership on several championships matters, including whether the championships should be conducted as a three-round event or a four-round event. Other items to be included on the survey are the number of practice rounds at the championships (there currently are two); the dates of the competition (either the second or third week in May); the method of determining third- and fourth-round pairings; and whether the 15 at-large berths to the championships should be predetermined or allocated during selections.

    Division I women's subcommittee

    The Division I women's subcommittee voted to recommend the "wave" system of tee times for the 1998 regionals. The system, which will be used at the 1998 finals, was employed at the 1997 finals at Ohio State and was well received.

    The system will be reviewed after the 1998 championships before being implemented for subsequent championships.

    The subcommittee also will recommend the following regional allocations for the 1998 championships: East regional (South, 43; Midwest, 21; Middle Atlantic East, 38) and West regional (West, 46; Far West, 56). Forty-two competitors (eight teams and two individuals) will advance from the East regional, while 57 competitors (11 teams and two individuals) will advance from the West regional.

    Regarding sites for the 1998 regionals, the subcommittee will recommend to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that Duke University host the East regional. The subcommittee voted to reopen bidding for the West regional, noting that no bids had been received to date. Though it is the West district's turn to host the regional, bids will be accepted from both the West and Far West districts. If no bids are received from the West District by August 15, the West district will forfeit its turn in the rotation.

    The subcommittee also will be soliciting bids to host both the 1999 East and West regionals.

    In another action, the subcommittee recommended that the University of Missouri, Columbia, be realigned from the Midwest district to the West district.

    Divisions II and III

    women's subcommittee

    The Divisions II and III women's subcommittee will forward two recommendations to the Divisions II and III Championships Committees, including a revision of district allocations that allows for the maximum number of teams to be selected from each region.

    The subcommittee will recommend that for Division II, two teams and one individual be selected from the East district; one team and three individuals be selected from the Midwest district; and one team and three individuals be selected from the East district.

    In Division III, the subcommittee would select one team and two individuals from the East district; one team and two individuals from the Great Lakes district; two teams and one individual from the Midwest district; and two teams and one individual from the West district.

    District allocations in the past had been determined largely during the selection process. Now, the subcommittee has decided to eliminate that option in favor of assigning the exact number of teams and individuals from each region.

    The subcommittee also will recommend to the championships committees a modification in stroke average.

    Teams that play more than the minimum nine rounds required for consideration for selection to the championships would be able to drop one or more high scores as they apply to overall stroke average. The subcommittee determined the following breakdown in calculating the number of scores to be dropped: nine-11 tournaments -- all scores count; 12-14 tournaments -- the highest score will be dropped; 15-17 tournaments -- the two highest scores will be dropped; and 18 or more tournaments -- the three highest scores will be dropped.

    All scores must be reported and the determination of which scores will be dropped will be made by Golfstat.

    In other actions, the subcommittee ranked selection criteria as follows: (1) Head-to-head competition within district; (2) strength of schedule; (3) team and individual stroke average; (4) comparison of spring results against fall results; and (5) comparisons with common opponents.

    The subcommittee also determined that individuals participating in the championships who happen to be from the same team will not be paired together in competition.