The NCAA News Digest

September 1, 1997

• BASEBALL'S POWER SURGE
• PRESIDENTS BOARDS -- CEOs meet for first time as heads of division structures
• FINANCES -- New Executive Committee approves $267.0 budget
• BASKETBALL -- Final Four site selection starts in Division I men's basketball
• FOOTBALL -- Weekly 30-minute show begins September 2 on Fox

BASEBALL'S POWER SURGE

You can debate the cause, but you can't argue about the fact that Division I baseball has become a power-oriented, offensive-minded game. Research by the NCAA statistics staff shows that, over the last 25 years, the typical batting average has climbed from .266 to .304, the rate of home runs has more than doubled and an average pitcher's earned-run average has almost doubled. Records were set in 1997 for scoring per game (7.01 runs per team) and home runs per game (0.96). Pitching has suffered accordingly, with the typical earned-run average reaching a record level of 5.93 in 1997. (On the plus side, strikeouts also are at record levels, no doubt the result of free-swinging batters.)

For better or worse, high-tech metal bats no doubt are at least partly responsible for the big numbers. They became legal for NCAA play in 1974.

PRESIDENTS BOARDS

The presidential boards of each of the three membership divisions have met for the first time as primary governing bodies.

At their August meetings in Atlanta, the presidents in each division focused on the following:

Division I: Chose to delay by one year the effective date of 1997 Convention Proposal No. 62 and authorized an expedited review of the high-school core-course approval process.

Division II: Agreed to sponsor 10 of the 11 proposals developed by the division's committee structure.

Division III: Requested more study on a proposal that would have permitted national governing bodies the same opportunity as the U.S. Olympic Committee to provide educational financial assistance to Division III student-athletes.

Staff contact: Stephen R. Morgan Division I, Nancy L. Mitchell Division II, and Daniel T. Dutcher Division III.

FINANCES

The 1997-98 NCAA budget, which was approved at the Executive Committee's August 13 meeting in Atlanta, is based on total operating revenue of $267.0 million.

The budget features total operating expenses of $265.6 million, $181.1 million of which is devoted to Division I distributions and championships. The allocation is $11.1 million for Division II (4.37 percent of the operating revenue, as is now required legislatively) and $8.1 million for Division III (3.18 percent).

Staff contact: Keith E. Martin.

BASKETBALL

The Division I Men's Basketball Committee has begun the process of selecting hosts for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Final Fours.

Minimum seating capacity for those three years will be 30,000. Prospective host cities also must commit 7,500 hotel rooms and more than 250,000 square feet of meeting space for the NCAA Hoop City and the National Association of Basketball Coaches' annual convention.

The dates are April 5 and 7, 2003; April 3 and 5, 2004; and April 2 and 4, 2005.

On September 5, the committee will distribute facility-availability questionnaires and specifications-agreement forms to institutions and conference offices in cities that meet the general specifications and have expressed interest in hosting the championship.

Prospective hosts must return the completed questionnaires to William R. Hancock, director of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship-administration, at the national office no later than November 13, 1997.

The basketball committee will select "finalist" cities in December. By mid-February, the finalist cities must return signed contracts for the facility, local organizing committee and all hotels. The committee will visit those locales during spring 1998.

The cities will make in-person presentations to the committee during its June 1998 meeting. The committee will forward the recommendations to the Championships/Competition Cabinet for final approval.

The site-selection process for preliminary-round sessions for the 2002 and 2003 championships will begin in the summer of 1998.

Staff contact: William R. Hancock.

FOOTBALL

A 30-minute NCAA Football Television Show has been cleared on Fox Sports Network affiliates for 15 consecutive weeks on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. (local times), beginning September 2.

On Wednesday of every week, the same show will be replayed at a time to be determined. On Saturdays of those weeks, the show will be shown immediately preceding the Fox Sports Network College Football Game of the Week.

Staff contact: James A. Marchiony.