The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- February 15, 1999

Volleyball group determines list of automatic qualifiers

The Division III Women's Volleyball Committee during its February 1-4 meeting in Indianapolis determined a list of automatic-qualifying conferences for the 1999 championship that it will forward to the Division III Championships Committee for approval.

Thirty-two conferences that met the automatic criteria as set forth during the NCAA Convention will be considered during the Championships Committee's March conference call.

The volleyball committee also considered changing its scoring format but deferred action on the proposal, pending additional research on the potential impact that any changes in scoring would have on the game.

In other action, the committee will propose to conduct its annual meeting just prior to the NCAA annual Convention starting in 2000. The committee believes this would accommodate its needs insofar as any proposals with financial impact must be considered by the Championships Committee during its January meeting.

Because the committee is composed largely of administrators already in attendance at the Convention, the committee is proposing to meet four days before the start of the Convention in order to evaluate the December championship and prepare proposals within the specified timeline of the Championships Committee.

Starting September 5, 1999, the committee will convene by conference call to evaluate regional teams each Tuesday until selections for the field of 48 championships contenders are named.