The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- March 1, 1999

Field hockey realigns regions to comply with championships policy

The Division III Field Hockey Committee has realigned the sport's six regions for the 1999 championship. The committee, which met February 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri, made changes to conform with the directive from the Division III Championships Committee that all conference members must be aligned in the same region.

The committee also will recommend that the Centennial Conference, the Mid-Atlantic States Conference, the New England Small College Athletic Conference, the New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association be granted automatic bids.

Conferences have until April 1 to apply for automatic-qualification status before the action goes to the Championships Committee for approval.

In other actions, the committee reviewed rules changes that will be in effect for all three divisions for the 1999 season, including an increase from five to seven minutes between halves and a change in policy for disqualified and suspended players during overtime periods.

If a player has been disqualified during regulation, the team must play one participant short during the reduced-player overtime.

Players who were suspended during regulation who have not completed the suspension time shall not be permitted to play in the reduced-player overtime until their suspension time has been served. The player's team will play short until the suspension is completed. If a player has not completed a suspension at the end of the second overtime, she will not be eligible for penalty strokes.