The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- September 27, 1999

Championships cabinet supports Sunday competition policy change

The NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has rescinded waivers granted this summer to the Division I Women's Soccer and Women's Basketball Committees regarding the Sunday championships competition rule.

The cabinet, which met September 14-16 in Kansas City, Missouri, also agreed to support legislation that would eliminate the waiver opportunity.

NCAA rules state that if a university competing in an NCAA championship has a written policy against competition on a particular day for religious reasons, the championship schedule must be adjusted to accommodate that institution.

However, Bylaw 31.1.4.1.1 permits a waiver of the rule if the governing sports committee for a championship determines the accommodation would unduly disrupt the conduct of the championship. Such waivers had been granted for the Division I Women's Soccer and Women's Basketball Committees, whose championship games are played on Sunday.

"We concluded that if a team has earned the opportunity to participate in a championship through its performance, we must do everything possible to accommodate them," said Jean Lenti Ponsetto, senior associate director of athletics at DePaul University and chair of the cabinet. "We will do what it takes to accommodate them, including adjusting our schedule.

"Logistical problems of rescheduling a major event on short notice are a real concern for us, but it's more important that athletes be able to compete," said Lenti Ponsetto.

The cabinet will discuss further how accommodations will be made if a team with a written policy about participation reaches the championship level.

Expansion proposals

The cabinet also discussed bracket expansion during its meeting and invited five sports committees to submit proposals for expanded brackets or fields.

Those sports are men's and women's lacrosse, men's ice hockey, and men's and women's outdoor track and field. Men's lacrosse and men's ice hockey are sponsored by 17 percent of Division I institutions, and both currently have 12-team championship brackets. Women's lacrosse, which operates under a 12-team National Collegiate championship format for Divisions I and II, has a 15 percent sponsorship between the divisions.

Men's and women's outdoor track, currently at 388 participants in each championship, have sponsorship numbers of 83 percent and 87 percent, respectively.

Expansion proposals for the five sports will be submitted to the cabinet for review in February.

In addition, the cabinet reaffirmed its support for expanding the men's soccer championship bracket to 48 teams. The cabinet had supported the expansion last year, but funding for the proposal was not available. The Division I Management Council, however, urged the cabinet to consider the expansion as a high priority for the 2000-01 budget review.

In another action, the cabinet reaffirmed a previous action relating to automatic qualification in men's lacrosse that had been referred back by the Division I Management Council in July.

The cabinet in July had proposed that the men's lacrosse committee award up to four automatic berths for the 2000 and 2001 championships, then award automatic qualification to all eligible conferences beginning in 2002. That proposal generated a great deal of debate within the Management Council but ultimately was referred back for the cabinet to consider the potential impact of automatic qualification on the quality of the championship and the appropriate level of access for conferences.

The cabinet's reaffirmation included a clarification of the number of automatic berths awarded in 2000 and 2001. The cabinet's proposal directs the men's lacrosse committee to award no fewer than four automatic berths, plus one berth to a team from the West region.

Baseball proposal

The cabinet also dealt with a proposal from the Division I Baseball Committee regarding champon-ship dates. The proposal would move the Division I Baseball Championship back one week later beginning in 2002.

The baseball committee last year submitted a recommendation that the championship be moved back two weeks later, but the cabinet adjusted the proposal and approved a revised date change of one week. That proposal subsequently was defeated by the Management Council.

The baseball committee, however, believes the date change is a key issue in college baseball that is supported by a majority of coaches. The committee also believes that because the proposal was defeated by a narrow margin at the Management Council meeting, further discussion of the issue is warranted.

The issue is expected to be on the Management Council's October meeting agenda.

Other highlights

Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet

September 14-16/Kansas City, Missouri