National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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Cost savings could be used to support other initiatives
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The NCAA News
The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has recommended a change in travel policies for Division I and National Collegiate Championships, with the hope of using the savings to fund other championships initiatives.
At its June 27-28 meeting in Chicago, the cabinet approved a policy that would require participants located within 300 miles of a Division I or National Collegiate Championship site to travel via ground transportation rather than by air. The current policy requires traveling parties to use ground transportation if the site of competition is less than 250 miles away, unless an exception is granted because of extenuating circumstances. The change would save about $288,000 annually.
In addition, the cabinet approved a policy that if an institution is eligible to use air transportation to the site of a championship (that is, if it is more than 300 miles from the site) and an airport is located within 120 miles of either the destination or the institution, the institution would be required to use ground transportation to and from that airport. This policy, which would save about $382,000, would not be applied to the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.
If implemented, the policies will take effect with the 2001-02 academic year.
The cabinet also voted to ask the Division I Management Council to propose legislation to amend Constitution 4.01.2.3.1 to permit the Division I Women's Basketball Committee to administer an opening-round format in the Division I Women's Basketball Championship that would maintain 34 at-large berths relative to the number of conferences eligible for automatic qualification.
The change would be necessary because Constitution 4.01.2.3.1 specifies that Divisions I-AA and I-AAA members are guaranteed access to national championships at least at the same level provided as of January 9, 1996, a date agreed upon during the governance-restructuring process. Since there were 32 automatic-qualifying conferences in women's basketball in 1996, that guarantee would not permit the committee to preserve the 34 at-large berths or require conferences to participate in opening-round games.
The cabinet also will ask the Management Council and Division I Board of Directors to sponsor legislation that would amend Bylaw 21.6.6.3.3.3.3.1 so that the cabinet could waive committee-composition legislative requirements when no qualified nominees meet those requirements.
The proposed modification also would allow the cabinet to stagger or extend committee terms when necessary to fill vacancies or meet legislative requirements.
In other business, the cabinet agreed to require three universities to return revenues to the Association because of use of ineligible players in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
The University of Arizona and the University of California, Los Angeles, must each return $45,321 received from their participation in the Division I Men's Basketball Championship in 1999. The amount is 45 percent of the value of the units the universities earned in the 1999 championship. Each university earned one unit, valued at $100,800, for participation in the 1999 tournament.
Texas Tech University must return $282,800, which was a penalty recommended by the Division I Committee on Infractions from a 1998 infractions case in which several student-athletes failed to meet satisfactory-progress requirements and were declared ineligible. In that case, the Committee on Infractions had determined that the institution should bear responsibility for the use of ineligible student-athletes in the 1996 championship.
Other highlights
Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet
June 27-28/Chicago
Designated Old Dominion University as the host institution for the 2000 Division I Field Hockey Championship and Kent State University as the host institution for the 2001 championship.
Added the following to Division I-AA Football Championship site-selection criteria: "The Division I-AA Football Committee will consider previous crowd-control measures and behavior of spectators of the prospective host institution."
Designated the University of Oklahoma as host institution for the 2002 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships.
Designated Johns Hopkins University as host institution for the 2001 Division I (and Division III) Women's Lacrosse Championships.
Designated Ohio State University as host institution for the 2001 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships. The cabinet also appointed Karen Jones, associate athletics director at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as chair of the committee, effective September 1.
Designated the University of Texas at Austin as host institution for the 2002 Women's College Cup (soccer).
Voted to realign softball from six regions to eight.
Designated the University of Georgia as host institution for the 2002 Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. Also, the University of Texas at Austin will host the 2003 men's championships.
Designated Auburn University as host institution for the 2003 Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Designated the following as host institutions for the Division I Women's Tennis Championships: 2001 -- Georgia State University; 2002 -- Stanford University; 2003 -- University of Notre Dame; and 2004 -- University of Georgia.
Eliminated the policy precluding an institution from hosting regional competition in the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship for more than two consecutive years.
Reaffirmed that the 2001 Women's Water Polo Championship will consist of a four-team, single-elimination tournament made up of four games (two semifinals, a third-place game and a championship game). The semifinals and championship will be conducted the second Saturday and Sunday in May, with the third-place game on Sunday before the championship game.
Voted to support a recommendation from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports that eye protection be mandatory in women's lacrosse.
Voted to maintain women's equestrian as an emerging sport and agreed to receive input about proposed regulations from Division I institutions that sponsor the sport. In addition, the cabinet's playing and practice seasons subcommittee will review the regulations and make recommendations to the cabinet.