Automatic qualification in the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, which has undergone more twists and turns than a man lost in a blizzard, has almost made it home, but not quite.

This much is clear: The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet during its February meeting granted automatic berths to this year's champions of the America East Conference, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the Ivy Group and the Patriot League. And as in the past, another spot in the 12-team bracket will go to the top team in the Western region.

It's also gospel that starting in 2002, every champion of every eligible conference with at least six lacrosse-playing teams that meet the requirements of Bylaw 31.3.5 will receive automatic qualification.

What's still murky, though, is how many conferences there will be and how many teams will compose the tournament bracket. The latter was left open when the Championships/Competition Cabinet forwarded the Division I Men's Lacrosse Committee's recommendation to increase the bracket size to 16 to the Division I Management Council. The X-factor is that the cabinet also supported bracket expansion in four other sports, as well as several new championships initiatives that exceed the budget parameters for 2000-01, which means that none of the bracket expansions is guaranteed to be approved because there may not be enough money to fund them all.

If bracket expansion does happen in men's lacrosse, the number of conferences would probably remain constant because there would be ample opportunity for the traditional nonconference power teams to get an at-large bid. If the bracket stays at 12, independents will probably start scrambling for brethren.

Immediate future

Even with AQ, the field for the next two years probably will not look much different. Only the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association, which has never had a team make the tournament, does not receive automatic qualification because its power rating was not in the top four of five. Granted, the Patriot League, which has AQ now but had no tournament teams last year, might skew things somewhat, but only compared to last season. The league includes the U.S. Military Academy, a 12-time postseason participant, and Hobart College, a former Division III power still in its Division I infancy. It made the field for the first time in 1998.

The reason for the Metro's absence traces back to the lacrosse committee's recommendation in July 1998: that only conferences whose competition was of sufficient quality, based upon record and strength of schedule, should receive automatic qualification. That recommendation was made in response to a January 1998 cabinet request that all sports committees overseeing championships without automatic qualification explore its implementation, rather than continuing to use subjective quality-of-competition criteria to determine the field. Because it contradicted the cabinet's position to award AQ to all eligible conferences, the recommendation met cabinet resistance.

In July 1999, the cabinet mandated that AQ be awarded to a maximum of four conferences based upon a computerized rating-percentage index for the 2000 and 2001 championships, and to all eligible conferences thereafter; however, that mandate met opposition from the Division I Management Council and was returned to the cabinet for consideration of striking a balance between tournament quality and the appropriate level of conference access.

In October 1999, the cabinet again recommended the current system to the Management Council, where it narrowly passed.

According to Tim Pavlechko, NCAA assistant director of championships, the intent of the delay was to allow the sport to gradually comply with the cabinet's policy of access for all conferences.

"The relatively small bracket compared to that of other sports that have automatic qualification for all conferences was a factor," Pavlechko said. "I also believe they wanted to allow for gradual compliance in light of the continuing examination of the current automatic-qualification bylaws by the membership, and more specifically, the subcommittee of the Management Council that may propose legislation in April to revise some of the additional requirements of Bylaw 31.3.5.2 for member conferences to receive automatic qualification. This is a sport that has had minimal conference leadership and emphasis, and the conferences and schools needed time to adjust."

Staying independent

Committee chair Joe Boylan, director of athletics at Loyola College (Maryland), one of the remaining independent powers, welcomed delayed implementation.

"It was a way to meet the directive on access and to ensure that teams that have supported the sport for several decades are not put at an immediate disadvantage," he said. "(The cabinet's decision) was a very rational response to the committee's request as opposed to being told that we had to let every conference in immediately.

"It allows us to have a bridge between now and when we hope bracket expansion is implemented."

That's a hope the entire lacrosse community shares. How schools adjust depends on that announcement, which will come after the 2000-01 Division I budget is finalized later this year. Until then, most independents are staying put.

It's no mystery why. Assume that in 2002 there still is a 12-team bracket and that no new leagues are formed. After the conference and Western AQs are given, six spots will be left. Every school that has won the championship, with the exception of Ivy Group schools Cornell University and Princeton University, is an independent. If all six of those teams (1999 champion University of Virginia; runner-up Syracuse University; Johns Hopkins University; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and University of Maryland, College Park) along with Loyola, which was the top seed in each of the last two tournaments, make the field, no conference runner-up will. Since both the America East and the newly aligned ECAC had more than one team make the field last year, someone who is used to playing a lot in May is staying home, while a team that is likely weaker, perhaps greatly so, gets in.

While the independents scramble, other schools rejoice, perhaps none more than Bucknell University, which finished the 1996 regular season undefeated but was not selected because the committee felt the Bison's schedule was not sufficiently challenging.

"It's a credit to the coaches that fought for it and thought it was the right thing to do," said Bucknell coach Sid Jamieson. "This is going to give access to teams that have never had it. I've got this warm and fuzzy feeling right now."

Count Hobart coach and former committee member B. J. O'Hara as another supporter. Aside from the AQ benefit, the coach of the once independent Statesmen looks forward to enjoying other conference benefits.

"Competing for the conference title will add luster to the regular season," he said. "It also will give our players the chance to win all-conference honors. It was wonderful for the Patriot League to offer us an invitation. It gives us a chance to affiliate with schools that are like us. None of us have scholarships. It's great company."

'If it's not broken...'

John Danowski, coach at American East's Hofstra University, which has made the tournament nine times, said the 2000 and 2001 system is great for the sport, but he worries about 2002.

"I don't think this will affect teams like Syracuse, Johns Hopkins or Loyola this year, but next year, when the (Metro) has a bid, if there is no bracket expansion, some funky things could happen."

The independents don't want funky. Although Maryland coach Dick Edell realizes AQ is here, he's never supported changing an increasingly popular tournament that has been hosted almost exclusively at his school.

"We had a wonderful tournament and an outstanding tournament structure," he said. "(The committee) has done a remarkable job of selecting the 11 best teams each year and the Midwest representative, and that includes when they didn't select us.

"They say if it's not broken, don't fix it, and this is far from broken."

Edell said that if bracket expansion does not happen, Maryland and the other three Atlantic Coast Conference schools would likely look to form a new league with two other non-ACC lacrosse-playing schools, something they were discussing this year as late as November.

Virginia coach Dom Starsia, a member of the lacrosse committee, said that he'll support AQ if the tournament field is enlarged.

"We have to think of every option available to help the game grow," he said. "I'm not sure (AQ) is the best way to do that, but it is the only chance we have of getting bracket expansion."

If that doesn't happen, he said that everyone in the ACC seems open to discussion as far as what the future might hold with regard to forming an alliance with nonconference members.

Starsia said if other independents start joining conferences, the ACC's hand could be forced. Two teams from the ECAC dropped the Cavaliers from their schedule this year. If that trend continues, it could be difficult to put together a strong independent schedule.

Not all independents are as open to conference affiliation. John Haus, second-year coach at Johns Hopkins said the Blue Jays will likely remain free birds.

"(This year) we had no intention of joining a conference," Haus said. "My guess is that we will continue with that. We feel that with the strength of our schedule, if we can continue to play that kind of schedule, we should be in decent shape."

Jamieson said he understands all of the concerns, but the 36th-year coach said the tournament will remain strong with or without bracket expansion, and it will be more fair.

"We can't all be Syracuse or Virginia, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be given a chance to make the tournament.

"I also understand that once in while there may be a game that's not pretty, but that will give those teams (that lose badly) the impetus to improve. You'll still end up with the best teams in the final."