The Division I Women's Basketball Committee has forwarded a recommendation for regional sites for 2002 and 2003 to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet.

The committee received more than 30 initial bids for the championship, the most ever, from which the eight sites were chosen.

The recommendations for regional sites for 2002 include North Carolina State University in the East, Marquette University in the Mideast, the University of New Mexico in the Midwest and Boise State University in the West. For 2003, the hosts would be Dayton University in the East; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the Mideast; Iowa State University in the Midwest; and Stanford University in the West. In making its decision, the committee considered location, historical support for women's basketball and the tournament, financial guarantees, attendance potential, and rotation of sites.

In other business, the committee reviewed its recommendation to the Championships/Competition Cabinet for predetermined sites for first- and second-round play and plans to request that the cabinet move forward with implementation in 2003.

ESPN will televise 30 tournament games from the Division I Women's Basketball Championship in 2001, an increase from 27 in 2000.

Participants institutions' ticket allotment will increase from 700 to 800 for the 2001 Women's Final Four.

The committee will be soliciting bids for the 2005 and 2006 Women's Final Fours this fall. Also, the committee will meet in October with plans to study regional alignment issues, although no changes would be implemented until at least the 2002 championship.