The Division II Championships Committee conducted a discussion at its September 17-19 meeting about whether automatic qualification for conference champions should be applied to all Division II team championships.

Ultimately, the issue was tabled until after the Membership Review Project Team submits its report, probably next summer. However, the Championships Committee discussion marked the first time the concept had been discussed in depth at such a high level.

At the moment, men's and women's basketball are the only two Division II championships with automatic qualification. Proponents of extending automatic qualification believe that every conference champion should be assured of a berth in every team championship. Opponents are concerned about whether the approach would fit with Division II's regionalization philosophy.

Conference commissioners generally support more automatic qualification, but the chairs of the team sports committees were split.

In tabling the issue, the Championships Committee noted that it likely would recommend creation of a project team to examine automatic qualification after the review of membership issues is complete.

Other business

In other business, the Championships Committee voted to recommend that the Presidents Council sponsor legislation to establish a Division II Women's Rowing Championship in spring 2002. Women's rowing currently is a National Collegiate Championship, but Divisions I (74 sponsoring institutions) and III (41 sponsoring institutions) have voted to establish their own championships in spring 2002. Although only 14 institutions sponsor the sport in Division II, they will be unable to compete in an NCAA championship beginning in 2002 unless the division takes action to create a championship. The expectation is that if three division championships are created, they will be conducted concurrently at the same site.

The Championships Committee also asked the Men's Golf and Men's and Women's Tennis Committees to develop six- or eight-region proposals for their championships to be considered at the January 2001 meeting of the Championships Committee. The goal is to create smaller regions that would encourage more in-region play during the season. The Championships Committee also is asking for cost estimates for reimbursing travel and per diem expenses for regional competition in men's golf and men's and women's tennis (Division II women's golf does not have a regional format at the moment).

Rules changes

The Championships Committee also approved several rules changes recommended by rules committees or sports committees with rules-making responsibilities. Those included:

Baseball: The committee approved a moment-of-inertia standard for previously certified bats for each bat length and weight. Also, baseballs will be tested in 2001 to make certain they meet coefficient-of-restitution standards.

Basketball: Division II institutions will be required to install shot clocks on each basket by the 2003-04 season. The committee also highly recommends that each institution install a red indicator light on each basket by 2003-04, along with adjusting game clocks so that they show tenths of seconds.

Men's lacrosse: The committee approved a recommendation to eliminate sideline horns for substitution purposes for 2001. Substitutions instead will be made on the fly, with the substitution box being five yards on either side of the center line. Each coaching box and team area will be moved five yards closer to the end line. For 2002, all institutions will be required to have a visible shot clock.

Softball: The committee adopted the Amateur Softball Association bat standard by January 2002 (bat performance standard of 1.2). Also, ASA certification seals must be affixed to bats beginning in January 2002, and the catcher's helmet must have a NOCSAE-certified seal, effective immediately.

The recommended changes involving basketball and lacrosse will be forwarded to the Executive Committee since disagreement exists among the divisions (Divisions I and II favor, Division III opposes).

Other highlights

Division II Championships Committee
September 17-19/Indianapolis

Reconfirmed its policy that for a team to be considered for a Division II championship, it must have at least a .500 record against Division II competition (except for teams that automatically qualify for the men's and women's basketball championships).

Reconfirmed its policy that for finals sites for individual-team championships, 25 percent of the previous three years' participants must be located within 500 miles of the host institution. The committee noted that four exceptions to the current policy provide adequate flexibility for site selection.

Noted that $100,000 has been set aside for a pilot program to market and promote Division II championships. The program will be implemented in 2002-03. It has asked sports committees to develop proposals that will be considered at its January meeting. The committee has made no decisions yet on how the money will be divided, but it noted that it will be sensitive to gender issues, team vs. individual championships, predetermined vs. non-predetermined sites and will work closely with the marketing, licensing and promotions staff at the NCAA national office.

Approved two interpretations, the first of which involves a requirement that at least 50 percent of the Division II representatives on rules committees or sports committees with rules responsibilities must be coaches. The committee determined that any rounding should be done upward. For example, if the committee has one Division II representative, it should be a coach; if it has three, then two should be coaches.

Also, if an institution has indicated that it cannot compete in NCAA championship competition on a particular day for religious reasons, the committee recommended that the championship be permitted to move the competition forward, a practice that is not permitted under current policy. For example, if an institution did not permit Sunday competition for a Thursday-Sunday championship, the new policy would permit the championship to be conducted Wednesday-Saturday. The current policy would require a day off on Sunday, with competition concluding Monday.