Although no action was taken to change selection criteria, that was the main subject of discussion at the Division II Men's Basketball Committee meeting June 6-9 in Indianapolis.

The committee had pledged to the coaches that no changes would be made for next year's championship since many already have established much of their schedules for the upcoming season. Instead, the committee will run a pilot rating system during the 2000-01 season and discuss possible changes in March 2001. The committee did recommend to the Division II Championships Committee that one change be made in the details of the criteria. Under that recommendation a team would have to play a minimum of 16 in-region games to be selected. There is no minimum now.

Regarding exhibition games, the committee recommended to the Championships Committee that such games against Division I or III teams must be played between November 1 and the first eligible playing date to be considered exhibition and not count toward the team's regular-season record.

The committee responded to a Championships Committee request to discuss the effect that permitting conference championship games to be played on Sunday, which the basketball committee does not permit, would have on selections. The basketball committee's response was that Sunday championship games would adversely affect travel plans for teams because of late notice of where they would be going and would result in the elimination of the division's selection television show.

Sunday Conference Competition. The committee determined if conferences were permitted to play conference championship games on what is currently selection Sunday, it would adversely effect the selection process for the following reasons:

1. Travel preparation for regional competition would be compromised. If teams from Alaska and Hawaii compete on Sunday, selections would be delayed until Monday. A late Monday notificiation would only allow teams 24 hours to confirm travel arrangements and be at their regional destinations.
2. If selections do not occur on Sunday, the selection show will be eliminated. The selection show has become a team event for the student-athletes selected.

Note: The Women's Basketball Committee conducted a survey of all coaches this spring. Based on the survey, the coaches overwelmingly were not in favor of conference championship play on Sunday.

In other action, the committee approved for championship automatic qualification the 20 conferences that meet the criteria. (The committee denied a request by the Heartland Conference for the two-year waiver and the New England Conference is no longer in existence).