The Division III Championships Committee made a number of recommendations to the Division III Management Council regarding new women's championships and possible increases in squad sizes and per diem limits at its January 26 meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee also responded to several sports committees' requests to further clarify automatic-qualification principles.

The committee recommended to the Division III Management Council that the Council sponsor legislation at the 2001 NCAA Convention changing the minimum sponsorship numbers required to establish a division championship to 28 in an emerging women's team sport. The proposal would have an immediate effective date.

In a related matter, the committee recommended that the Management Council sponsor legislation to establish a Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship in 2001-02. Currently, 26 Division III member institutions sponsor ice hockey.

Additionally, the committee noted the Division III membership's recent adoption of legislation establishing a National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship in conjunction with Divisions I and II.

In another action, the committee recommended that the Management Council sponsor legislation establishing a Division III Women's Rowing Championships, effective with the 2001-02 season.

The committee noted that 39 Division III members currently sponsor the sport and one provisional member (which is on track to become a full member) sponsors the sport. Because of these sponsorship numbers, Division III will have 40 institutions sponsoring the emerging sport next season, thus meeting the 40-school minimum requirement for an emerging sport to become a championship sport under current legislation.

Other actions

The committee also reviewed squad sizes, official travel party limitations, and per diem amounts. The committee recommended to the Management Council a two-step process addressing these issues with an initial emphasis on increasing squad sizes, with concomitant increases in travel parties. These adjustments were recommended for the 2000-01 championships. The committee also recommended to the Management Council an increase in the per diem amount (to $65) for the 2001-02 championships.

In another action, the committee reviewed input from sports committees requesting clarification of the automatic-qualification principles. The Championships Committee, which had received feedback as well as proposed changes to the principles -- both from the sports committees and from the Division III membership -- reiterated the Division III Presidents Council's position that no substantive changes would be made to the automatic-qualification principles for at least two years.

Other highlights

Division III Championships Committee
January 26-28/Indianapolis

* Approved the recommendation of the Women's Softball Rules Committee to establish compression standards for the ball, effective 2001-02.

* Denied a request from the Division III Men's Lacrosse Committee to expand the men's lacrosse championship bracket to 16. The committee noted that the men's lacrosse championship will expand (from 12 to 14) for the 2000 championship.

* Approved a format change to the Division III women's lacrosse championship that would result in the elimination of a midweek game. The new format will consist of four, four-team regionals, with the winners advancing to the finals.

* Recommended to the Management Council that the Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships field be increased from 331 to 344. This increase would match the men's field, and the committee noted that the women have the same number of events in the championship as the men.

* Established a schedule to review the Division III officiating fee schedule every two years, beginning January 2002.

* Requested that NCAA staff contact Division III institutions that have submitted vague written policies regarding Sunday competition per Bylaw 31.1.4.1. More than a dozen institutions have submitted policies, but some of them are unclear as to whether the institution will actually compete (rather than simply have an institutional preference not to schedule competitions) on Sundays.

* Remanded a request to add the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase as an NCAA championships event back to the Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee, asking that the equipment and facility ramifications of adding the event be considered. (Existing facilities currently are set for men's event dimensions, which are significantly different than the women's event dimensions.)

* Established a rotating schedule of meetings between the Division III Championships Committee and the sports committee chairs. Team sport committee chairs will meet with the Championships Committee August 15, 2000, while individual-team sport chairs will meet with the committee in 2001.