The Division I Softball Committee, which met in Indianapolis July 9-13, is recommending to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that the eight regional sites for the Division I Women's Softball Championship be selected two weeks before the tournament beginning in 2003.

"The committee believes that in order to be fiscally responsible, we need to assist our regional sites with as much planning time as possible," said Kathy Orban, committee chair and associate athletics director at Western Illinois University. "With the possibility of eight teams (per regional) after bracket expansion, it becomes even more difficult to reserve hotel rooms and pull the regional together with such short notice. We thought with predetermined sites, we could help our hosts put together a quality event and get the word out."

The committee will recommend that institutions interested in submitting bids for predetermined sites would need to guarantee $10,000, up from the current $5,000 commitment.

The committee also reaffirmed its support for expanding the bracket from 48 to 64 teams for the 2003 championship. The Championships/Competition Cabinet will review the proposal for the 2002-03 budget cycle. If bracket expansion is approved, eight teams would compete at eight regional sites. The committee also will recommend seeding 16 teams in the future.

"The integrity of the game has been questioned by our fans, student-athletes and coaches," Orban said. "Testing will help clear that up and try to keep the focus on the student-athletes, and not on the equipment."

In other actions, the committee:

Recommended that the Championships/Competition Cabinet approve automatic qualification for 22 conferences and play-in games for four others.

Updated the championship rain-delay policies for 2002, creating guidelines for procedures to reschedule games and the latest start times for completion of regular competition.