The cabinet believes the 25 percent seeding concept is the foundation on which the proposal should be built. The group also believes it represents an appropriate starting point for dialogue with the sports committees. Those groups will be asked to present feedback on the proposal before the cabinet's next meeting in February.

"Cabinet members agreed that the proposal provides sports committees with the ability to bracket a nationally competitive tournament while still taking into account various academic and financial concerns," said Judy Sweet, NCAA vice-president for championships.

Sweet said the group reached its decision after a thorough review from the cabinet's bracket/format subcommittee. The subcommittee began its review last summer, but bracketing issues became even more complicated after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. New policies were put in place afterward that emphasized geographic proximity for bracketing as a way to decrease flights and increase student-athlete safety. Now that those issues have abated somewhat, the cabinet at its July meeting recommended that bracketing policies return to those in effect before 9-11, but that the bracket/format subcommittee would continue its review.

At that time, the subcommittee was considering four models ranging from an exclusively national-seeded bracket to an exclusively regional-seeded bracket. Other models included use of a "bands" concept that groups lower-seeded teams according to geography. Sweet said the cabinet believes its proposal presents a reasonable compromise that recognizes competitiveness, costs and academic impact.

Sweet said the cabinet's recommendation for a maximum of 25 percent national seeding and geographic bracketing could present situations in some championships where lower-seeded teams would be hosting preliminary-round contests. However, she said the cabinet noted that NCAA bylaws already require championships that do not produce net revenue to adhere to placing teams geographically in the bracket. In July, in fact, the cabinet noted that several sports committees were operating outside of that bylaw. Those committees have been asked to justify their actions to the cabinet and request an exemption from the bylaw this year if warranted.

In other action, the cabinet recommended that emergency legislation be adopted to implement the out-of-season conditioning model developed by the Football Oversight Committee and the Football Issues Committee. The model is based on protecting football student-athletes' health and safety, as well as reducing student-athlete time demands.

The safety goal of the recommendation is to minimize catastrophic health events during summer conditioning and to reduce the risk of injury (currently four times higher in preseason than in regular season) and heat illness in preseason football practice.

The cabinet also issued a position statement on the matter of American Indian mascots that has been under review by the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. Though cabinet members agreed that institutions should support the dignity and welfare of all individuals, they did not agree that it was appropriate to restrict access to championships for institutions that used American Indian mascots, nicknames or imagery. The cabinet's position was issued as follows:

"The cabinet is committed to the creation and preservation of quality championship opportunities for all student-athletes, regardless of their age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation. Hence, subject to review by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Executive Committee, as appropriate, it is the position of the cabinet that access to or the location of NCAA championship events should not be restricted because of issues related to the use by institutions of American Indian mascots or images."

Other highlights

Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet
September 17-19/Dallas