One of the primary issues the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet addressed during its June 25-27 meeting in Indianapolis was clarifying the uncertainty surrounding the concept of regionalization in bracketing.

The cabinet's bracket/format subcommittee had begun a comprehensive review of the concept and other issues after its formation last summer, but the events of September 11 complicated matters further.

In the days immediately after the 9/11 tragedies, new policies were put in place for most sports committees that emphasized regional bracketing as a way to decrease flights and increase student-athlete safety. Those policies were implemented because of the uncertainty of travel at that time, but the concern grew that they conflicted with the more national approach that sports committees had been trying to achieve when selecting their brackets.

The cabinet has agreed, however, that sports committee policies and procedures regarding seeding and bracketing should return to those in effect before September 11, 2001. In making its decision, the cabinet acknowledged that although student-athlete welfare remains a top priority, the uncertainty surrounding the travel industry has diminished.

Also, the cabinet agreed that the bracket/format subcommittee should continue its review of the issue in order to make sure that sports committees are operating under uniform guidelines when selecting their championship fields.

The cabinet noted that even before September 11, several sports committees may have been operating outside the jurisdiction of Bylaw 31.1.3.2.5, which requires sports committees in nonrevenue sports to pair teams on the basis of geographical proximity, regardless of region, in order to avoid air travel in preliminary rounds whenever possible.

To ensure, then, that the bracketing policies are being applied consistently throughout the year, the cabinet has asked sports committees in men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis and women's lacrosse to provide documentation indicating that an exception to the bylaw had previously been granted. Sports committees in men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, Division I-AA football, men's ice hockey and men's lacrosse currently are granted exceptions.

As for future policy, the cabinet has agreed to study several proposed models that might better guide sports committees in seeding and bracketing teams. The models may include:

1. Seed all teams and pair accordingly (that is, No. 1 plays No. 64, No. 2 plays No. 63, etc.).

2. Use a "bands" concept that groups lower-seeded teams according to geography. For example, in a 64-team bracket, the top 16 seeds would be seeded and separated, and the remaining teams would be seeded in "bands" of 16 teams each (that is, Nos. 17-32 would be the No. 2 seeds at a specific site, Nos. 33-48 would be the No. 3 seeds at a specific site and Nos. 49-64 would be the No. 4 seeds at a specific site). A No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seed would be assigned to each site according to geographical proximity.

3. A model that is somewhere in between the first two (for example, seeding nationally the teams a committee has the authority to seed, then pairing the remaining teams according to geographical proximity).

4. A regional model in which teams would be selected and assigned within their own region.

In deliberating over those models, the cabinet established the following working principles to guide its review:

Create a fair and competitive championship.

Access to championships shall be provided by a combination of automatic qualifiers and at-large selections (the cabinet previously approved guidelines based on sponsorship percentages).

Top teams should be seeded.

First-round conference matchups should be avoided.

Highest-seeded teams should be given consideration in hosting (for example, taking into account other factors such as quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations, attendance history, financial considerations, geography, etc.).

After seeding, teams should be placed in brackets with consideration given to the quality of the student-athlete experience, championship atmosphere and accessibility of fans.

The cabinet will begin its review of the proposed models at its September meeting. Part of the study will include applying each of the models to various championships that were held last year to determine any impact on travel expenses, conference match-ups, competitive field, etc. The group also will solicit feedback from conferences, sports committees and the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee before any recommendations are made. The cabinet expects to complete its review by next summer.

In other related actions, the cabinet approved a recommendation from the bracket/format subcommittee to change the mileage for required ground transportation back to 300 miles, effective with the 2002-03 season.

Also, the cabinet agreed to hold the following items as part of the 2003-04 budget cycle, pending final review by the bracket/format subcommittee in September: seeding of additional teams for men's and women's soccer, softball and field hockey; and avoiding first-round conference matchups for men's and women's soccer.

Other highlights

Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet
June 25-27/Indianapolis

Recommended that legislation be adopted (for 2003-04 only) to permit a conference to retain eligibility for automatic qualification in sports other than men's basketball if it met the September 1999 automatic-qualification provisions and the new September 2003 provisions and the conference's sponsorship/composition does not change during that time. This would remedy a scenario a limited number of conferences face in which a sponsored sport will be eligible for automatic qualification under the old provisions, then not eligible under the 2003 provisions, then eligible again by 2004-05.

Supported the creation of an eight-member Association-wide playing rules oversight panel that would be appointed by the Executive Committee to resolve proposals involving player safety, financial impact or image of the sport that do not have unanimous support from Divisions I, II and III.

Established a subcommittee to deal with appeals in cases of misconduct during NCAA championships. In cases in which a penalty rendered by a sports committee is appealed by an institution, that appeal would be handled by the cabinet subcommittee rather than by the sports committee as in the past.

Agreed to permit the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports to implement a one-year pilot drug-testing program in baseball, effective September 1, 2002. The cabinet determined that the committee could "borrow" up to two tests from the tests now conducted in Division I football and one each from the tests conducted in Division I men's and women's track and field (thus, there would be no budget impact). Testing would be conducted in the championship as the committee deems appropriate (for example, at the regionals, super regionals and/or the College World Series).

Approved the recommendations from the Football Certification Subcommittee regarding postseason bowl criteria.

Approved a ticket policy to be implemented for championships in 2002-03 (except for men's and women's basketball) that will permit children ages 2 and younger to be admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult. If the facility has a policy that precludes this practice, the facility policy will be honored.

Approved a recommendation from the Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee that two 45-minute halves be played in regular-season games, followed by two 10-minute sudden-victory overtimes if the game is tied after regulation play. In all postseason competition, including play-ins, conference tournaments and the NCAA championships, penalty kicks will follow the overtime periods in order to determine a winner for advancement purposes.

Recommended that legislation be adopted to establish a term limit of eight years for secretary-rules editors serving on sports rules committees, and would establish a waiver that would, under extenuating circumstance, extend the term by a maximum of four years.