The Division I Men's Soccer Committee discussed at its April 15-18 meeting in Indianapolis a championship format change that would become effective in 2002 if approved by the Division I Championships/
Competition Cabinet.

Based on a recent survey, the committee determined the soccer coaching community favors an alternate format. After considering several models, the committee decided on the following: First-round games will be conducted on the first weekend, either Friday or Saturday. Second-round games will be played the following Wednesday, when the 16 bye teams begin play. The third round will be played on the second weekend, with either Saturday or Sunday games, followed by the quarterfinals on the third weekend and the Men's College Cup on the fourth.

The committee noted that the current format holds the potential to have games where neither team playing is the home team. In the proposed format, all preliminary-round games will be played on the campus of a participating institution.

Game times during all rounds will be between 6 and 7:30 p.m. for Friday games, between noon and 7:30 p.m. for Saturday games and between noon and 1 p.m. for Sunday games. The Wednesday games would be played between 1 and 7 p.m.

Committee members noted an increased amount of recovery time, as well as potential cost savings, as factors that persuaded the change. The committee currently is surveying the membership about implementing the format change for this fall.

The committee also announced a tentative television schedule for the Men's College Cup. The first Friday semifinal will be at 5 p.m. EST live on ESPN2. The second semifinal will be played at 7:30 p.m., with a one-day delayed telecast on ESPN2. The championship will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m. EST live on ESPN.

In other action, the committee noted that the number of automatic qualifiers has increased to 22 with the addition of the Atlantic Soccer Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The Big West Conference is one year away from eligibility for an automatic bid.

The committee also responded to requests from the Championships/
Competition Cabinet to develop a plan to seed the top 16 teams that receive byes in the current format. The committee will consider regionalization and geographic proximity when creating the championship bracket.

In addition, the committee discussed the pool of officials approved to work the championship. The group also increased the minimum number of regular-season Division I men's games that officials must work from four to 10 to be selected to any championship round.

Other highlights

Division I Men's Soccer Committee
April 15-18/Indianapolis

Noted that bids for the 2005 and 2006 championships will open September 1, 2002, with a December 1 deadline. Presentations will be made at the committee's 2003 annual meeting. The 2002 and 2004 championships will be played at Southern Methodist University. Columbus Crew Stadium will be the host site for the 2003 championship.

Agreed that, when possible, national committee members should staff all preliminary rounds.

Received approval to use air transportation for referees in quarterfinals.

Voted to support a policy for children under 24 months old to have free admission with a paying adult so long as they do not use another seat.

Discussed changes in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) that may be necessary regarding the proposed overtime rules changes. The committee will revisit this issue after the Championships/Competition Cabinet meets in June.

Established mandatory tape exchange policies and accompanying guidelines, regardless of the format used, implemented in the third round. A penalty structure will be created and enforced.

Voted to change the seating requirement for the host facility for the Men's College Cup to a minimum of 10,000 and a maximum of 30,000.