The Division II Men's Basketball Committee, meeting in Indianapolis June 2-5, made recommendations to the Division II Championships Committee about officiating and regional alignment.

During its discussion of officiating, the committee recommended that officials for first-round games be permitted to officiate in a region different from that in which they worked during the regular season. For example, an official who worked in the South region during the regular season might officiate in the South Atlantic region in the first round, whereas previously he or she would have been restricted to working in the South. The rationale for the change is that the committee wants to take pressure off the assignor of officials and the officials themselves and allow the committee representative to select the best officials for the game regardless of region.

According to the committee, the budget impact of such a change (if any) would be minimal, depending on the regional sites, because some officials reside geographically closer to some sites in other regions than to some sites in the region in which they traditionally work.

As a result of the discussion on regional alignment, the committee will recommend that North Greenville College be moved from the East region to the South Atlantic region.

The committee also recommended that the Central Atlantic Athletic Conference be classified in the Northeast region. The rationale for the recommendations is to provide North Greenville and the CAAC with a better chance for scheduling more in-region games.

The committee also recommended the following:

That California State University, Bakersfield, host the 2004 Elite Eight at Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, California.

That the University of North Dakota host the 2005 Elite Eight at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

That Butch Raymond, director of athletics at Southwest State University, serve as chair beginning in September, replacing Dale Clayton, whose term will expire at that time.