The Division II Women's Basketball Committee spent much of its recent annual meeting in Indianapolis reviewing the format to accommodate an expanded field of 64 teams for the 2003 tournament.

Each regional will have eight teams in the same format as the Elite Eight next season. First-round games will be Friday, semifinals will be Saturday and the regional championship will be Monday. The corresponding dates for 2003 are March 14, 15 and 17.

"I think the championship will be more representative of Division II women's basketball," said Anita Barker, chair of the committee and associate athletics director at California State University, Chico. "It always has been difficult to select the top 48 teams with so many quality teams out there. It often meant leaving teams with 20 or more wins at home. Expanding the tournament to eight teams per region means better representation."

The format will allow for a minimal amount of missed class time for teams selected to the championship. It also allows for adherence to Sunday playing policies and for a day of rest before the regional championship game. In addition, it allows regional hosts more days to prepare for the event than in past years.

"This format allows us to accomplish a few things, including accommodating Sunday policies, which always has been a challenge," Barker said. "It allows us to meet the needs of the conferences that play their championship game on selection Sunday without cutting into the time we allow for our host institutions to prepare. Now that we are asking the hosts to accommodate eight practices the day before the quarterfinals, as well as additional games, we are essentially locking up an institution's facilities for five days.

"Giving hosts more time helps ensure a quality championship experience for the student-athletes, which ultimately is our goal."

Team and host selections will be made the Sunday before the tournament begins, which will be March 9 next year. The Elite Eight format will remain unchanged.

Missouri Western State College will host the 2003 and 2004 Elite Eight games in St. Joseph, Missouri. Bids will be accepted in the fall for the 2005 and 2006 championships.

In other actions, the committee noted that regional advisory committees will expand for all Division II championships next season, including women's basketball. All of the regional groups will include two representatives from each conference and independent representatives based on the number of independent institutions in the region. Ideally, there will be a coach and an administrator from each conference participating.

"I think more inclusion ideally is better," Barker said. "It will be a bit more cumbersome with a six-person, or even seven- or eight-person committee, depending on the number of independents. However, it can be difficult for a single person to represent an entire conference. This format will allow greater continuity. With eight teams being selected, the chances are even greater that a committee member may be from a team that is in consideration. Rather than having to get a substitute in the process late in the season, there will be an additional conference representative involved from the outset."

The committee also recommended that Elaine Kebbe from Belmont Abbey College be the next chair, effective September 1.