Members of the Division I Championships/ Competition Cabinet faced their usual challenge when they met recently to prioritize budget allocations for Division I championships initiatives: fitting an overwhelming amount of requests into a limited pocket book.

That challenge was no different when the group met September 16-17 in Indianapolis to determine preliminary budget requests for the 2004-06 budget cycle. The cabinet considered roughly $14.6 million in budget requests but had only about $1.2 million in each of the two years to work with. Complicating matters further was that the allocation was for all new Division I initiatives, not just championships. Thus, even though cabinet members asked for as much as they could, interests from other Division I programs may compete with the championships requests as the budget approval process plays out through the governance structure. The cabinet will make its final budget recommendations in February.

Heading the preliminary championships initiatives list for 2004-05 is bracket expansion in women's ice hockey and women's water polo -- from four to eight teams in both sports. In women's ice hockey, the eight-team field would be implemented for the 2005 championship at a cost of just over $308,000. The new format would involve regional competition at four campus sites the weekend before the finals. The National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Committee cited increased sponsorship (from 12 institutions in 1996 to 30 in 2003), grass-roots growth (more club teams) and booming championship attendance (tripled in the last three years) as justifying the larger bracket.

The only component of bracket expansion in women's water polo on which cabinet members paused was the length of the finals. The cabinet was unanimous in requesting the $109,000 necessary to grow the event beginning with the 2005 championship, but members deliberated about how to conduct the finals. Proponents advocated expanding the championship from two to three days, playing four games each day and playing the tournament out to all eight places (though awards would be given to only the top four place finishers). Some cabinet members preferred that the tournament be played out to four places, as is done in most other sports. But proponents of the eight-place format said water polo games typically last only about an hour, and that it detracts from the student-athlete experience to send players home after they lose the first game. In the end, the full cabinet agreed.

In all, the cabinet preliminarily approved 22 budget requests for 2004-05 totaling just over $1 million. Besides the bracket expansions, the 2004-05 allocations include allowing the men's and women's lacrosse committees to seed 50 percent of their brackets, changing regional formats in baseball and softball and granting preliminary-site visits to the men's ice hockey and wrestling committees.

The format change in baseball involves providing a four-day regional rather than three beginning with the 2005 championship. Two games would be played on each of the first three days, and the "if necessary" game would be the only game played on day four. Regionals still would begin the Friday after Memorial Day.

In softball, the championship date formula would be modified to include an additional weekend of competition (super regionals), effective with the 2005 championship. As a result, the Women's College World Series would be conducted the weekend after Memorial Day. Not only does the membership support the format change, the softball committee also noted that ESPN, which broadcasts the championship, could accommodate the new date formula.

The other major budget recommendation for the two-year cycle is a $10 increase in per diem (from $100 to $110) for championships participants in sports other than men's and women's basketball. Cabinet members originally wanted that item to be allocated in 2004-05, but the cost ($627,000) took them over budget. Thus, the cabinet decided to split the increase into increments of $5 each year to accommodate as many other budget requests as they could.

Other highlights for the preliminary 2005-06 budget include squad-size and travel-party increases in men's ice hockey for regionals and the Frozen Four, and an increase in reimbursement of transportation and per diem expenses for a proposed increase in non-student-athletes for individual/team championships. The latter allocation ($535,000) takes up about half of the 2005-06 budget. Cabinet members delayed that allocation to 2005-06 because they believed taking care of the student-athlete per diem increase was a higher priority.

The cabinet will have a chance to review and finalize its budget requests at its next meeting in February. The NCAA Executive Committee will render final approval on the two-year budget in August.

Basketball issues

Besides their work on budget requests, cabinet members also considered several important items from various sports committees. Among them was a request from the women's basketball committee to conduct preliminary-round games at eight predetermined sites instead of 16 beginning in 2005. The committee believes that moving to eight sites is the next step in providing a more fair and equitable bracket.

The format would be similar to the one used for the men's championship, with eight teams in two groups of four assigned to each site. The two teams advancing from the first- and second-round site could be sent to different regionals. This "pod" approach has been successful in reducing costs and increasing spectator interest in the men's tournament.

Though some cabinet members were concerned about the ability of the women's championship to support off-campus neutral sites, they were notified that the number of bids to host preliminary-round competition has increased sharply since the committee went to predetermined-site selection, and that the women's basketball committee believes the benefits of the change far outweigh whatever risks there may be. Ultimately, an overwhelming majority of cabinet members agreed as the motion carried by about 90 percent.

In men's basketball, the cabinet approved the committee's request to no longer refer to regionals by direction (that is, east, west, midwest) but by the city in which the regional is being hosted (for example, the San Antonio regional, the Minneapolis regional). Also, the cabinet agreed to allow the committee to assign national semifinal pairings during selection weekend rather than use a predetermined rotation. In other words, the committee will seed the four No. 1 seeds and place them in the bracket accordingly. This change will become effective with this year's tournament.

Another basketball issue garnered significant cabinet discussion -- new court markings. The Men's and Women's Basketball Rules Committees have advocated moving the three-point line back about nine inches (to the international distance of 20 feet, six inches) in men's and women's basketball and adopting the international "trapezoid" free-throw lane for the men's game.

The rules committees had asked that the cabinet consider the measures as a package, with the sense being that the rules in tandem will reduce congestion in the lane and improve the flow of the game, but the first action the cabinet took was to vote on the rules separately. As a result, the cabinet supported the new three-point line for both men and women but denied the new lane lines for men. In both cases, cabinet members relayed opinions from coaches in their respective conferences before voting.

Since playing rules are not federated, the measures must also be considered by the Divisions II and III Championships Committees. If the three groups end up in different places, the Playing Rules Oversight Panel will deliberate and make a recommendation to the Executive Committee, which is charged with resolving any playing-rules differences among divisions. Should the cabinet's decision stand, the new three-point line would become effective for the 2004-05 basketball season.

Postseason football legislation

Several legislative proposals from Division I's new single annual legislative cycle also were referred to the cabinet for review. One high-profile proposal from the Atlantic Coast Conference would permit conferences with fewer than 12 members to stage a league championship game in football.

Proposal No. 03-78 puts the conference-member limit at 10 rather than 12 and states in its rationale that the measure would provide a "more stable conference membership environment, as institutions will be in a better position to support their entire athletics programs."

The proposal comes shortly after the recent conference realignment between the ACC and the Big East Conference that was sensationalized in the media. Before the cabinet voted on the measure, one member implored his peers to separate the media hype of the realignment from the merits of the proposal before making their decision. Ultimately, however, Division I-A and Division I-AA members in separate votes decided not to support the proposal.

The cabinet also considered proposals concerning the new preseason conditioning model in football. The cabinet did not support Proposal No. 03-107, which would specify that first-time participants (including transfers) at national service academies who have completed basic military training are not required to complete the five-day acclimatization period at the beginning of preseason practice.

Other highlights

Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet
September 16-17/Indianapolis

Supported Proposal No. 03-74, which specifies that an institution may not consider a travel day related to athletics competition as the required day off from countable athletically related activities. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also supports this proposal. The cabinet, however, amended the proposal to allow for institutions with time-zone implications (or other extenuating circumstances) to apply to their conferences for a waiver of the requirement.

Did not support Proposal No. 03-121, which would permit a countable coach that is a certified strength and conditioning coach to conduct conditioning workouts during an institution's vacation period.

Did not support Proposal No. 03-80, which increases from one to two years the grace period during which conferences that do not satisfy membership requirements to apply for automatic qualification to the men's basketball championship.

Supported Proposal No. 03-89, specifying that a student-athlete who does not enroll at an NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA institution by his or her 20th birthday shall fulfill an academic year in residence on enrollment at the certifying institution and shall lose a season of competition for each year after his or her 20th birthday. (The cabinet's administrative committee recognized that the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, which did not support the proposal, is in a better position to comment on the eligibility implications of the proposal.)

Approved a recommendation from the cabinet's playing and practice seasons subcommittee to ask that the Management Council sponsor emergency legislation to move the Division I Men's Soccer Championship back one week to align with the date formula for the women's championship.

Approved a recommendation from the men's and women's track and field committee to clearly differentiate lengths for indoor and outdoor running tracks. (The cabinet did not support an amendment to grandfather the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City as a facility on which runners could qualify for the NCAA championships.)

Asked the men's and women's track and field committee to formally survey coaches and athletics directors about the regional format implemented last year.