The Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Committee has recommended a new championship format to be implemented in 2004. The proposal, developed during the committees' annual meeting February 5-8 in San Diego, will be reviewed at the Division III Championships Committee's September meeting.

The proposed format would be a 1-1-2-2 format with first-round games being played on the Wednesday after selections. Second-round games would be played the next weekend. Two games would be played the following weekend and the semifinals and final would be played the third weekend after selections are announced. The current format is a 1-2-1-2 schedule.

The format change was a priority for the coaches and membership, the majority of which supported this proposal at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention in January. The proposal models the current format used in the Division III Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. Under the change, men's and women's soccer teams no longer would be required to play three games during the first four or five days of the championship tournament.

After discussing a request from the Championships Committee to review predetermined sites, the soccer committees supported pursing the matter, citing potential weather impact, increased marketing opportunities and more time for administrations to prepare as positive aspects of the proposal.

The Championships Committee also asked the soccer committees to evaluate a possible combined championship site. Both committees are reviewing the proposal and will consult with the Division II men's and women's soccer committees, which used a combined-site format for their 2002 championships.

The soccer committees also voted to increase officials' fees to $160 for the referee, $100 for the assistant referee and $50 for alternates. That recommendation will be forwarded to the Championships Committee in September. A recommended flat fee of $275, not including per diem and lodging, for all officials for the finals also will be proposed.

In other championship matters, automatic qualifiers were approved for both championships.

Also, per a directive from the Championships Committee, all Division III team sports will be required to rank regional teams during the 2003 season. The soccer rankings will be released October 15, October 22, October 29 and November 5. The soccer committees also will recommend that they be allowed to rank 15 percent of the number of teams in the region or a minimum of four teams, whichever is greater.

The women's committee increased ticket prices by one dollar for preliminary rounds to $5 (public general admission), $3 (student general admission and senior citizens) and $2 (children 12 and under).

In other business, the men's committee will continue to look at security, NCAA site representatives, misconduct violations and officiating. A new red-card reporting system also will be initiated in 2003, including a new postgame meeting with all involved parties.

Also, Jack Flateau, the head women's soccer coach at Southwestern University, was named chair of the women's committee.