Though the Division III Softball Committee has discussed moving the championship back one week, it chose not to forward a recommendation to change the date formula during its annual meeting July 7-10 in Indianapolis. Rather, the group elected to survey institutions to determine interest in the proposal before moving forward.

The committee will solicit feedback from athletics directors and conference commissioners this fall, and survey results will be reviewed at next year's annual meeting. If the committee chooses to forward a recommendation next year, the new date formula would not become effective until 2007 at the earliest.

The 2004 championship field will be composed of 34 automatic qualifiers and eight Pool B qualifiers. Pool C, which was one team in 2003, may be expanded to two teams for 2004, depending on the sponsorship numbers supplied by institutions by September 1. If the numbers are up, as expected, the field would be expanded by one team because of the provisional members that will be included in the total number of institutions sponsoring softball.

The committee also will forward a recommendation to switch Game No. 5 and Game No. 6 in the six-team first-round format. That change would allow the loser of Game No. 2 and the loser of Game No. 3 to play in Game 5 and the loser of Game No. 1 and the loser of Game No. 4 would play in Game 6. That prevents any team from playing back-to-back games to end one day and then begin the next day of action.

For the finals, the committee is recommending a change in the way the finals bracket is seeded during the selection meeting. The overall Division III winning percentage of the No. 1 seeds assigned to each first-round site will determine the ranking of the sites from one to eight. In case of a tie, the overall Division III strength-of-schedule index would be the first tiebreaker. If the tie remains, the overall win-loss percentage vs. all ranked Division III teams would be used.

Other highlights

Division III Softball Committee
July 7-10/Indianapolis

Agreed to publish polls for the first time in 2004 in accordance with a charge from the Division III Championships Committee regarding all sports. The first of four polls will be published April 8. They will continue each Thursday through April 29.

Strongly recommended that all institutions supply score-reporting information electronically. The group noted that with the addition of the strength-of-schedule index, the information is becoming increasingly detailed. By inputting the data, the institution can verify accuracy and ensure that it is submitted in a timely manner.

* Noted that championship selections will be announced via the NCAA Web site no later than 9 a.m. Monday, May 3. Coaches and athletics directors can no longer expect personal notification of selection.

Recommended to the Championships Committee that it raise the umpire fees at a five-team first-round site from $400 to $500; at a six-team first-round site from $500 to $600; and from $630 to $810 for the finals.

Agreed to select three umpires from a list of five recommendations from the Umpire Improvement Program in April 2004. The committee also provided a list of umpires who have been considered in previous years to be evaluated by the Umpire Improvement Program. The committee will select three additional umpires who are within driving distance each year at its annual meeting.