With women's lacrosse teams being added at institutions throughout the country, the Divisions I, II and III Women's Lacrosse Committees are discussing ways to accommodate new teams and enhance the women's lacrosse championships at all three divisions.

The three committees met in Indianapolis June 21-24 to discuss growth in the sport and ways to augment the championships. Following are reports from the individual committees:

Division I

The committee discussed a realignment of regions for 2005-06, with the intention of increasing the number of regions from three to four. The addition of a West/Midwest region, necessary because of an increasing number of teams, will allow for better geographic alignment and more balanced regions.

The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet must approve the recommendation.

The committee also discussed the fact that next year's play-in game for the championship will feature teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Northeast Conference. There are nine automatic-qualification conferences, but only eight AQ spots for the championship, so there must be a play-in game. A conference's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) determines which will be involved in the play-in game.

In discussing selection criteria for the championship, the committee has proposed adding the RPI to the criteria.

The committee also discussed revamping the process for evaluating and identifying officials within the regional advisory committees. The committees will now be more involved in the process and have more input into the selection of officials.

Bids for hosting the 2006 championship are set to go out this summer.

Division II

The committee has proposed expanding its championship bracket from four teams to six. This would go into effect for the 2007 championship. If approved by the Division II Championships Committee and the Management Council, it would allow for a play-in game on campus the Wednesday before the finals.

Next season, score reporting will be done online though an Internet-based system. Institutions must report their scores or face a fine. Some schools have not yet paid fines from last season and the committee is proposing that those schools, if fines are not paid before the next reporting season starts, will not be eligible for rankings until the fines are paid.

That must be approved by the Division II Championships Committee.

The committee also is looking to modify the selection criteria for the championships to place more of an emphasis on playing other Division II teams. That proposal also will be forwarded to the Championships Committee.

Division III

The bracket will be expanding in 2006 as part of overall expansion of team sports to a 1:6.5 ratio. For Division III women's lacrosse, that translates to an expansion from 19 to 23 teams.

The College of New Jersey will host the 2005 championship, with Stevens Institute of Technology set to host the 2006 event. The committee is now soliciting bids to host the 2007 event.

The committee is proposing a change in the size of each pool for the championship to accommodate a growing number of teams. The pools for 2005 have been established as follows: 13 teams in Pool A, four in Pool B and two in Pool C. Effective in 2006, there will be 14 teams in Pool A, three in Pool B and six in Pool C.

The Division III committee also is looking to fill a vacancy on its group. A representative is needed from the Metro region, which includes the Atlantic Women's College Conference, the Centennial Conference, the Mid-Atlantic Conference and the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference.