The Division III Championships Committee remains on track to recommend proposed legislation for the 2005 Convention that would implement automatic qualification in three individual/team sports.

The committee, meeting January 20-23 in Key West, Florida, reviewed outlines of proposed plans for implementing automatic qualification in golf, tennis and cross country. The committee requested the outlines last fall from the sports committees that oversee those championships.

After review of the outlines, including possible bracket sizes and formats, the committee agreed it will support implementation of automatic qualification in men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis during 2006-07.

The committee also will support implementation in men's and women's cross country, but no earlier than 2008-09, pending determination of future championships budget allocations.

Automatic qualification in those individual/team sports is a priority of the committee. A pledge to pursue implementation in those three sports prompted withdrawal by the Empire 8 of a 2004 Convention proposal that would have required implementation of automatic qualification in all three sports by August 2006.

The Championships Committee asked the sports committees to provide additional information about bracket sizes and formats by March 1, after which it expects to submit a proposal for initial consideration in April by the Division III Management Council.

Site selection

The committee also continued its discussion of criteria for championship site selection, including ensuring that opportunities to host championships rotate regularly through all regions in which institutions sponsor a championship sport.

In September, the committee discussed limiting championships at sites that are outside of regions where a sport is sponsored or are geographically remote from a large number of sponsoring institutions.

Because it typically is difficult to schedule championships in the West due to those factors, the committee agreed to recommend to the Management Council that committees be permitted to select sites there once every four years.

Under the recommendation, the Championships Committee would retain flexibility to approve sites in the West more frequently in special cases. But the committee also would require sports committees that recommend sites in the West to submit a "backup" site, enabling the Championships Committee to ensure regionally balanced site selection within the championships budget allocation.

The committee also will ask sports committees to recommend championship sites further in advance, preferably two years before the championship, to aid in planning.

Sites were approved for several upcoming championships, including one in the West:

St. Mary's University of Minnesota was selected to host the 2004 Women's Volleyball Championship, to be held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

Ohio Wesleyan University was selected to host the 2005 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships.

The University of California, Santa Cruz, was selected to host the 2006 Women's Tennis Championships.

The committee also considered a recommendation from the Men's and Women's Soccer Committees for a joint site for the 2004 men's and women's championships, but asked those committees to provide additional scheduling options. The Championships Committee expects to approve a site for the championships before the Management Council's April meeting.

Budget priorities

The committee also reviewed the priorities it established in September for championships funding in the 2004-05/2005-06 budget cycle and beyond.

The committee reiterated its commitment to an increase in the per diem for championships participants. The committee currently is planning for an increase of the current per diem of $60 to $65, effective during 2005-06, and ultimately to increase the per diem to $70, possibly during 2006-07.

It also reiterated its intention to increase officials' fees and per diem as funds become available for that purpose.

Other highlights

Division III Championships Committee
January 20-23/Key West, Florida

Reviewed documentation provided by three conferences that added or agreed to add affiliate members before Bylaw 31 was amended last year. That amendment required a two-year waiting period for leagues that add affiliates for purposes of qualifying for automatic qualification. The committee determined that no waiting period will be imposed upon the Empire 8, Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association and New Jersey Athletic Conference, and the conferences will be eligible for automatic qualification in football beginning with the 2004 season.

Granted 10 institutions a waiver for 2004-05 only of newly implemented championship selection criteria that require 50 percent of contests to be scheduled against in-region competition. The institutions, mostly located in the West, will be required to demonstrate progress where possible toward complying with the 50-percent rule in order to obtain the waiver in future years. The committee also extended from December 1 to March 15 the deadline to apply for the waiver for 2004-05, in order to provide institutions a full opportunity to comply with the new criteria. Institutions applying for the waiver are required to submit playing schedules for the previous two years in the affected sports and documentation of actions taken to comply with the rule.

Approved realignment for 2004-05 of Transylvania University to the Great Lakes region in women's basketball and women's soccer.

Approved realignment for 2004-05 of Husson College, Thomas College and the University of Maine, Farmington, to the New England East region in field hockey.