The Division III Championships Committee is proposing initial recommendations about how to fund championships if a "catastrophic" event -- most likely, cancelation of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship -- results in a loss of revenue.

The committee, meeting June 15 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, made the recommendations as part of efforts by the Division III Budget Committee to establish a long-term plan for dealing with any such loss of revenue.

Responding to a recommendation from the Budget Committee that such a plan should give priority to maintaining a viable championships program, the Division III Presidents Council directed the Championships Committee to formulate a plan for conducting championships under such conditions.

The committee reviewed multiple options:

Fund transportation and game expenses only.

Fund per diem and game expenses only.

Fund transportation only.

Fund game expenses only.

The committee agreed that providing per diem and game expenses should be given priority if a revenue shortfall occurs during the 2004-05 or 2005-06 budget years, and will recommend those priorities to the Division III Management Council.

"We looked at some impressive data produced by the staff, demonstrating the projected costs associated with championships," said Steve Wallo, director of athletics at Lewis & Clark College and chair of the committee. "We had a very good discussion.

"The added costs are going to have to be borne by either the hosts or the participants. We felt that if the championship is to go on, we couldn't possibly ask an institution to remain as host without financial support."

Wallo added that Division III should be able to accommodate per diem and game expenses within a reduced budget after a catastrophic event. However, if transportation costs were deemed a higher priority than per diem and game expenses, it is doubtful those costs could be accommodated within a reduced budget.

The committee limited its recommendation to the next two budget years, but agreed it will make further recommendations for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 after obtaining more information about the impact of implementation of the 1:6.5 access ratio and resulting expansion of championship brackets beginning in fall 2005.

The committee currently is reviewing sport committees' recommendations for championship formats to accommodate expansion, and will be better able to assess how loss of revenue will impact expanded championships after those reviews are completed.

Committee members acknowledged that reduction of bracket sizes is another means of responding to reduced revenue, but that option would be chosen only as a last resort.

Bracket expansion

The committee reviewed 12 sport committees' proposals to address bracket expansion during the meeting.

Among proposals approved by the committee was a recommendation from the Division III Women's Volleyball Committee to establish an eight-team championship final.

The bracket in the championship will expand to 62 teams in 2005, based on current sponsorship numbers, prompting the volleyball committee to recommend restructuring the championship to play eight regionals (most including eight teams but one or two including six or seven teams, dependent upon geographic proximity). The eight regional winners would advance to the final.

One result of adoption of the new format will be to move competition away from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The committee also approved format recommendations from seven other sports committees:

Retain the current format in the Division III Field Hockey Championship and increase the number of first-round games from two to seven (accommodating a bracket expansion from 18 to 23 teams).

Add four first-round games and eliminate first-round byes in the Division III Football Championship (expanding from 28 to 32 teams).

Add one first-round game in the Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship (expanding from nine to 10 teams).

Add three first-round games and maintain the current eight second-round games in the Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship (expanding from 17 to 20 teams).

Add four first-round games in the Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship (resulting in a total of six first-round sites), and replace the current eight second-round games with four four-team regionals (expanding from 19 to 23 teams).

Play 24 Wednesday first-round games in the Division III Men's Soccer Championship; eight of the 24 winners will advance to Saturday second-round games on the home field of teams receiving first-round byes and the other 16 first-round winners will play each other to advance to four four-team sectionals (expanding from 44 to 56 teams).

Play 27 Wednesday first-round games in the Division III Women's Soccer Championship; five of the 27 winners will advance to Saturday second-round games on the home field of teams receiving first-round byes and the other 22 first-round winners will play each other to advance to four four-team sectionals (expanding from 45 to 59 teams).

Format recommendations still are pending for championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, and softball, and Wallo expects those will be finalized this fall.

"We felt that they all did very good work," he said of the 12 proposals. "We wanted to make sure that the committees have fully explored all of the possibilities."

Selection criteria

The committee also discussed various recommendations and proposals involving championship selection criteria that have been received from sport committees and from conferences.

The committee is observing a two-year moratorium on changes in selection criteria, extending to June 2005, but anticipates receiving additional recommendations before then and plans to discuss the topic with sport committee chairs during the Championships Committee's September meeting in Indianapolis.

In an action anticipating implementation of automatic qualification in the individual/team sports of men's and women's golf and tennis, the committee approved selection criteria proposed by the sport committees administering those championships.

The committee also agreed to survey conference commissioners and independent institutions to obtain more information about the extent to which golf and tennis programs divide competition between the fall and spring. Those responding to the survey also will be asked whether they prefer that the majority of competition be conducted either in the fall or spring.

Other highlights

Division III Championships Committee
June 15-18/Colorado Springs, Colorado

Discussed at length the committee's role in the current "Future of Division III-Phase II" initiative, which will address championships and postseason access among other issues, and also the Association-wide and Division III strategic planning process and the role of championships in achieving plan goals. The committee, among actions resulting from the discussion, agreed to suggest areas in which it wishes to obtain information from the membership during the data-gathering segment of the Phase II initiative later this year.

Approved sites for three Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship finals: 2006, First Arena in Elmira, New York (hosted by Elmira College); 2007, Wessman Arena in Superior, Wisconsin (hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Superior); and 2008, Lake Placid, New York (hosted by the State University College at Potsdam and the New York Olympic Regional Development Authority).

Approved the following regional sites for the 2005 Division III Wrestling Championships: Great Lakes -- Augsburg College, and Midwest -- Manchester College. Also, approved The College of New Jersey as host for the 2006 championships at the Athletic Recreation Center in Ewing, New Jersey.

Rejected a recommendation from the Division III Wrestling Committee to place a cap on the number of qualifiers from any qualifying tournament. The committee recommended that a qualifying tournament should advance no more than 20 percent of the total number of wrestlers selected for the Division III championships.

Approved a recommendation from the Division III Men's and Women's Tennis Committee to require that a women's doubles team must play a minimum of six matches with the same personnel to be considered for selection to the tennis championships.

Agreed to discuss possible ways of enhancing the student-athlete championships experience during sessions with sport committee chairs at the Championships Committee's September meeting in Indianapolis. Committee members reviewed the recent Division II National Championships Festival and considered the possibility of organizing a similar event in Division III, but decided for now to limit discussion to considering concepts from the festival to enhance existing championships.

Agreed to recommend to the Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee of the Division III Management Council that institutions holding dual membership in the NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics be permitted to choose to participate in an NAIA championship that concludes later than an NCAA championship in the same sport, provided that the institution complies with Division III length-of-season limitations.

Recommended that the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Management Council jointly review legislation (Bylaw 31.1.3.2.3) stating that preference shall be given to on-campus sites in selecting venues for championships in which sites are not predetermined. The committee is interested in providing potential hosts that lack suitable on-campus facilities with the option to host a championship at a nearby off-campus venue, when appropriate.

Reviewed the composition of five sport committees. The committee endorsed a recommendation from the Division III Women's Ice Hockey Committee to reduce the size of that committee from six to five members. In addition, it agreed to support retaining eight positions on the Division III Women's Soccer Committee, but also to leave one position unfilled pending a decision regarding whether to increase the number of regions in the sport from seven to eight.