The NCAA championships, administrative services and information technology staffs have developed a streamlined process for institutions to use when submitting bids to host NCAA championship competition and to submit subsequent financial reports.

The Web-based process will be implemented this fall, replacing outdated and cumbersome hard-copy forms with more efficient and accurate technology. The new system applies to institutions in all three NCAA divisions, as well as other entities such as sports corporations or county sports authorities, interested in submitting a bid to host any round of NCAA championship competition.

NCAA officials say the new system allows institutions to submit data more easily and accurately (automating calculations that were a common source of errors in the past) and to more readily track the progress of their bids. It also reduces the cost of submitting bids, since most institutions in the past chose to ship their bids via overnight mail to ensure delivery.

"It also provides for timely communication with institutions regarding their bid," said NCAA Associate Director of Championships Troy Arthur, noting that information feeds automatically into the NCAA accounting staff's Oracle network. "The primary advantages, though, are that institutional personnel will have a much easier time compiling and entering the data, and a much better understanding of where their bid is in the process at all times."

The online data-entry system allows users to save bids in progress and submit upon completion. The online database also will provide over time a repository of bids that will allow staff to track trends in numerous areas. School personnel also will have access to their previous submissions, meaning they won't necessarily have to start from scratch when crafting a new bid. The repository of bid data also should facilitate schools submitting higher-quality bids.

The system includes e-mail notifications at critical points throughout the process, including a "warning" e-mail if financials are not submitted before the 60-day deadline after that championship event has occurred, so that the institution can avoid financial penalties. E-mail notifications sent when review tasks are ready or overdue also will enhance the workflow between the championships and administrative services staffs, resulting in a reduction in cycle time. For those institutions opting to use direct deposit, the process could be virtually paperless.

Arthur said the online format was developed after a broader review of several championship functions. Several of those, including automatic-qualification forms for conferences and facility evaluations, already had been switched from hard-copy format to online. Officials hesitated at first to move the bid system online, since it requires signatures and receipts to complete the process, but staff decided to forge ahead and encourage institutions to keep track of those items internally, in case documentation is needed for auditing purposes later.

Several institutions tested the new system last spring. Schools submitting bids for Division II baseball, Division III men's lacrosse, Division I women's lacrosse and Division II softball were involved in pilot testing.

One of the participants, Middlebury College Athletics Director Russ Reilly, said institutional personnel will appreciate the reduction in paperwork and the ease in tracking information.

"Once you get accustomed to it, it's a pretty easy Web site to engineer your way through," he said. "I had always downloaded the old form and then either e-mailed or faxed it, but this new system eliminates that step. That's a real plus."

Institutions and host agencies that previously submitted budgets for 2006 winter or spring championships are asked to resubmit their bid information via the online system. Resubmitted bid information is due by February 1, 2006.