The Division II Championship Committee and chairs of Division II sports committees recently discussed possible changes to the division's regionalized approach to championships.

During its September 12-14 meeting in Indianapolis, the sports committee chairs seemed to prefer approaches that would provide them with the flexibility to deal with the nuances of their sports while adhering to clear policy and procedures when realigning regions. Although no formal votes were taken, committee chairs were willing to evaluate and offer suggestions about various approaches to regionalization.

The chairs and the Championships Committee, however, did authorize an examination of whether common regions could be established among sports based on the number of sponsoring institutions. The thinking is that regions among the most-sponsored sports already are similar. Adjustments in at least those sports might help achieve the Management Council's objective with regionalization reform without being disruptive.

The Championships Committee will develop several models, including the ones based on sponsorship, and present those options to the Convention during a January 8 educational session. It will be the only Division II session conducted during its time slot, which will allow all interested Division II delegates to attend.

Budget

The Championships Committee also developed several budget recommendations, the largest of which involved soccer bracket expansion.

The committee is recommending that the Division II Women's Soccer Championship be expanded from 32 to 48 teams (two additional teams per region) at a cost of $291,000. An expansion of the men's championship also was recommended (from 24 to 32 teams, or one team per region) at a cost of $172,000. The men's expansion would take place in 2006-07, if approved. The women's expansion would be effective in 2007-08.

Other notable budget recommendations included the following:

• Enhanced signage for each championship site.

• Allowing regional winners to receive trophies at the regional site. To this point, policy has precluded national champions and runners-up from also receiving regional trophies.

• Establishment of a 4 percent increase in officials' fees during each two-year budget cycle. If approved, only the 4 percent increases would be permitted.

• Allowing women's golf regionals to be conducted over two days, rather than one, as is now the case.

Other business

In other action, the committee:

• Approved the University of Nebraska at Kearney as host for the 2007 and 2008 Division II Women's Basketball Championships.

• Approved the University of West Florida as host for the 2007 Division II Women's Golf Championships.

• Approved the Sports Complex at Benedictine University as host of the 2006 Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship.

• Approved Firestone Stadium and Ashland University as host for the 2007 Division II Softball Championship.

• Approved Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Erie Community College as host institutions for the 2007 Division II Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

• Approved the Central Florida Sports Commission and Rollins College as co-hosts for the 2007 and 2009 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Tennis Championships.

• Approved Johnson C. Smith University as host for the 2007 Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.