After selecting predetermined sites to host five Division III Baseball Championship regionals last spring, the Division III Baseball Committee is recommending that all eight regional sites be selected in advance beginning with the 2007 championship.

Approval of that recommendation by the Division III Championships Committee would complete a move to predetermined sites that began with the advance selection of two sites in 2004. This year, sites were preselected in the South, Mideast, Mid-Atlantic, New England and New York regions.

The 2006 championship will be the first with an expanded bracket under the new 1:6.5 championships access ratio. As a result, five regional sites will host seven teams and the remaining three sites will host six teams, to accommodate the 53-team bracket.

The committee, which met July 18-20 in Indianapolis, also recommended an increase in squad size from 24 to 25. It noted that teams participating in the championship typically include more than 24 players, and made the recommendation to include more student-athletes.

The committee also reviewed the first year of the Division III umpire improvement program and agreed to continue it through 2006-07. It also noted that an increase in officials' fees for the Division III championship will be considered by the Championships Committee as part of a broader review of the fee structure.

In other actions, the committee scheduled a review of pool allocations for September, following reporting of sport-sponsorship figures, and recommended the selection of John Casey, head baseball coach at Tufts University, to serve as committee chair, replacing Eric Scott Etchison of Maryville College (Tennessee).