The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet recently considered 2006-07 legislative proposals and a pilot project regarding signage at championship sites. It also discussed methods by which to survey the membership on the male practice player issue.

Among key legislative proposals the cabinet did not support was one that would limit the number of regular-season games in softball to 56. Many institutions currently play more than 56 games because they can count tournaments as one contest.

Current rules have led to competitive inequities. In 2005 for example, some institutions played 82 games while others played as few as 39. Mountain West Conference officials who sponsored the proposal say it would mitigate those competitive inequities and is consistent with the manner in which tournament contests are counted in baseball.

The cabinet, however, voted not to support the proposal because members are not convinced in light of the different proposals that there is a consensus in the way the membership wants to structure the playing and practice season.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association, for example, supports the idea of settling on a more uniform number of games, but that group would prefer allowing institutions to conduct four dates of competition — with a maximum of three contests per date — in the fall. The Mountain West’s legislative proposal does not take into account the nontraditional segment.

"The cabinet did not support the proposal because it felt that more dialogue was necessary between the softball committee and the membership as a whole," said Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich, who chaired her first cabinet meeting. "They were presenting different approaches. One group has it in the legislation process and the other is asking to put forward legislation. Before we get on board with one approach, we’ll see if we can’t get them together."

Femovich said the cabinet also had reservations about establishing separate competition limits in the nonchampionship segment, given concerns about missed class time, travel costs and equity in recruiting.

In another issue involving the nontraditional segment, the cabinet voted not to support a measure that would allow competition during the nontraditional segment in field hockey, women’s lacrosse, soccer and volleyball only if it did not interfere with classes or final exams.

It wasn’t the principle that bothered the cabinet, but rather the fact that the legislation does not adequately address all of the issues involved with out-of-season competition.

"At the outset when it was permissible to play games in the nontraditional segment, everybody thought you would play nearby teams," Femovich said. "I don’t think anybody thought about teams flying halfway across the country to play these games. It becomes a competitive advantage in recruiting, and it has had an effect on missed class time."

In another legislative matter, the cabinet agreed to sponsor noncontroversial legislation that would increase the regular season in women’s soccer from 11 to 12 weeks in the years that the men’s soccer season is 12 weeks.

The change, which would become effective for the 2008 season, would affect the 2012, 2013 and 2014 campaigns. The reason for the proposal is to ensure that the men’s and women’s seasons begin on different weekends and that the respective College Cups are not played on the same weekend.

‘Clean Venue’ pilot project

Cabinet members also reviewed an initiative called the Clean Venue pilot project involving 14 championship sites in Divisions I, II and III. At those sites, existing corporate signage within the venue was covered at the expense of the host institution or local organizing committee.

The Division I championship sites were football, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s indoor track and field. The Division II championships were men’s basketball and softball, and those identified in Division III were men’s and women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse. National Collegiate championships in women’s bowling, men’s volleyball, women’s water polo and men’s gymnastics also were chosen.

The purpose of the initiative is to gauge the level at which hosts are comfortable accommodating the NCAA brand at the expense of covering signage from other entities.

NCAA officials want to know whether a "clean venue" policy would discourage institutions from hosting NCAA championships.

Cabinet members said they supported the concept philosophically, but that it might be an impractical goal. Some members said an institution’s bid to host often is based on funding from its own corporate partners to support the bid. Many times, though, those partners are competitors of NCAA corporate champions and partners.

If the policy is ultimately implemented, cabinet members would favor the NCAA providing resources to help institutions create clean venues.

In the end, cabinet members thought the restrictions might reduce the number of bids.

"We have to be careful that this process doesn’t become so difficult," said Femovich. "I don’t know if the membership fully understands the challenges that go into presenting competitive bids — being able to pay your bills and managing the event in a reasonable way within your community or your facility without creating conflicts at the institutional level."

Male practice players

The cabinet also continued its review of the male practice player issue, hoping to reach a recommendation on the matter by its next meeting in February. The cabinet focused on ways to collect feedback, especially from female student-athletes in programs that use male practice players.

"If we are going to be able to deal with this issue, it is essential that we have good information," Femovich said. "Teams are using male practice players for different reasons, all of which could be appropriate.

"What we have to figure out is at what point does the use of these players conflict with what is in the student-athletes’ best interests."

• Deferred a decision on a recommendation from the Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee to reduce the number of last-chance meets to a maximum of five. The cabinet wants to know why last-chance meets exist and is requesting that the swimming and diving and track and field committees provide how many student-athletes have used last-chance meets to qualify for NCAA championships and explain the safeguards in place to ensure requirements are being met.
• Tabled a request that a rules interpreter be provided for field hockey until September 2007 when requests in the biennial budget are discussed.
• Supported a proposal in the football championship subdivision to specify that to be eligible for automatic qualification to the NCAA championship, a conference must have at least six member institutions that have averaged a minimum of 50 grants-in-aid or, if a conference does not award football scholarships, a minimum of $1.25 million in countable financial aid in the sport over the two previous academic years
• Reaffirmed a decision to end regional allocations in men’s golf beginning in the 2007-08 academic year. The decision was made at the cabinet’s June 27-28 meeting when members confirmed that after automatic qualifiers are determined, the rest of the field should be selected on an at-large basis without regard to conference or regional affiliations. The policy applies to individual team championships sponsored by at least 30 percent of the membership.