NCAA News Archive - 2006

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Committee's review of practice-player issue inconclusive


For an audio mp3 version of this story, link to the following URL:
Sep 25, 2006 1:01:01 AM



For an audio mp3 version of this story, link to the following:

http://doubleazone.com/audio/d2champs.mp3

The Division II Championships Committee spent much of its September 11-12 meeting discussing the use of male practice players in women’s sports, but in the end, it found the problem as vexing as other groups that have addressed the topic.

After extensive discussion, the committee referred the matter to Division II sports committees to acquire sport-by-sport feedback.

The Championships Committee debate on the topic mirrored talks that have occurred in other forums. Discussion focused on whether the use of male practice players benefits women by further developing their skills or whether it is a liability because it may inhibit development opportunities for non-first-team student-athletes. The group discussed various assumptions and suspicions surrounding the debate, and also considered whether the practice applies differently to individual sports than team sports.

Sports committees have been requested to report back on the matter in time for the Championships Committee’s January meeting.

Other business

The committee also met September 11 with chairs of Division II sports committees. The groups discussed Division II’s new strategic-positioning platform and also the 2007 Convention legislative package that would accommodate Division II’s community-relations initiative by liberalizing recruiting (and other) regulations. Neither the chairs nor the committee expressed concern about the proposed changes.

The chairs and the committee also discussed Division II championship site-selection criteria. Some participants asked if the best site and accommodations in a region should be required to host preliminary rounds of an NCAA championship instead of the top seeds. Individuals have claimed that some Division II championship sites are not adequate, either because the facilities are substandard or because accommodations are poor or not nearby. However, the joint group concluded that teams that have earned the right to host championship competition should be able to host without having to meet elevated standards for facilities or accommodations.

In other business, the Division II Championships Committee:
  • Discussed the possibility of shortening the Division II Baseball Championship to reduce expenses (the 2007 event is scheduled for May 25 through June 1). The committee concluded that the existing eight-team, double-elimination format is the best approach for determining a champion consistent with Division II’s regional philosophy. With that in mind, the only way to shorten the calendar would be to play three games on certain days, which would create an inequitable competitive advantage. The committee determined that such an approach would not be in the best interests of participants or fans, so it recommended no change in the current format at this time.
  • Agreed that the final round of the Division II Baseball Championship will remain in Montgomery, Alabama, through 2010. Valdosta State University will continue to co-host the event.
  • Approved the city of Salem, Virginia, and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as co-hosts for the 2007 Division II Women’s Lacrosse Championship and for the 2009 Division II Softball Championship.
  • Defeated a new inclement-weather policy for the Division II Softball Championship.
  • Approved California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, as host for the 2008 Division II Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event will be conducted in Walnut, California.


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