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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Championships cabinet supports extension of misconduct window
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By Greg Johnson
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has agreed to support an amendment that expands the window during which misconduct can occur at championships.
The cabinet, which met February 6-7 in Indianapolis, is recommending that the proposal be adopted as emergency or noncontroversial legislation to be effective for the 2007-08 academic year. If approved by the Division I Management Council and the Division I Board of Directors in April, the amendment would include pre-competition activities and be applicable from the time the field is announced through the end of the championship. The proposal does not change the current parameters of what is considered misconduct, or the sanctions applied (for example, public reprimand, private letter or fine).
The Division I Women’s and Men’s Basketball Committees recommended the idea. They believe it will help all sport committees fairly and equitably apply their particular misconduct rules.
Currently, the clock on misconduct begins when a team boards a plane or bus to a championship site, and then ends after a team is transported back to its institution. That means the committee has no authority over comments or actions made after the selection announcement but before the team departs that are detrimental to the integrity of a championship.
Proponents of the proposal say it is not intended to mute criticism after selections, but rather provide sports committees with a tool to address, at an earlier stage of the championship, the same kind of misbehavior that is considered misconduct when it occurs en route to or during a championship.
The proposal stems from a sportsmanship initiative the men’s and women’s basketball committees launched in the fall that holds stakeholders accountable for respecting the game. Coaches, administrators, officials and coordinators in fact signed pledge cards stating their commitment to acting in the sport’s best interests. The championships cabinet believes the misconduct proposal supports the sportsmanship approach.
Last-chance meets
The cabinet also approved a recommendation from the swimming and diving and track and field committees to continue “last-chance meets.” However, the meets will be known as “NCAA Championship Qualification Meets” in the future.
The meets are longstanding traditions that offer student-athletes one final attempt to reach qualifying times for the national championship after conference or regional competition. However, their administration has been inconsistent in past years, and the sport committees have wrestled with policy adjustments.
The cabinet had asked both committees to examine the effectiveness of the meets and determine whether continuing them was appropriate.
Many of the coaches surveyed believed the meets support student-athlete well-being by offering a final shot to reach the national meet. Some coaches believe they provide individuals a chance to qualify in an event that they may have not participated in during a conference championship due to illness or a change in team strategy. Others noted that preparation or “tapering” in these sports is not an exact science. They say it is not uncommon for a student-athlete to be “off” his or her maximum performance by a few days.
Institutions must apply to host an NCAA Championship Qualification Meet, and they must submit a list of officials, supply the format of the meet and provide all results.
Women’s rowing
The cabinet approved a recommendation from the NCAA Women’s Rowing Committee to categorize the Division I championship as a team championship, rather than an individual-team championship. Sports categorized as individual-team championships have field sizes based on participation numbers.
If that advances successfully through the governance structure, it could change the format of the championship. The cabinet noted that it would be willing to review, along with other budget requests, one from the Women’s Rowing Committee for bracket expansion at its September 2007 meeting. Since the sport has a sponsorship of 29 percent, 16 full teams may be invited to participate in the finals, if bracket expansion is approved. A full team is defined as two Eights and one Four. The current format calls for 12 full teams and four at-large Eight boats to be invited.
Rowing stakeholders believe their sport is best served in a team format, and that it has shown enough growth to warrant full teams being selected to the finals.
February 6-7/Indianapolis
The cabinet, which met February 6-7 in Indianapolis, is recommending that the proposal be adopted as emergency or noncontroversial legislation to be effective for the 2007-08 academic year. If approved by the Division I Management Council and the Division I Board of Directors in April, the amendment would include pre-competition activities and be applicable from the time the field is announced through the end of the championship. The proposal does not change the current parameters of what is considered misconduct, or the sanctions applied (for example, public reprimand, private letter or fine).
The Division I Women’s and Men’s Basketball Committees recommended the idea. They believe it will help all sport committees fairly and equitably apply their particular misconduct rules.
Currently, the clock on misconduct begins when a team boards a plane or bus to a championship site, and then ends after a team is transported back to its institution. That means the committee has no authority over comments or actions made after the selection announcement but before the team departs that are detrimental to the integrity of a championship.
Proponents of the proposal say it is not intended to mute criticism after selections, but rather provide sports committees with a tool to address, at an earlier stage of the championship, the same kind of misbehavior that is considered misconduct when it occurs en route to or during a championship.
The proposal stems from a sportsmanship initiative the men’s and women’s basketball committees launched in the fall that holds stakeholders accountable for respecting the game. Coaches, administrators, officials and coordinators in fact signed pledge cards stating their commitment to acting in the sport’s best interests. The championships cabinet believes the misconduct proposal supports the sportsmanship approach.
Last-chance meets
The cabinet also approved a recommendation from the swimming and diving and track and field committees to continue “last-chance meets.” However, the meets will be known as “NCAA Championship Qualification Meets” in the future.
The meets are longstanding traditions that offer student-athletes one final attempt to reach qualifying times for the national championship after conference or regional competition. However, their administration has been inconsistent in past years, and the sport committees have wrestled with policy adjustments.
The cabinet had asked both committees to examine the effectiveness of the meets and determine whether continuing them was appropriate.
Many of the coaches surveyed believed the meets support student-athlete well-being by offering a final shot to reach the national meet. Some coaches believe they provide individuals a chance to qualify in an event that they may have not participated in during a conference championship due to illness or a change in team strategy. Others noted that preparation or “tapering” in these sports is not an exact science. They say it is not uncommon for a student-athlete to be “off” his or her maximum performance by a few days.
Institutions must apply to host an NCAA Championship Qualification Meet, and they must submit a list of officials, supply the format of the meet and provide all results.
Women’s rowing
The cabinet approved a recommendation from the NCAA Women’s Rowing Committee to categorize the Division I championship as a team championship, rather than an individual-team championship. Sports categorized as individual-team championships have field sizes based on participation numbers.
If that advances successfully through the governance structure, it could change the format of the championship. The cabinet noted that it would be willing to review, along with other budget requests, one from the Women’s Rowing Committee for bracket expansion at its September 2007 meeting. Since the sport has a sponsorship of 29 percent, 16 full teams may be invited to participate in the finals, if bracket expansion is approved. A full team is defined as two Eights and one Four. The current format calls for 12 full teams and four at-large Eight boats to be invited.
Rowing stakeholders believe their sport is best served in a team format, and that it has shown enough growth to warrant full teams being selected to the finals.
Other highlights
Division I Championships/Competition CabinetFebruary 6-7/Indianapolis
- Agreed to sponsor emergency legislation for 2008 to specify that the first contest in softball would be the Thursday in February that is 14 weeks before the Thursday immediately preceding NCAA regional play. If not adopted, the traditional 14-weekend season would be cut to 13 weekends due to the calendar. Softball seasons in 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015 would also lose one weekend of competition.
- Supported an emergency-legislation recommendation from the Division I Women’s Soccer Committee stipulating that, effective in 2008, the first permissible contest in the sport be played on the Friday before the 12th weekend before the championship. That would be only in years during which the men’s season also would have 12 weekends between the first permissible start date and the championship.
- Approved a date formula for the National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Skiing Championships that will allow regional competition to start no earlier than three Thursdays before the championships and conclude no later than two Sundays before the championships.
- Approved the addition of a national field hockey rules interpreter. The cabinet noted, however, that there is no guarantee of any additional funding for the person serving in that position.
- Received an update on the status of a survey sent to the Division I membership regarding the use of male practice players. Members noted that additional discussions would take place when the survey results have been received and tabulated. The cabinet appointed a subgroup to review and summarize those findings to prepare for the cabinet’s June 2007 meeting.
- Approved a recommendation from the Men’s Golf Committee that to be considered for at-large selection, a team must have a .500 or better record versus Division I opponents, effective with the 2008 championships.
- Discussed the biennial budget process and asked NCAA staff to provide a historical perspective on where allocations have occurred over the past five cycles.
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