The Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee is recommending that teams must compile a record of .500 or above in the regular season to be considered for championship selection.

The change reflects policy in other Division I sports, such as men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s volleyball. The ice hockey committee endorsed the change at its annual meeting last month after a general discussion about last year’s championship, in which a team with a sub-.500 record was selected for an at-large bid. After garnering feedback from the coaches association and conference offices, the committee decided that requiring a .500 record for selection would be best for the sport and the future of the championship.

The change will go before the Division I Championships/Sport Management Cabinet for a final decision in September.

The committee also recommended to the cabinet that all six hockey conferences – College Hockey America, Atlantic Hockey, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East Association, Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association – receive automatic bids to the championship. College Hockey America does not meet standards for an automatic bid, since it falls below minimum sports-sponsorship requirements with four teams, but the committee decided that for the good of the sport and the championship, it would continue to provide automatic qualification to the winner of College Hockey America’s postseason tournament. The decision will be reviewed by the cabinet in the fall.

In other discussions, the committee:

•         Will recommend Midwest and West regional sites for 2010 and 2011 to the Championships/Sport Management Cabinet this summer.

•         Selected game times for the 2009 Frozen Four. Semifinal games will be at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Eastern time, April 9. The championship game is at 7 p.m. Eastern time, April 11.

•         Decided timeouts at the championship will be two minutes from whistle to puck drop.

•         Selected Steve Cady, senior associate athletics director at Miami (Ohio), as committee chair.