The Division I Wrestling Committee at its annual meeting in April in Indianapolis recommended modifications to the selection process that will use current-year results to determine allocations into the 2009 NCAA championships.

Previous selection procedures have been based on past performances.

The recommendation is subject to approval by the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet, which meets June 24-25.

The cabinet directed the committee to develop a selection procedure that would eliminate the use of historical data so selection into the wrestling championships would better reflect current-year performance and align more closely with criteria used for other Division I championships.

In the committee's proposal, champions in each of the 10 weight classes at conference and NCAA regional qualifying tournaments will still receive automatic qualification into the NCAA championships. That takes up 110 of the 330 allocations. How the remaining 220 spots are allocated, though, will change.

The committee recommends that most of the berths be determined through a primary criteria formula in which wrestlers will be measured on the following:

• Winning percentage
• A rating percentage index conducted by the National Wrestling Coaches Association
• A coaches' ranking poll (five coaches from each conference and regional qualifying tournament will be assigned to nationally rank wrestlers in two different weight classes).

If wrestlers in a particular conference or regional qualifier reach standards in at least two of those three criteria, that qualifying tournament will earn a qualifier position in their respective weight class at their qualifying event.

For example, if six wrestlers from the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association competing at 125 pounds meet the standards, then the top six finishers at this weight in the conference tournament would qualify for the national championships.

These criteria will be used in each of the conference tournaments and NCAA regional qualifying competitions, so wrestlers will know where they have to finish in their qualifying event to reach the national meet. That should elevate the importance of those tournaments as well, committee members say.

"For an endangered sport like wrestling, we need more important events," said committee Chair and Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner Brad Traviolia. "The NCAA wrestling championships is a great event, but we need strong conference tournaments and a strong regular season, too."

After the qualifying events, the Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in person to select the final at-large berths into the championships. Wrestlers being considered will have their updated winning percentage and RPI examined. Factors such as wins against wrestlers receiving automatic qualification and placement at their qualifying event will be reviewed as well.

When all the selections are made, each of the 10 weight classes will have 33 wrestlers in the bracket.

Committee members conducted mock selections (based on 2008 data) to test the proposal, and they acknowledge that it may need to be adjusted over time. However, the committee believes the new selection procedures are in the sport's best interests.

"This will be a real-time measurement of the strength of your program and getting student-athletes to the NCAA championships," Traviolia said. "We've allocated a lion's share of qualifying slots to be determined before the conference championships. We will let the wrestlers dictate by performance on the mat on who goes to the national championships, and the committee will fill out the brackets in each weight class."

However, the bottom line for committee members is what's best for the sport overall.

"The committee believes that it must strike a balance between selecting the best wrestlers for the NCAA Championships and providing optimal regional representation," Traviolia said. "The standard NCAA selection process limits the minimum level of regional representation to conference and regional champions only. Having only one representative from every conference may be an acceptable level of regional representation for many sports, but this level is inadequate for wrestling. It is critical for as many programs as possible, especially those programs struggling to maintain sponsorship, to receive exposure that only the NCAA championships can provide."

This leads to the committee's second proposed modification in the process.

The committee is also recommending that the total number of allocations for the championships be increased from 330 to 360. In its mock selection, the additional three berths per weight class would have allowed for a significantly greater level of regional representation without placing caps on representation from any single conference or regional qualifying event.

The committee cited research indicating that the additional three berths per weight class could allow student-athletes from more conferences to reach the national championships. However, the additional wrestlers would come with a $45,000 budget request, and the biennial budget for the next two academic years was just approved by the NCAA Executive Committee on April 24.