Advisory groups from the eight regions hosting regional competitions for the 2009 Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship have recommended staying with a format in which one site hosts seven teams.

The recommendations to the Division II Championships Committee were the first from a pilot program Division II is using to determine the best options to conduct regionals in various sports.

Regional “format advisory groups” − composed of the conference commissioners in a given region, at least one member of the Championships Committee, the region’s national sport committee representative and several members of the regional advisory committee − were asked to choose from among three options:

• One site hosting seven teams (the current format)
• Two sites each hosting three teams
• Four sites each hosting one team

The eight advisory groups in volleyball all chose the status quo for 2009.

However, a contingency plan remains in place should any region face a situation in which all seven teams would have to fly to the host site. In that case, the Division II Women’s Volleyball Committee would have the authority to designate two four-team tournaments at the top two seeds.

That contingency plan was used in last year’s Division II Men’s Basketball Championship when No. 1 seed Brigham Young-Hawaii and No. 2 seed Western Washington each hosted a four-team subregional. The decision saved thousands of dollars in travel expenses without compromising the top seed’s ability to host regional competition.

The pilot is a result of a year-long review of regional formats in sports where the one-site-hosting-seven-teams format has been the norm. The Championships Committee believes giving regions the additional flexibility will lead to the most efficient business model for conducting NCAA postseason competition.

It also aligns with the committee’s charge from the Division II Presidents Council to help lead the “Life in the Balance” initiative that seeks more efficient administration of Division II’s regular-season and postseason competition.

The format advisory groups used travel analyses for regionals conducted over the past several years to guide their recommendations. Those analyses use software the sport committees have at their disposal to help with travel distances and costs.

Regional format advisory groups in basketball are slated to make their recommendations for the 2010 championship by September 1.

The Championships Committee will review the pilot at its summer 2010 meeting. While the pilot applies to just three sports for now, the committee may expand the concept to other sports if the effort proves successful.