National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

August 3, 1998

Division III -- Men's basketball group to solicit input on first-round schedule

The Division III Men's Basketball Committee discussed plans for future championships at its July 15-18 meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.

The committee discussed and tabled a request that first-round games be conducted on Wednesday instead of Thursday. The purpose of the request was to give teams that advance to the second round another day to prepare for that game. The disadvantage is that all first-round teams would have less time to prepare for that round. The committee plans to talk to coaches during the year to solicit feedback regarding this change. In a related action, the committee changed the name "sectionals" to "quarterfinals."

The committee also reviewed the four-team pairings in the newly dubbed quarterfinal round. Currently, these pairings are based in part on geography to save travel costs, with a complete rotation occurring every eight years. Under that system, some regions can never meet each other in the quarterfinal round. The committee is examining the possibility of rotating the sectional pairings more often.

Other highlights

Division III Men's Basketball Committee

July 15-18/Kansas City, Missouri

  • Eliminated live scouting in the first round by any representative of a team with a first-round bye.

  • Announced plans to survey the membership in the fall on realignment proposals. One of the goals is to balance the number of institutions in each region and to keep conference members in the same region.

  • Recommended 25 conferences for automatic qualification for the 1999 championship.

  • Established a deadline of February 1, 1999, for interested parties to submit written bids to host the 2001 and 2002 championships. The committee will receive in-person presentations from selected candidates at its 1999 meeting.

  • Started planning for the 25th anniversary of the championship, which will be celebrated at this season's championship.

  • Discussed the automatic qualification principles that will soon be reviewed by the Presidents Council.