The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- March 1, 1999

Field hockey committee asks to combine regions

The Division II Field Hockey Committee will recommend to the Division II Championships Committee that the current North and South regions be combined into one for championship-game selections.

The recommendation, formulated during the committee's annual meeting February 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri, was the result of Division II eliminating exceptions or exemptions to allow conferences to be represented in more than one region. The committee, therefore, had to consider realignment because the Pennsyl-vania State Athletic Conference had members in each region.

The recommendation is of particular interest because of the two squads involved -- Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and Bloomsburg University of Pennsyl-vania. Those institutions have met in eight of the championship's 10 title games. The committee believes the one-region format will encourage teams to vary schedules and face new opponents during the regular season.

In other action, the committee continued to pursue the possibility of holding its championship in conjunction with the Division I championship. The 1999 Division II championship will remain on the campus of a competing institution while the committees determine the possibility of a predetermined site.

The committee also reviewed various rules changes that will be in effect for the 1999 season, including an increase in the half-time period and rules regarding overtimes.