National Collegiate Athletic Association

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The NCAA News -- July 19, 1999

Future sites for Women's Final Four selected

The Division I Women's Basketball Committee recommended future Women's Final Four sites and considered the concept of predetermined sites for the first and second rounds of the Division I Women's Basketball Championship during its meeting June 28-July 2 in Monterey, California.

The committee recommended sites for the 2003 and 2004 Women's Final Four, which subsequently were approved by the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet. The 2003 Women's Final Four will be conducted at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (Georgia Institute of Technology, host), while the 2004 Women's Final Four will be held at the New Orleans Sports Arena in New Orleans (Tulane University, host).

Regarding predetermined sites for first and second rounds of the championship, the committee discussed the issue at length before determining that the concept required additional refinements before implementation. The committee will review and revise the parameters for the selection of sites and the effect on the budget during its fall meeting. The plan calls for a revised recommendation to be finalized in February 2000, with anticipated implementation in the 2001 or 2002 championships.

The committee also recommended to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that institutions be precluded from hosting a regional tournament and a first- and second-round session in the same year.

In other actions, the committee:

  • Recommended that coaches who participate in championship competition not complete evaluation forms on game officials.

  • Reviewed the 1999 Women's Final Four with representatives from the San Jose Organizing Committee.

  • Representatives from ESPN attended the meeting to review the 1999 telecasts and plans for the broadcast of the 2000 championship.

  • Voted to request a waiver of the Sunday-competition legislation that requires sports committees to adjust schedules for member institutions with policies against Sunday competition (this subsequently was approved by the Championships/Competition Cabinet).