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The NCAA News -- November 22, 1999

Certification subcommittee approves four additional events

The Certified Events Subcommittee of the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has approved four additional certified contests for the 2000-01 academic year.

Meeting November 8-9 in New Orleans, the subcommittee approved the following events:

  • The College All-America Golf Tournament, November 20-21, 2000, El Paso, Texas (annual exemption).

  • The College Golf Foundation National Intercollegiate Match Play, November 11-12, 2000, Estero Beach, Florida (annual exemption).

  • Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Soccer Invitational (men's and women's soccer), August 25-26, 2000, Fairfield, Connecticut (one-in-four exemption).

  • State Farm (NACWAA) Volleyball Classic, August 25-26, 2000, Gainesville, Florida (annual exemption).

    The College All-America Golf Tournament and the State Farm Volleyball Classic both received a two-year certification, an option that was begun in 1998 for certain events that have been in operation for more than five years and are in good standing.

    The approval of all four events is final. Previously, the subcommittee would have had to forward its recommendations to the Championships/Competition Cabinet for final approval, but the cabinet approved a subcommittee recommendation last year to allow the subcommittee to determine final certification status on its own.

    In other action, the subcommittee reviewed survey results from certified contests in 1998-99. Each participating institution in last year's certified contests was surveyed on a variety of topics relating to the administration of the event. Survey results indicated that most institutions were satisfied with the event and believed that the event sponsors were meeting their requirements. The subcommittee agreed to continue this annual survey and make the results available to the sponsors as well as the participating schools.

    The subcommittee also discussed criteria for certified events to determine if any of the financial requirements (for example, guarantees) negatively impact the number of women's contests that are certified. The request came from the Executive Committee's Subcommittee to Review Gender and Ethnicity Issues, which conducted an audit of the Association's gender-equity and diversity efforts in 1999.

    In 2000-01, there will be a disparity in the percentage of travel reimbursements allotted to men's and women's certified basketball contests. Travel reimbursements will increase for men's basketball events to 75 percent in 2000-01 and to 100 percent in 2001-02. Travel reimbursements for women's certified basketball events will increase to 75 percent in 2002-03 and to 100 percent in 2006-07. The subcommittee will revisit the issue before 2002-03 to evaluate the disparity between the number of men's vs. women's certified basketball events. Additionally, the subcommittee will solicit verification that the disparity in the number is a result of the travel reimbursement requirement.