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Bye Bye NCAA Regional Format... - NCAA.orgPublished by
Cabinet adopts new track format Talk about this in the forums - Poll: New NCAA Regional Format - What do you think?
The
Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet at its inaugural
meeting in the new governance structure approved a two-site format that
will serve as the first round of the Division I men’s and women’s
outdoor track and field championships beginning in 2010. The two-site
format, which will be conducted over a three-day period, will replace
the current regional qualifying system that raised concerns about
competitive equity and fairness in advancement. Under the new plan, institutions will be assigned to either the East or West site for the first round of competition. The top 48
student-athletes in each individual event at each site will be
determined by a national descending-order list of season-best
performances. The top 12 qualifiers at both sites will advance to the
championship finals. The only
exception for individual-event competitors will be heptathlon and
decathlon student-athletes, who will participate only at the finals
site. Additionally,
the top 24 relay teams in each event will compete at one of the
first-round sites. Again, these competitors will be determined by a
national descending-order list. The top eight teams in each relay at
both sites will advance to the finals. Outdoor
track and field realignment has been on the radar of the former
Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet – particularly the
Bracket/Format Subcommittee – for almost three years. A study
group of members from the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and
Field Committee and the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association proposed the two-site, three-day format (along with an
alternative three-site, three-day format). The cabinet preferred the
two-site format because it best addressed competitive-equity and access
concerns. “Clearly,
there was a strong consensus for this format,” said cabinet Chair Jeff
Schemmel, the director of athletics at San Diego State. “There was a
strong feeling in the room that although both proposals would be an
improvement over the current regional format, the two-site
recommendation was the best format. All 31 of the division’s
conferences were represented, so my sense is that everyone will be
happy with this.” Schemmel
noted that the new first-round format eliminates the former
automatic-qualification element into the field. Although a national
descending-order list will be used to determine first-round
competitors, research shows that more than 95 percent of past
conference champions would have earned a spot in the first round in the
new format. About 1,700-1,900 student-athletes will compete at each of the first-round sites. The East
site will host teams from the following states: Alabama, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Institutions in the remaining states will send their student-athletes to the West site. Read the full article at: www.ncaa.org
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