I missed this when the story first came out. Here are some changes that the NCAA Division III Championships Committee recommended and had funding approved by the NCAA Strategic Planning and Finance Committee:
1) The women's hockey bracket expands to 11 bids.
2) Conference opponents will be separated from each other in the first round when making brackets (I'm unclear as to if this will take priority over the 500-mile rule. I'm skeptical, but the next change might make that slightly more likely).
3) Ground transportation costs will be reimbursed by the NCAA. (My understanding is that prior to this, the NCAA covered flights but not buses. If the NCAA is now on the hook regardless of the method maybe they are actually planning on not having the bracket be dictated by location. Maybe they will allow flights to prevent intra-conference but not full bracket integrity?).
4) NCAA patches for the jerseys of all championship participants.
The DIII Championships Committee asked members for feedback regarding bench size limits. The feedback indicated that while most were satisfied with the bench size, many schools wanted scratched players to be able to wear their uniforms and warm up with the team on championship weekend and that not being allowed has negatively impacted athlete experience. The Championships Committee has recommended to the DIII Management Council that current bench size, squad size and travel party limits remain in place but that all student-athletes be allowed to warm up in uniform at the championships. I don't think they need approval from NCAA Strategic Planning and Finance Committee since leaving travel party limits unchanges means there's no additional cost involved.
1) The women's hockey bracket expands to 11 bids.
2) Conference opponents will be separated from each other in the first round when making brackets (I'm unclear as to if this will take priority over the 500-mile rule. I'm skeptical, but the next change might make that slightly more likely).
3) Ground transportation costs will be reimbursed by the NCAA. (My understanding is that prior to this, the NCAA covered flights but not buses. If the NCAA is now on the hook regardless of the method maybe they are actually planning on not having the bracket be dictated by location. Maybe they will allow flights to prevent intra-conference but not full bracket integrity?).
4) NCAA patches for the jerseys of all championship participants.
The DIII Championships Committee asked members for feedback regarding bench size limits. The feedback indicated that while most were satisfied with the bench size, many schools wanted scratched players to be able to wear their uniforms and warm up with the team on championship weekend and that not being allowed has negatively impacted athlete experience. The Championships Committee has recommended to the DIII Management Council that current bench size, squad size and travel party limits remain in place but that all student-athletes be allowed to warm up in uniform at the championships. I don't think they need approval from NCAA Strategic Planning and Finance Committee since leaving travel party limits unchanges means there's no additional cost involved.
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