1/3/2022
The suggestions, which will be subject to approval by the Division I Board of Directors, include:
►Increasing the number of schools in NCAA Division I championships to 25% of the schools sponsoring a given sport, if the sport is sponsored by more than 200 schools. In men’s and women’s basketball, which is sponsored by roughly 360 schools, this would set the stage for the possible increase in the fields from the current 68 to at least 90.
►Changing Division I’s revenue distribution system so that it would account for athletic performance in sports other than men’s basketball. For decades, conferences’ collective performance in the men’s basketball tournament has been the determining factor in how one of the largest pools of money is divided.
This has been a major point of contention for women’s sports advocates and college-sports reform groups, including the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. It also was covered in recommendations from an external review of NCAA championships that the association commissioned in the wake of disparities in the 2021 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The committee also recommended that the Divsion I board and NCAA executive staff “evaluate each sport for potential growth in …revenue generation, including additional sport-specific sponsorship and partnership opportunites” as part of upcoming contract negotiations.
This also was covered by the external review.
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