The NCAA Championships/Sport Management Cabinet voted this past Wednesday to adopt automatic qualifiers for the DI championship, and to eliminate award recognition for the top three crews in each event (the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, and Varsity 4), such that only the top four teams will be given medals, according to several reliable sources. The changes will become effective at the 2011 championship. row2k will have a more complete report next week when the NCAA approves and releases the results of the vote.
A conference must support at least six varsity teams to be eligible for an automatic qualifier spot; as a result, the following six conferences will be granted automatic qualifier spots: Atlantic- 10, Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Ivy, and Pac-10. As a result, the top team from each of these conferences will get an automatic bid to the 2011 championship, while the remaining 10 team spots in the championship will be selected on an at-large basis based on results.
Not more than 50% of all bids to the championship can be granted by automatic qualifier; with two more conferences are slated to join this group in the next two years, rowing will max out their AQ spots in 2013, at eight of the 16 invitations. In the event that a ninth conference supports six women's rowing squads, there is a two-year waiting period before the conference would be granted an AQ, and subsequently the Cabinet would return to the issue.
For the elimination of awards, the logic appears to be that individual awards are not given out at NCAA team championships, so without the change rowing would be a sole exception in this regard. Some opponents of the elimination of awards have noted that unfortunately it creates the reverse situation from the perspective of the rowing community, in that women's collegiate rowing become the sole exception within the sport worldwide by not giving out awards to the winner of each specific championship event.
Both of the changes were arguably set into motion when women's rowing was designated as strictly a "team sport" two years ago, as opposed to the "individual team sport" classification that had prevailed since rowing became an NCAA sport in 1997. The move to the team sport classification was made to ensure the expansion of the championship, with the outcome that 16 full teams won invitations, rather than the multiple teams and limited number of at-large Varsity eights that previously were invited. Prior to the vote, rowing was the only team sport not selected at least in part by AQ's, the issue of AQ's was heavily debated within the rowing community, and resulted in a nearly even split, with many in strong support, and others strongly opposed. The elimination of gold, silver and bronze medals, however, appears somewhat to be fallout of the law of unintended consequences, and a large number of coaches have expressed regret at this development.
At present, it still remains for the NCAA proper to review and approve the changes; more next week when the NCAA releases the official announcement of the vote and changes.
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