X ACTION ITEMS. REPORT OF THE NCAA DIVISION II BASEBALL COMMITTEE MAY 24, 2017, MEETING JULY 19, 2017, TELECONFERENCE 1. Legislative Items. None. 2. Non-legislative Items. a. Reseeding at the championship after regionals. (1) Recommendation. That the Division II Championships Committee approve the baseball committee re-seeding the eight teams that advance to the championship final site. (2) Effective Date. 2018 championship. (3) Rationale. The committee believes that reseeding the championship will provide the opportunity for the best teams to advance in the championship. Re-seeding will allow for those teams that have performed well over the entire season to be placed on opposite sides of the bracket. The committee will use current selection criteria to evaluate teams and seed, one through eight, after regionals have been completed. (4) Estimated Budget Impact. None. (5) Student-Athlete Impact. As mentioned above, top teams would now have the opportunity to be placed on opposite sides of the bracket and provide the best chance to meet in the championship game. b. Committee chair approval. (1) Recommendation. That the championships committee approve Mark Clements, Associate Athletics Director at Northwest Missouri State University, as chair of the baseball committee. (2) Effective Date. September 2017. (3) Rationale. The committee unanimous approved the selection of Mark Clements to fill the role of chair of the committee. Mark served as chair of the committee
Page No. 2 for the 206-17 year as well, and provided strong leadership to the committee and the championship in general. (4) Estimated Budget Impact. None. (5) Student-Athlete Impact. None. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS. 1. Review of the 2016 annual meeting report. The committee reviewed the previous year s report and approved it as written. 2. NCAA Division II Championships Committee actions. The committee reviewed actions the Championships Committee took last year and further discussed re-seeding at the finals site. After further discussion, the committee agreed to propose for the 2018 championship. The committee also discussed the current super-regional format proposal that championships committee is reviewing as part of the upcoming budget cycle. Members are still in support of this proposal and made minor adjustments to the supplemental materials that were previously provided [Attachment] to increase clarity on the changes that would occur if approved. Staff will continue to keep the committee updated as decisions are made. 3. Review of regionals. a. Host/Facility Requirements. The committee discussed each facility that was used for regional competition, and agreed that all were suitable locations, with host staff that performed well. The committee continues to stress the difficulty some communities have in securing the number of hotels necessary for regional play, and how to make sure they are suitable, as it pertains number of rooms and distance from the competition venue. Staff will continue to provide guidance throughout the bidding process to ensure potential hosts are meeting requirements. b. Regional Brackets. The committee reviewed each of the regional brackets from the championship. The committee agreed that the game time adjustments that were made after last season, particularly within the 7-team bracket, were helpful. c. Regional Evaluations. The committee reviewed evaluations from the eight regional tournaments and made note of things to work on for the future, including continued review of hotel accomodations. Further, per feedback from evaluations, the committee agreed to simplify the bench size policy, so that it is clear, for participating teams and hosts, who is able to be a part of the official bench size. Student-athletes in uniform will remain in line with the official travel party (25), and additional bench limits simply being addressed as an additional nine bench personnel, with the ability to have one additional bench pass for a team doctor.
Page No. 3 d. Misconduct. The committee confirmed that no misconducts occurred at this year s regional competition. 4. Championship review. The committee reviewed all aspects of the championship, as well as evaluations that were submitted by participants. The committee agreed that there were areas of the championship that could have been conducted better by the host, including communication regarding staff changes, and upkeep of the facility prior to, and during, the championship. The committee looks forward to returning to Cary, North Carolina in future years, and will work with staff and host to continue to make improvements. 5. Umpire discussion. The committee reviewed evaluations for regional umpires, as well as the selection process and timeline for the championship and agreed that many improvements were made over previous years. Specifically, the committee commended Scott Taylor, in his first year of serving as the division II baseball national umpire coordinator, for performing his duties well. The committee recommended that Scott be renewed to fill this role for 2018. 6. Championship selections process. a. Selection Criteria. The committee reviewed the selection criteria, and agreed that it continues to provide the right information for ranking and selections. The committee continued to discuss how more emphasis can be placed on conference finish and/or championships in selection criteria. b. Online Score Reporting. The committee discussed the importance of having the scores submitted into the score reporting system as soon as possible each week, and appreciated the statistics staff efforts in making sure updated information is loaded in a timely manner. c. Balloting Process. The committee reviewed the process for balloting throughout the season and took no action. d. Conference Championship Finishes. The committee again reviewed when conference tournaments are taking place and whether asking conferences to have their tournaments end no later than the Saturday would be possible. This year, all but three conferences were set to finish prior to Sunday. Asking for all games to be completed on Saturday, weather permitting, would allow for an earlier selection show and ability for teams to have more time to arrange travel to regionals. This would also allow the committee to consider having regional competition take place Wednesday through Sunday, as opposed to Thursday through Monday, which would allow more time for those teams that advance to the championship to make travel arrangements. 7. 2018 preview. a. Regionals. The committee again noted the importance of finding qualified regional
Page No. 4 hosts, and asked staff to make sure bid materials are available as early in the season as possible to provide institutions time to prepare. The committee also requested that an updated regional host manual, separate from the championship finals, be developed to insure minimal confusion on host responsibilities. Staff will develop this manual and provide to the committee for feedback prior to the start of the 2018 season. b. Cary. The committee confirmed their commitment to returning to Cary, North Carolina, and are enthusiastic about their ability to host a great championship upon its return. Further, with the possible inclusion of re-seeding the eight teams advancing to the championship, the committee will have further disucssions regarding the logistics of communication of tournament match-ups after all teams have advance. 8. Rules. The committee recognized that this is a non-rule change year, but did have discussions around possible future rule changes. A majority of the feedback that committee members have received from coaches around the country pertain to pace-of-play, and how this can be improved to shorten the length of games. 9. Sport sponsorship. The committee reviewed anticipated changes pertaining to 2017-18 regionalization and will discuss further when more information is available. 10. Regional Advisory Committees. The committee reviewed and noted that staff will solicit nominations for upcoming vacancies. With difficulties in some regions, the committee continue to stress the importance of participation on ranking calls by all members of regional advisory committees, and asked staff to follow up on if there is any possible ramifications for members that. Staff will continue to work internally and with conference commissioners to ensure the best participation possible throughout the ranking process. 11. National committee. The committee reviewed and noted two upcoming vacancies, and the replacements that have been named. Staff also reviewed the new committee member orientation initiative information and will work with the committee chair to implement. 12. Confirmation of committee chair. The committee unanimously selected Mark Clements, Associate Athletics Director at Northwest Missouri State University, as the chair of the committee for the upcoming year. 13. Manual reviews. The committee reviewed and asked staff to make necessary updates to all existing manuals, as well as develop a separate regional host operations manual. 14. Committee timeline. The committee approved of the recommended timeline for 2017-18. 15. 2018 annual meeting dates. The annual meeting will take place May 23-24 in Cary, North Carolina prior to the championship. A follow-up call will be scheduled after the championship to finalize agenda item discussions.
Page No. 5 Committee Chair: Mark Clements, Northwest Missouri State University, Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Staff Liaison: Eric Breece, Championships and Alliances NCAA Division II Baseball Committee May 24, 2017, Meeting July 19, 2017, Teleconference Attendees: Kevin Brooks, Angelo State University; Lone Star Conference Mark Clements, Northwest Missouri State University; Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Rick Giannetti, Dominican College (New York); Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Sean Loyd, West Virginia State University; Mountain East Conference (July 19 teleconference) Dan McDermott, Academy of Art University; Pacific West Conference Angela Pohl, Saginaw Valley State University; Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Mark Richard, University of Montevallo; Peach Belt Conference Tommy Sadler, Union University; Gulf South Conference Absentees: Sean Loyd, West Virginia State University; Mountain East Conference (May 24 meeting) Guests in Attendance: Greg Bamberger, Kutztown University (May 24 via teleconference) NCAA Staff Liaison in Attendance: Eric Breece, Championships and Alliances. Other NCAA Staff Members in Attendance: None. NCAA/07_28_2017/EB:cml