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Since this story covers two sports I decided to put it here:
Equestrian seeks championship status
Terry Vandrovec • tvandrovec@argusleader.com • March 4, 2008
After some delay, equestrian may be back on track toward becoming an NCAA championship sport - if Division III gets on board.
That's right, the non-scholarship sect is in control.
The Committee of Women's Athletics is recommending the 14 Division III schools that sponsor the sport consider abiding by NCAA rules for playing and practice seasons. Currently, the D-IIIs compete under the umbrella of the International Horse Show Association.
If Division III changes, that would bring the number of NCAA equestrian programs to 38 - two shy of the number needed for equestrian to be go from an emerging sport to a championship sport.
"It's a very unique situation," South Dakota State coach Megan McGhee said. "Division III really has been dominant for years and years in equestrian, so that kind of turns the tables in comparison to the other sports. And that's one of the reasons Division III has been reluctant. They don't want to lose that dominance."
The benefits of gaining NCAA championship status would be significant. For starters, roughly a dozen major colleges would subsequently add the sport, McGhee said. Also, equestrian would suddenly become more like other sports in terms of recruiting and competition.
.....
Volleyball changes
The NCAA Women's Volleyball Rules Committee and an oversight panel have approved major changes for 2008. Games will be called sets, the winning score will be 25 instead of 30, substitutions will be cut from 15 to 12, and ball-handling infractions will be less strictly enforced.
Although OK with the ball-handling initiative, SDSU coach Andrew Palileo believes the other moves will reduce opportunities for specialty players.
"It will really hurt the smaller players," ....
(read more)
Terry Vandrovec • tvandrovec@argusleader.com • March 4, 2008
After some delay, equestrian may be back on track toward becoming an NCAA championship sport - if Division III gets on board.
That's right, the non-scholarship sect is in control.
The Committee of Women's Athletics is recommending the 14 Division III schools that sponsor the sport consider abiding by NCAA rules for playing and practice seasons. Currently, the D-IIIs compete under the umbrella of the International Horse Show Association.
If Division III changes, that would bring the number of NCAA equestrian programs to 38 - two shy of the number needed for equestrian to be go from an emerging sport to a championship sport.
"It's a very unique situation," South Dakota State coach Megan McGhee said. "Division III really has been dominant for years and years in equestrian, so that kind of turns the tables in comparison to the other sports. And that's one of the reasons Division III has been reluctant. They don't want to lose that dominance."
The benefits of gaining NCAA championship status would be significant. For starters, roughly a dozen major colleges would subsequently add the sport, McGhee said. Also, equestrian would suddenly become more like other sports in terms of recruiting and competition.
.....
Volleyball changes
The NCAA Women's Volleyball Rules Committee and an oversight panel have approved major changes for 2008. Games will be called sets, the winning score will be 25 instead of 30, substitutions will be cut from 15 to 12, and ball-handling infractions will be less strictly enforced.
Although OK with the ball-handling initiative, SDSU coach Andrew Palileo believes the other moves will reduce opportunities for specialty players.
"It will really hurt the smaller players," ....
(read more)