I love reading Double-A Zone, which is the official blog of the NCAA. With most entries, intriguing topics are generally discussed that make good reading. One interesting article caught my attention today (Feb. 18).
Here is an excerpt from the article:
It isn’t often that a Division II policy change attracts attention from politicos, but a recent contingency plan adopted by the Division II Championships Committee has caught a pretty big fish.
Gov. Sarah Palin has written the NCAA to complain about the contingency plan that could affect the way regionals for this year’s Division II basketball championships are staged.
The plan would be triggered when seven of the eight teams in the current eight-team regional format would be required to fly to the No. 1 seed’s campus. Palin has a dog in the hunt this year, since Alaska Anchorage’s women’s team currently is the top seed in the West region and would earn the right to host the regional if that seeding holds up for the rest of the regular season. Since seeds two through eight would have to fly to Anchorage, the Division II Women’s Basketball Committee could implement the contingency plan that would divide the eight-team regional into two, four-team sub-regionals, one hosted by Alaska Anchorage and the other hosted by the No. 2 seed.Such a contingency would be adopted only when it saves more than $10,000 in administrative costs and does not compromise the student-athlete experience. The Alaska Anchorage example would save well over $100,000.
So, the format is being changed and it could (arguably) unfairly impact the outstanding Alaska Anchorage women’s basketball team.
Another excerpt:
The Anchorage Daily News reports that in her letter, Palin claims the plan “creates two classes of membership - institutions that are allowed to host an eight-team regional and those that are not allowed to host, based on geography.”
Palin seems to be alluding to the same concern broached during Championships Committee discussions about the contingency plan, which was whether it gives an undue advantage to the No. 2 seed by paving a clearer path to the regional final than it would have in an eight-team format.
I doubt very seriously the NCAA is running short of funding for events of this nature. It puts a significant dent in the advantage that the top seed presumably works so hard all year to receive. It also helps the No. 2 seed have a bit of an easier path (primarily in terms of travel, finances, accommodations and more) to a potential showdown with the No. 1 seed. The No. 1 seed has worked hard and doesn’t deserve to have its advantage taken away because it may be from Alaska or Hawaii and it is more expensive to fly more teams there. So, in this instance, I am going to side with Gov. Palin in deeming this an improper move.
One final excerpt:
It’s also important to note that the contingency plan was adopted on a trial basis for the rest of the academic year. The Championships Committee will review whether it needs to be carried forth, tweaked or scrapped when it meets in June.
Sometimes competitive equity and fiscal responsibility clash. While that might be the case here, the Championships Committee took the steps it considered prudent to protect the championship experience for student-athletes and provide a more fiscally responsible model for championship travel.
Hopefully the trial basis of this contingency plan will not adversely and unfairly impact teams based on geography. Maybe it can be tweaked, but I doubt it. This plan really needs to be scrapped and more thoroughly reconsidered. Don’t punish schools for geography. I would imagine the Alaska schools already have tremendous challenges with their recruiting and traveling budgets throughout the year. I am sure the NCAA can manage to pay for this rather than unfairly potentially penalize Alaska Anchorage. I see it from both sides, but on this one I am siding with Alaska Anchorage. If you earn true home-court advantage you should get the same home-court advantage everyone else is getting.
Double-A Zone:
http://www.doubleazone.com/2009/02/palin_power_denouces_dii_champ.php
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