Page 12 University Daily Kansan; November 13, 1981
Big Eight women's teams seek playoff
By EILEEN MARKEY
Staff Reporter
That's what the Big Eight conference women's teams must struggle with to get an automatic national playoff berth for the winner of its conference tournaments, a Big Eight spokesman said yesterday.
Bureaucracv.
The problem stems from a stipulation in the National Collegiate Athletic Association agreement to hold championships in women's sports, Tammi Gannon, Big Eight administrative assistant. said
"The NCAA came out with a statement saying you needed six or more schools within the conference to be committed to the NCAA in that sport in order to get an automatic playoff berth," Gannon said.
In effect, at least six Big Eight schools must show interest in a NCAA Championship for a certain sport. If the schools say they are interested in participating in NCAA championships, the conference will be composed of teams that have an annual berth in the national championships in that sport.
IF A CONFERENCE doesn't have that commitment, however, the teams participating in that sport will have to go through extensive regional playoffs to get to the NCAA championship, Gannon said.
The University of Kansas has committed all its women's sports to participate only in NCAA championships, despite the fact that it still retains membership in the Association of Women's Women. The AIAW had control of most women's championships since 1971, but it is now competing with the new NCAA program.
A few Big Eight schools have declared NCAA interest in only some sports, while others have given their acceptance to still operate under AIAW rules. The NCAA has given schools until 1985 to decide which program they want to belong to. Until then, schools can participate only with AIAW and NCAA championships.
The NCAA offers travel expenses to its championships, but has not granted automatic qualification for the Conference winners in certain sports.
According to Gannon, both big Eight volleyball and tennis tournament winners are not granted automatic berths. Basketball, softball and swimming are given berths.
"Not enough schools have committed to the NCAA volleyball program. Propose them a letter requesting that 'hve consider letting us qualify.'
GANNON SAID that KU, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa
State had said their volleyball teams would participate in NCAA championships this year.
Okahanna, the only other Big Eight school with a volleyball team had not yet indicated whether it would play. The NCAA program, Gannon said.
According to Kyle Merrion, KU's women's tennis coach, the NCAA had another reason for denying an invitation to the Big Eight tennis champs.
"The NCAA doesn't recognize us as a strong tennis conference," Merrion said. "Not giving us the ball, really divided the conference."
The NCAA has been firm on its position despite the fact that all Big Eight schools have said they would allow their teams teams to participate in NCAA championships this year.
"It might take a walk to convince them," Merrion said, "but it's a relatively new program and we realize that there are problems."
Merrion said instead of being given an automatic berth, the Big Eight tennis teams would have to compete in a region established by the NCAA. The region is large and competition stiff.
ACCORDING TO Phyllis Howlett, KU's assistant athletic director, the berths would be easy to be by if all the Big Eight schools were fully
committed to the NCAA women's championships.
"What we're really angling for, of course, is to get everyone to commit, but not all the schools want to do that," she said.
Howlett said some Big Eight schools were holding out because they were afraid of schools like KU, K-State, Nebraska, and Missouri who had all virtually made a total commitment to the NCAA.
"They're afraid of us," she said. "If the national championship berth is given to the winner of the Big Eight conference, they know that in some cases they don't stand a chance of competing."
For instance, Howlett said, the KU women's swimming team had won the conference title since 1975. The team has now twice competed within the AIAW region to gain a berth in that national tournament, but this year an conference championship will mean an automatic seat in the NCAA
For schools that don't do well in swimming then, the system is a disadvantage because their last lesson is taught at the local level. Howlett said
BIG EIGHT Commissioner Carl James said the conference executive officers were investigating the briefing and would consider it briefly at the Dec. 1 convention.
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