What will we know today?

The NCAA Administrative Committee is set to meet today to possibly make a decision on winter championships including wrestling. There are two questions to answer. First, will the committee make a final decision on wrestling today? Second, will that decision be announced today?

Whether or not the committee will make a final decision depends on the recommendation the committee is believed to have received from the DIII Championships Committee and if there is any possibility the committee will delay a final decision for some reason. The timing of any announcement depends on when exactly the meeting takes place and who needs to know before anything is officially released.

Division III schools were surveyed as to whether or not they expected to compete in the minimum number of competitions in each sport in time for the championship selection process. For wrestling, the minimum dates of competitions this season is three. Those surveys were due back to the NCAA on January 25th. If a school did not respond, that answer was counted as not planning to compete. The NCAA DIII Championships Committee met on January 29th, and it is believed they have made recommendations for each winter sport that the Administrative Committee will consider during today’s meeting. This committee has the authority to accept the recommendations they have received.

Recap:

  • October 1st, 2020 – NCAA Championships Committee affirms 25% reduction in number of qualifiers to the 2021 NCAA Championships. 135 athletes will qualify instead of 180.
  • The Division III Championships Committee affirmed its position that for sports with between 51 and 200 institutions, 70 percent of sponsoring member institutions must sponsor the sport to merit a championship.
  • DIII membership survey due January 25th asking schools if they plan to compete in enough contests in each sport to be eligible for postseason selection (3 dates for wrestling).
  • Championships Committee met January 29th and is believed to have forwarded a recommendation to the Administrative Committee
  • Administrative Committee meets today (February 3rd) and could act on the recommendation.