Rick Feldhoff writes:
>Mike posted a summary of NCAA 20.4... Guidelines for schools being able to
>petition for playing up/down in divisions. Since Mike just got the NC$$ Manual
>it is probably up-to-date, BUT I have a copy of section 20 which says:
>
>20.4.1.2.2 Classification of a Sport in Division III. A member of Div II may
>petition to be classified in Div III in any sport in which there is a Div III
>championship, but not a Div II championship. (Apparently passed in 91 to
>become effective 9/1/93).
 
I have no 20.4.1.2.2.  Perhaps it was eliminated?  "20.4.1.2 Divisions
II and III Members - Classification of a Sport in Division I" is
listed as being revised for 8/1/94 and is followed by 20.4.1.3.
 
>Section 20.8.2.2 also seems to allow II to play III. So my reading of Section
>20 which I got from our SID suggests playing down is allowed and contradicts
>what seems to be a widely held opinion that it is not permitted to play down.
 
I think that given the earlier (now non-existent) wording of 20.4.1.2.2,
it is easy to see why 20.8.2.2 seemed to support DivII teams playing down:
 
"20.8.2.2 Exception for Maximum Number of Contests or Dates of
Competition.  A Division II member institution that is eligible for a
championship in another division because there is no championship in
that sport in its membership division shall apply the maximum number
of contests or dates of competition in the sport involved that applies
to the division in which it declares its intention to compete."
 
So since 20.4.1.2 now apparently has no provision for a school to play
down, 20.8.2.2 would only apply to a school declaring up.
 
>So what gives? Do we have any folks with a talent for disentangling NC$$
>obfuscation?
 
And if so, please send your resume to Orono, Maine. :-)
 
Here's an additional section I just spotted, relating to voting.
 
"20.7 VOTING RIGHTS OF DIVISION MEMBERS
 
  20.7.3 Division I Ice Hockey.  A Division II or Division III member
  institution that is classified in Division I in ice hockey shall be
  permitted to vote in Division I on legislative issues that pertain
  only to ice hockey."
 
Note that this is the ONLY sport granted such an exception under this
statute.  However, it does not preclude Division I schools which don't
have hockey from voting on hockey issues, as we have talked about before.
 
I have already begun putting together at home a new file for the HOCKEY-L
archives which contains various regulations specifically pertinent to
hockey from the manual.  When this is in the archives, I will post on
how to get it.  It seems to be getting longer and longer. :-)
---                                                                 ---
Mike Machnik                                          [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                  *HMM* 11/13/93