Does anyone know how it has been determined to create the number of participating teams in their respective NCAA tournament? I hear people saying that the Men's D1 field needs to be expanded - but how is it originally determined? And is it a vote or something that the NCAA rules on to change the field, or is it based on participating schools with soccer programs, etc? Just not sure. There is such a difference between DI-DIII on men side and then so different compared to the women's side - just curious how the numbers for the eligible fields are determined. And also, when was the last time any of these fields at any division were "increased" or the format changed? Thanks in advance
Division 1 men increased from 32 teams to 48 teams in either 1999 or 2000, I believe. Division 1 women increased from 48 to 64 right around the same time.
i can't be 100% sure, but i think that it's based on the number of programs playing the sport. Plus you have to factor in automatic bids. In most NCAA sports, i think, conference champs (and their automatic bids) can only take up 50% of the post-season tourney spots, AT THE MOST. i'm sure there's a rule about tournament size somewhere in the NCAA handbook.
The number of teams in the tournaments is determined the same way everything else in the NCAA is determined - by committee. The Division I men's soccer tournament has the highest percentage of sponsoring schools of any of the soccer tournaments - it's roughly 25% of sponsoring schools. For DI women's soccer, the tournament includes roughly 21% of sponsoring schools. I don't know the exact numbers of sponsoring schools in each case but the DII tournaments are both roughly 15% of sponsoring schools and the DIII tournaments are roughly 12% of sponsoring schools. championship fields ----------DI--DII-DIII men's-----48--24---44 women's---64--32---45 The ratio of auto-bids to at-large bids is quite high in some cases. The DIII women's tourney, for example, has 37 auto-bids to a 45 team tournament with 4 of the at-large bids reserved for teams not in conferences. That leaves only 4 bids for teams that finish lower than first in their conference. So it's pretty much a "win your conference or forget it" situation. The situation is pretty much the same in the DIII men's tournament.