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NCAA leaving the 'I-AA stigma' behind?

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

For the first time since they were created 28 years ago, the top divisions of NCAA football could get new names next week, according to the INDIANAPOLIS STAR.

Division I-A would become the "Football Bowl Subdivision" and Division I-AA the "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision."

The 16-team postseason tournament in Division I-AA would be called the "NCAA Division I Football Championship."

The proposal came about because schools in Division I-AA felt stigmatized when the designation, which applies to football only, is used by media and others to describe the entire athletic program.

"You get a lot of 'I-AA basketball' labels that were never intended to be for any sport other than football," said Patty Viverito, commissioner of the Gateway Football Conference, which includes Indiana State. "Missouri Valley Conference basketball is Division I, not I-AA, on the same plane as 300-plus other Division I basketball programs. That's the incentive to change the name."

School presidents on the Division I Board of Directors will make the decision Aug. 3 in Indianapolis. Viverito said she expects that the new names will be adopted. She said the Conference Commissioners Association endorsed them last month.