NCAA to Experiment with Splitting NCAA D-I Individual and Team Tennis Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (January 11, 2023) – The NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved a two-year pilot program to hold the Division I men’s and women’s individual tennis championships in the fall of 2024 and 2025. The Division I men’s and women’s team championships will continue to be held in the spring both years.

The Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee will evaluate the championships to see what the best path is for the Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships at the completion of the pilot program. Part of the rationale for the decision to hold the Division I individual tennis championships in the fall involves student-athlete well-being.

Under the current format, tennis student-athletes in both the team and individual championships can compete for nine days in a row. Student-athletes only in the individual championships may wait up to three weeks from the end of the regular season until they compete again.

Student-athletes withdraw after selection and during the championships due to injury. Some student-athletes also withdraw directly after selection or after losing in the team tournament.

The Division I Competition Oversight Committee also hopes the modification can help the student-athlete experience by maintaining or boosting attendance at the events. It is hoped that broadcast opportunities may occur, which would allow student-athletes to showcase their talent in the individual singles and doubles championships.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association, which is the coaches association for college tennis, and the United States Tennis Association collaborated on a survey with the Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee that showed 68% of the respondents favored the individual tennis championships shifting to the fall.

Women’s golf

The Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved increasing the field for the finals site of the Division I Women’s Golf Championships. The number of student-athletes to compete at the 2023 championship will be 156. Previously, 147 student-athletes competed at the finals site.

This adjustment results in a net increase of 12 official travel party members for women’s golf. The number of teams at the finals site increased from 27 to 30, while the number of individual participants at the finals site would decrease from 12 to six.

“There is significant importance in providing equitable participation opportunities for our women student-athletes,” said Bradford Hurlbut, director of athletics at Fairleigh Dickinson and chair of the Division I Women’s Golf Committee. “We are thrilled with the announcement by the Division I Competition Oversight Committee to move to 30 teams and 156 deserving student-athletes for the upcoming 2023 championship finals.”