Tag: .500 Rule

Women’s college golf is entering its .500 era. How much will it change the sport?

The .500 rule is already forcing changes, even if subtle.

LAKE ELMO, Minn. — How much is the .500 rule going to change women’s college golf?

It depends on who you ask.

The NCAA competitions oversight committee approved the .500 rule for women’s college golf early last year, and the changes went into effect for the 2024-25 season. The .500 rule requires a team to finish the regular season with a .500 or better winning percentage head-to-head against other Div. I opponents to be eligible for regionals. The lone exception is if a team wins its conference title.

Div. I men’s college golf has had the .500 rule since 2007-08. And this year, women’s teams across the country are having to adjust to the significant change.

However, as to how much the rule will affect teams’ schedules, it depends on the school.

ANNIKA: Defending champion South Carolina builds big lead after two rounds at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

“We always try to play the toughest fields that we can, as long as they fit in our schedule,” Duke coach Dan Brooks, a seven-time national champion, said. “I like to play the very best tournaments we can.”

That was the sentiment for most coaches at the 2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, one of the premier season-opening events in women’s college golf at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis. Included in the 12-team field are defending national runners-up UCLA, No. 4 in the preseason rankings, 2023 national champions No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 11 Oregon, No. 12 and defending champion South Carolina, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 16 Duke, No. 22 Clemson and No. 23 UCF.

For most of these programs, they are talented enough that the .500 rule shouldn’t matter, meaning they won’t have to worry about their records come postseason time. But other teams are already taking measures to ensure there’s no question whether they can get into the NCAA postseason.

For example, one of the first events this season was the Tiger Classic, which Clemson hosted. The Tigers, which made match play last season at the NCAA Championship, were the only Power-4 team in the field. The rest of the 15 schools were mid-majors.

Clemson player Isabella Rawl warms up on the practice range before the first round of the 2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M at Royal Golf Club on September 09, 2024 in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

The event was a one-day, 36-hole marathon that saw the Tigers finish third, beating 13 teams and losing to two. That means Clemson’s head-to-head record was 13-2 after the event. After two rounds at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Clemson was in 11th. If that’s where the Tigers finished after the final round concluded Wednesday, their record will be 1-10.

The difference? Instead of starting the season behind the 8-ball, Clemson’s head-to-head record will be 14-12, or at worse, 13-13.

“If you’re not playing the best tournaments and the best fields week in and week out, you don’t have business being at regionals anyway,” said South Carolina coach Kalen Anderson, who is also on the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee. “To water down fields and do that, I understand the thought process behind it. But you know, it doesn’t do anybody any good not to compete against the best week in and week out and and have that experience.”

Schedule changes have been common for plenty of teams in the sport. While many of the top teams are still in the fields at the prestigious events, there have been some events that have been “watered down” or lacking as many top teams as they once did.

Emily Marron, UCF’s head coach and also a member of the Div. I committee, said her team’s excellent play last year got it into higher-level events this year, and she didn’t want to back down from the challenge.

“I was confident in my team, and I trusted in them, and we’re just going to not think about it too much and just see how we do the rest of the year,” Marron said. “Maybe more so next year we can make some adjustments, but again I want to keep it quality of teams we’re planning really high.”

University of Central Florida golfer Molly Smith tees off on the second hole during the first round of the 2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M at Royal Golf Club on September 09, 2024 in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Most coaches agreed that it still being early in the first year of the .500 rule, they needed to get through a season to see how it would shake out. That’s especially the case for high-ranking programs that have a lot of new faces in the lineup, like Wake Forest.

“We’re still playing high-profile tournaments and, you know, does (the .500 rule) cross my mind? Yes,” Demon Deacons’ coach Kim Lewellen said. “Will it change some of my coaching tactics? Probably, which I’m going to have to now, maybe change a little bit of some of the things that I’ve done before. I want them to have the best experience, to provide the best experience, and so I want to make sure I’m still doing that.”

The .500 rule is here, and while its fingerprints may not be visible on women’s college golf quite yet, it’s something that’s going to be noticeable for the remainder of the year and into the future.

“Certainly, we need to be mindful of the .500 rule,” Oregon coach Derek Radley said. “We did add one new tournament in the spring, but for the most part, we’re gonna get after it. I think to be your best you gotta play against the best each and every week. I want to compete against the best.”

Division I women’s college golf is adopting the .500 rule, a change many coaches have wanted for years

“Some programs may need to rethink their scheduling.”

It’s a change that has been discussed for years, and it’s finally coming to Division I women’s college golf.

The NCAA competitions oversight committee approved the .500 rule, and the NCAA notified coaches last week that the changes would go into effect for the 2024-25 season. The .500 rule requires a team to finish the regular season with a .500 or better winning percentage head-to-head against other Div. I opponents to be eligible for regionals. The lone exception is if a team wins its conference title. Div. I men’s college golf has had the .500 rule since 2007-08.

Mark Bedics, the NCAA’s associate director of championships for Div. I women’s golf, said the COC recently asked the women’s golf committee to revisit the .500 rule, which didn’t pass a vote in 2016. The committee sent a survey to head coaches and assistants from all 269 D-I programs in early January. About 75 percent of coaches responded. Of that number, more than 70 percent of that number voted in favor.

“The COC came back and said to women’s golf that they were the only sport that didn’t have a .500 rule and asked them to explain why not,” Bedics told Golfweek. “We asked why women’s golf needed to be different from every other sport, and there was no compelling reason why. Therefore, they passed it.”

Campbell women’s coach John Crooks was one of the coaches pushing most for the rule change. He said the rankings will be more accurate now with more teams getting the recognition they deserve instead of those with losing records being invited to regionals.

“Adopting the .500 rule is great news for women’s golf,” Crooks said. “Finally, the NCAA Committee addressed the issue with fresh new eyes. I would personally like to thank the committee members for doing the right thing.”

Courtney Gunter is the head women’s coach at Western Carolina, a mid-major, and she played collegiately at North Carolina. She has a unique perspective from both sides. Gunter said the .500 rule could keep her team in a strange middle area, but she’s a proponent of the rule.

“I believe the .500 (rule) has been long overdue in our sport,” she said. “Year after year we see at least one team, many times more, getting an at-large bid to regionals based on their schedule and not how they actually performed.

“Spots at regionals shouldn’t be taken by teams that don’t have a .500 record. It’s not fair to teams just outside that magic number that have shown they are worthy and have a great chance at making a run in post season.”

One of the most significant changes will be how teams make their schedules. It means there’s likely to be more mixing between Power-5 opponents and mid-majors.

“I think we all recognize that there will be some changes to scheduling, and it will be interesting to see how everyone manages it,” Wisconsin coach Todd Oerhlein said. “More head-to-head connections between teams should only improve the accuracy of the rankings.”

Added James Madison coach Tommy Baker: “The .500 rule being passed will undoubtedly allow for more of an equal playing field as it pertains to qualifying as an ‘at-large’ selection for postseason play. I am not aware of any other sport that allows teams with under .500 win/loss record to play in postseason, so it’s a no brainer on that front alone. It gets tougher every season trying to bolster our strength of schedule, and this should allow for more flexibility and opportunities moving forward. I understand and respect the concerns voiced by my colleagues at Power 5 institutions but feel this creates more opportunities than it does deny them.”

Pepperdine coach Laurie Gibbs, who is in her 30th season at the helm and has guided the Waves to 12 NCAA Championship appearances, said the change shouldn’t affect teams ranked in the top 30, nor will it impact the NCAA Championship field.

“There are some excellent tournaments that will begin to rotate a few invitations each year and provide more opportunities for mid-major teams and student-athletes to play,” Gibbs said.

Of the top-50 teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, five have a winning percentage below .500 as of Feb. 24: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, California and Alabama.

UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth said arguments made against the .500 rule by top programs sound like coaches trying to protect themselves and their tournament schedules.

“Most top programs don’t want to have to compete in weaker fields just to ensure they can make it to postseason, but that’s what is likely to happen,” Forsyth said. “Ultimately, women’s golf was the last NCAA sport that did not have a .500 rule in place, and we could not justify that position any longer in the current climate. We already play a mixed bag of super-strong field events and mid-range events. I don’t see us making any changes to what we do because of this new rule. But some programs may need to rethink their scheduling.”

Mid-major programs have long clamored for more opportunities, and this will undoubtedly give them those. East Tennessee State coach Stefanie Shelton said similar to increasing the amount of teams at the NCAA Championships to 30, this is a step forward for women’s college golf.

“I believe the depth of competitive teams in NCAA women’s golf is deeper than ever, and I am pro-opportunities for the ladies,” Shelton said. “I believe this move will open a lot of doors for mid-majors.”

Teams won’t have to reshape their entire schedules. It’s likely only two or three tournaments, if even, will be switched up. And in some cases, none.

However, come 2024-25, the .500 rule will finally be in women’s college golf.

“Hopefully this opens up opportunities for teams and student-athletes to experience more courses and visit areas of the country they haven’t been, as well,” Bedics said.

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Substitution, .500 Rule likely to be big topics at college golf coaches convention

Substitution, NCAA regional seeding, the .500 rule and even an NIT-type tournament for college golf will be on the table in Las Vegas.

Next week, the college golf coaching community assembles in Las Vegas for the annual Golf Coaches Association of America and Women’s Golf Coaches Association national conventions.

The one topic that is certain to be discussed is the substitution rule. This past fall, it appeared that substitutions would be permissible during regular-season tournaments, however there was some confusion on exactly how it would work. That resulted in the following announcement being sent to coaches in August:

The Division I Men’s Golf Committee has delayed the implementation of substitutions for regular-season play until the 2020-21 season. The committee is fully supportive of substitutions for regular-season play and will confer with coaches during the 2019-20 season and at the GCAA Convention for implementation. 

How substitution will work when it is finally implemented next fall should be a hot topic in Las Vegas, especially considering that some coaches don’t support the idea.

A few questions must be addressed. For example, will teams be allowed to have individuals competing in the event and will that individual be allowed to be inserted into the lineup as a substitute? Or can a coach only substitute a player who has not yet played that event? Maybe an even bigger question is how substitution will figure into individual rankings.

San Jose State prepares for the 2019 NCAA Women’s Championship at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

Also expect a discussion on NCAA regional sites. Seeding conversations will likely continue around the possibility of awarding hosting opportunities to top seeds, which rewards a team for having a good season.

There has been some chatter in the college-golf world that some coaches would like to see the.500 Rule eliminated in men’s golf. The .500 Rule requires a team to have a head-to-head won-loss record of 50 percent or higher against Division I teams.

The rule was first implemented for the 2007-08 season, and four teams did not meet the requirement that year. As a result, those teams – Arizona, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Minnesota – all missed out on at-large berths into the NCAA postseason.

Since that initial year, only seven teams total have missed playing in the postseason. For the most part, coaches have figured out how to schedule accordingly.

On the women’s side, .500 Rule conversations continue mostly in the mid-major community. However, it’s doubtful this discussion has any momentum heading into Las Vegas.

My take on the .500 Rule remains unchanged. It has been good for the men’s game and I am in favor of it for both men and women, but it is not necessary.

Duke women’s golf coach Dan Brooks, left, shakes hands with Wake Forest women’s golf coach Kim Lewellen after setting pairings for the final match at the 2019 NCAA Women’s Championship. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

If there’s another topic that should be discussed at the convention, it would be the addition of a postseason tournament – picture something like the National Invitation Tournament in college basketball.

Why? There are many schools investing in their golf programs, but the reality is many of those schools, which are mid-majors, can’t keep up and compete year after year with teams in the Power Five conferences.

On the women’s side the Power Five schools dominate the NCAA championships, to the tune of 90 percent of the field coming from the Power Five leagues in each of the past four years. It’s just below 80 percent for the past three years on the men’s side.

An NIT for college golf could be a good reward for a program that is investing in the sport. It could provide the opportunity to compete for a championship against programs that are both similarly sized and similarly funded.

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