ITA Division I Operating Committee Votes to Continue Support of No-ad Format

At the ITA convention this past weekend, the decision to retain the format previously approved for college tennis this summer--no-ad for singles and doubles, with three doubles matches decided by one six-game set, and six singles matches with best two out of three sets--was approved by the ITA Operating Committee.

It appears the originally approved clinch/clinch rule, which would leave singles matches unfinished when a team reaches four points, has been amended to require completion of all singles matches, although conference rules still take precedence.

Although the NCAA is barely mentioned in the release below, they hold the keys to the format played at the spring championships in May, and when tabling this format the first time back in September, they asked the NCAA Tennis Committee to provide more input from student-athletes, who were to be surveyed on the format issue. I have not heard if that survey has been completed and provided to the NCAA Championships Cabinet, which is meeting in February to decide whether to approve the format change for the 2015 Championships.

Since the ITA announcement, I have spoken with dozens of college coaches and others about the format change. I have tried to keep an open mind, but I am unconvinced that no-ad will in any way enhance college tennis. I believe the win-by-two scoring in tennis is fundamental to its integrity and that adopting no-ad will deemphasize many of the physical and mental factors that make tennis so compelling. It favors one style of tennis over another, and presumes that it will shorten matches, although no hard data to support that has been released.

As I said back in August, I will not travel to cover this format, as I personally do not enjoy watching it, and as an independent journalist, I have the freedom to make that decision. Although I am not optimistic, I hope the no-ad proponents will find the casual fans they are looking for with this change. But this avid fan is saying goodbye to Division I tennis.

The full ITA release is below:

Shortened Format Strongly Supported at 2014 ITA Coaches Convention No-ad scoring, 6-game doubles set highlight decision NAPLES, FL (Dec. 15) - The ITA Division I Operating Committee moved to re-submit its dual match format proposal to the NCAA Division I Tennis Committee for the 2015 NCAA Division I Team Championships during its final meeting of 2014 on Saturday, Dec. 13. This decisive vote (25 yes, 0 no, 9 abstentions) - supported by the USTA and the USTA's Athletic Directors Advisory Council - is a powerful indication of the group's commitment to adopt creative and innovative measures to enhance the sport of tennis during this time of seismic change in collegiate athletics. In addition the ITA Operating Committee voted 26-8 in favor of playing the shortened format during the 2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend and 2015 ITA Division I National Men's and Women's Team Indoor Championships. Also, the Committee voted to adopt (30 yes, 0 no, 4 abstentions) the shortened format for all non-conference dual match competition with all singles matches being played to completion (doubles will remain "clinch"). It should be noted that NCAA conference rules supersede ITA rules, and therefore any conference can decide to not play the ITA format if it should so wish. The ITA shortened format: No-ad scoring in singles and doubles. Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all. Followed (after a brief intermission; time TBD) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tie-breaks at 6-all. No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles) The ITA Operating Committee felt that it was very important for Division I men and women's tennis to play with the same format - one that would enhance the student-athlete experience, be more fan-friendly, be more exciting and make college tennis more relevant.  And in this quickly changing landscape, the Committee also agreed to continue to monitor the pulse of the membership in looking ahead to the future. "Over the past several years the ITA Division I member coaches have engaged in a vigorous and dynamic dialogue about format and best ways to grow and promote the sport of college tennis," said David Benjamin, ITA Executive Director. "We are very proud of the way in which all of our coaches of men's and women's tennis programs - from widely diverse institutions - have managed to work together and present a unified front on such a complicated and critical issue." "We are supportive of the format recommendation made by the ITA Division I Operating Committee," said Virgil Christian Jr., USTA Senior Director, Market/Facility Development & Collegiate Tennis. "The collegiate coaches have navigated through a thorough and comprehensive process to reach this point. This is a critical first step in continuing to increase the relevance of college tennis on campuses across the country." The NCAA Division I Tennis Committee will teleconference on Tuesday, January 6th to review the ITA shortened format proposal for possible implementation in the 2015 NCAA Team Championship. If endorsed by the Tennis Committee, it will be put forward to the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet for its approval. ITA Operating Committee co-Chair Sheila McInerney knows college tennis is on a long-term plan to become more fan-friendly and exciting. "Coming out of the ITA Convention, the men's and women's Operating Committees are excited to play the new scoring format," McInerney said. "We feel this shorter and more exciting format will benefit college tennis and are hopeful the NCAA Tennis Committee will endorse this format for the upcoming 2015 NCAA Team Championship." Boise State head men's tennis coach Greg Patton is filled with hope for the future of college tennis. "I think it's a dynamic step in the future that is going to dramatically and positively impact the growth of tennis in this country," Patton said. "Tennis could be in the top five [of college sports] if we do it right and we're trying to take steps to do it. We can't keep on being satisfied with the product that we're giving. We want to make sure it's exciting and timely. If we can keep it into a certain time frame, it's going to be really incredibly compelling and incredibly attractive to people. It's hopefully going to attract a lot of kids to the sport."