Boston College Athletics
NCAA Expands Men's And Women's Soccer Championship Fields
September 05, 2001 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2001
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The opportunity to make the NCAA championships became much greater for both Boston College's men's and women's soccer teams on Wednesday, August 29, as the tournament fields expanded on both sides by 16 teams.
The men's bracket increased from 32 to 48 teams, while the women's bracket expanded from 48 to 64 teams. It is the first expansion for the men's tournament since the bracket was increased from 38 to 32 teams following the 1992 championship. The women's bracket was increased from 32 to 8 teams in 1998.
"Both committees (Division I Men's Soccer Committee and Division I Women's Soccer Committee) are excited about their respective brackets being expanded," said Tom Jacobs, NCAA director of championships. "Not only will it afford all eligible conferences the opportunity for an automatic berth but it will provide an NCAA championship opportunity for 640 additional male and female student-athletes (352 female, 288 male)."
Sixteen campus sites will host the first and second rounds of the men's and women's tournaments. Three men's teams will be selected to the 16 sites with the first round being played November 23, while four women's teams will be selected to 16 sites with the first and second rounds being played on November 16 and 18, respectively.
In the men's second round, the winning teams of the first round will the team with the first-round bye on November 25. The third round will be played the weekend of December 1-2, and the quarterfinals will be played December 8-9. All these games lead to the 2001 NCAA Men's College Cup, December 14 and 16, at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The women's third round will be held November 23-25 and the quarterfinals will be played November 30-December 2. The road to the 2001 Women's College Cup will convene on December 7 and 9 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
