31.3.4.1 Requirements -- Division I Championship. To be eligible for automatic qualification in a Division I Championship, a member conference must meet the following requirements: (Revised: 12/9/91, 8/13/93, 12/5/94, 10/18/95, 10/27/98, 4/20/99, 1/9/06 effective 8/1/06, 12/15/06)

(a) Conference competition must be conducted in the applicable sport and the conference champion in that sport must be determined not later than the date on which participants are selected for the NCAA championship, either by regular in-season conference competition or a conference meet or tournament, as indicated at the time of application. If a conference's competition to determine its automatic qualifier is unexpectedly terminated (e.g., due to inclement weather), the conference may designate its qualifier, provided it has established objective criteria for making that designation and has communicated that information to the appropriate sports committee by a specified deadline.

(b) In the event of a tie for the conference championship, the conference shall have the responsibility of determining which team or individual shall represent the conference in NCAA competition. If a play-off is held, such competition shall be considered conference competition, not NCAA competition.

(c) In sports other than championship subdivision football, a conference may establish subdivisions and conduct competition within each subdivision to determine a conference champion, as long as each subdivision consists of at least four members. A conference with subdivisions of four members must conduct double round-robin competition within each subdivision, plus a postseason tournament, to determine its champion. A conference with subdivisions of five or more members may conduct either single or double round-robin competition within each subdivision, plus a postseason tournament to determine its champion. (Note: This regulation does not apply to Division I men's or women's basketball. In those sports, a conference may conduct either double round-robin, in-season competition, or a minimum of 14 conference games in order to determine its champion.)

(d) In championship subdivision football, football-playing conferences that subdivide into five or more teams are required to conduct a single round-robin competition within each division and develop a formula for determination of the conference champion, which must be approved by the Football Championship Committee prior to the start of the season. A postseason championship game is not required.

(e) The conference must maintain and actively enforce compliance with eligibility rules at least as stringent as those in Bylaw 14 applicable to its members. The use of an ineligible student-athlete by a team in a conference that has been granted automatic qualification may result in the involved team being denied the right to be the automatic entry in the NCAA championship. The governing sports committee may recommend loss of the automatic-qualification privilege for the conference during the season in which the violation occurred or for a future championship.

(f) All eligible member institutions must agree to participate in the applicable NCAA championship. If a conference champion is ineligible to compete, declines to compete or cannot compete for any reason, automatic qualification shall be withdrawn for that year and the remaining conference members shall be considered at large. Automatic qualification for a conference shall not be withdrawn if a conference champion declines to compete in an NCAA championship for reasons related to written religious policies against competition on certain days. Under such circumstances, the conference's second-place team (as determined by the conference) shall receive the automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

(g) All institutions may hold membership in only that conference in the sport in which automatic qualification is sought and may participate in only that conference's process to determine the automatic qualifier.