Members of the ISU track teams who have aspirations of qualifying for the NCAA Championships will have a major new hurdle in their path this year.

In the past, qualifiers for the national meet have been determined by times and performances throughout the season. The NCAA kept track of all performances, and the top 16 performers in each event were invited to the national meet.

This year, things are different. Performances throughout the season will still be monitored and recorded, but now, instead of being invited to the national meet, athletes will receive invitations to one of four NCAA Regional meets.

Standards for qualification to the regional meets will be lower than the previous ones used for the national meet. For example, in 2002, the national automatic qualifying mark for the men’s 800-meter run was 1:47.50. This year, the regional qualifying time is 1:51.15.

The top five individuals and the top three relays from each regional meet will be invited to the national meet, along with about five at-large qualifiers in each event. That will increase the participation in the national meet to around 25 athletes per event, up from around 16.

The change was not universally favored.

“This was fought for many years,” ISU men’s head coach Steve Lynn said. “It was voted down many times.

“I’ve been coaching at the NCAA Division I level since 1979, and absolutely nothing has been divisive as much as the regional concept. There were some very hard feelings.”

Supporters and opponents of the change both had their reasons. Many of the schools that supported the change were smaller schools. They were interested in allowing more of their athletes to participate in a meet with a championship atmosphere, even if they do not qualify for the national meet.

Neither Lynn nor Dick Lee, ISU women’s head coach, was in favor of the switch.

“Personally, I’m not happy about the change,” Lee said. “I don’t think it is good for the best kids in the country. You’re forcing them to compete in another high level meet.”

Lynn said the Big 12 schools were unanimously against the change.

Lamont Johnson, a former ISU sprinter and current volunteer assistant coach, sees the change in terms of how it has affected the rest of the season.

“It’s taken away from the other meets,” he said. “Teams can’t go to the meets they want to because they have to spend extra money for the regional meets.”

Lynn said the addition of the regional meet could cost some track programs as much as $20,000.

Obvious costs to the team include travel and lodging expenses. Also, the regional meet will extend the season a week further into the summer. Iowa State pays for the housing and food of athletes whose seasons extend beyond the end of the spring semester, and the week adds more costs, Lee said.

Iowa State’s travel costs for the regional meet will not be great this year since Iowa State’s regional meet will be held in Lincoln, Neb. However, the region includes teams from states such as Montana and New Mexico. The meet is held in a different place each year, so in some years, Iowa State will have much higher travel costs.

Although the ISU coaches did not favor the change, they can see some benefits it could bring.

“It can benefit football players by giving them some extra time,” Johnson said. “It gives two-sport athletes a chance to get in another week of training.”

ISU track team member Gina Rickert, who has qualified for previous national meets, does not like the idea of the regional system. As one of the top high jumpers in the nation, she would rather not deal with another high-level competition.

“Personally, I’m not looking forward to it. I would hope and think that I’m going to the national meet,” she said. “It extends our season. But at the same time, I think it’s a good concept. We actually may have better representation. I just hope that the quality of the [national] meet stays intact.”

The NCAA Regional system is only being used in Division I and only for the outdoor season. It also will not include the decathlon, heptathlon and 10,000-meter run. Those events will continue to qualify based on times throughout the season.

Iowa State’s regional meet will be in Lincoln, Neb., on May 30-31. The national meet will be in Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14.