NAIA to replace men's pen with hep next year

[rainbowgirl28]

Word on the street is that the coaches voted to add the hep next year indoors

[VaultMarq26]

i never even knew that they only did the pent....what were the 5 events?

[mattfranzdotcom]

It was brought up at the TFCA meeting in March, but I don't think it was voted on. I think it may be added to the agenda next time. One of the major concerns was that East Coast schools have a hard time finding meets that feature the Hep. There are more Pent's around here. Another issue is that many meets at smaller schools (such as NAIA schools) can't afford to travel for two day meets which is required for a hep.

[Glory]

What will be the significant events added on...im a little unclear on the two...

[rainbowgirl28]

One of the major concerns was that East Coast schools have a hard time finding meets that feature the Hep. There are more Pent's around here.

Why are there more pents on the east coast? Division II and III don't sponsor an indoor multi-event. NCAA Division I has the hep.

[mattfranzdotcom]

If I were to guess, NCAA DI schools would let maybe 50% of NAIA schools compete in their events. In fact, some of the DI meets around here require standards before competing. It doesn't make financial sense to send three different teams to three different meets depending on individual levels of success. Since NAIA schools are smaller and often don't have DI level athletes on the teams, they won't let you come to compete at their meets. Hence the difficulty in finding heptathalons. Coupled with the fact that we may have to travel further to find D1 meets with heps, plus the fact that heps are two day meets, it's a financial concern as well.