The criteria for Undergraduate and Division II teams are found in the ACF Rules:
...an "undergraduate" player is a player who did not receive a BA or equivalent or higher degree prior to the academic year in which the tournament is taking place, and meets either or both of the following conditions:
1 The player graduated from high school in an academic year four or fewer years prior to the year in which the tournament is taking place
2 The player did not participate in any collegiate or open academic quizbowl tournaments before the fall semester of the academic year three years prior to the year in which the tournament is taking place
Undergraduate teams are composed solely of Undergraduate-eligible players; Division II teams are composed solely of Division II-eligible players....a "Division II" player is a player who did not receive a BA or equivalent or higher degree prior to the academic year in which the tournament is taking place, has never played at ACF Nationals, and meets either or both of the following conditions:
1 The player graduated from high school in an academic year year two or fewer years prior to the year in which the tournament is taking place
2 The player did not participate in any collegiate or open academic quizbowl tournaments before the fall semester of the academic year one year prior to the year in which the tournament is taking place
There will still be only one tournament field in which all teams play--Division II will not play separately.
Both of the titles will be awarded using a similar method to the way NAQT's ICT awards its undergraduate title. To wit, after the playoff rounds have concluded, all teams in the field will be ranked; if the top two undergraduate teams are within n spots of each other (where n is the size of the playoff brackets, likely eight) then they will play a weighted best-of-three final with the leading team getting a one-game advantage, unless they are actually tied, in which case it will be a simple one-game final. Similarly, if the top two Division II teams are within n games of each other, they will do the same.
If the top Undergraduate or Division II teams are separated by more than eight spots in the final ranking, then the top team will win without the need for a final.
A Division II team which is also involved in an Undergraduate or overall final, or an Undergraduate team which is also involved in an overall final, automatically wins the lower division without need for an additional final.
We will be giving formal recognition and comically large trophies to the top 3 teams in both the Undergraduate and Division II rankings at ACF Nationals 2008.
I invite all teams who are competing for Undergraduate or Division II placement at the NAQT ICT to consider attending ACF Nationals as well. As always, the tournament is open to all school-based teams.
If anyone has questions or predictions about these new ACF titles, this thread is the place to post them.