I actually think it's a pretty cool deal, and not just because I'm in Atlanta.  First, the D3 game will still get D3 fans that would have made the trip to Salem.  No, it won't get the Virginia fans that have become annual attendees.  But it will get the people that travel to Salem every year.  The game will of course get the fans of the two participating teams.  The attraction of coming down during the Div. 1 Final Four will also bring some new D3 fans that haven't been to Salem before.  With the D3 championship game and the D2 championship game being played as a double-header, it will get some D2 fans, as well.  Additionally, everyone with tickets to the Div. 1 Final Four (some 70,000 people) will get free admission to the D3/D2 championship games and the NCAA is going to give free publicity for the game.  And there are a lot of fans in the Atlanta area that will just come out to see a good game.  The NCAA is hoping to pack Philip Arena with 17,000+ fans.  I don't know how close they'll get to that number, but I would expect an all-time record crowd for the D3 championship game.  On top of that, the two D3 teams will be introduced at half-time of one of the Div. I semi-final games, and then the National Champions will be introduced on Monday night.  I think it will be a great experience for the student-athletes that are fortunate enough to make it that far, and a great chance for Div. III to get some publicity.  I'm all for the idea!

For anyone interested, the Oglethorpe/Rhodes game last night was video streamed live using four camera angles with pre-game show, play by play, color commentary, graphics, etc.  The game has been archived and can be watched by going to http://scoreatl.playonsports.com/?eventId=5279  Thanks goes to Rhodes College and the SCAC office for supporting this endeavor.

Haynes,

Congrats!  His first recruiting letter is in the mail... but what the heck are you doing on D3hoops when your first born is 7 hours old?  I'll make sure the "boss" knows about this next time I see her.  Tell her congrats for me as well.