FB: American Southwest Conference

[UMHB03]

The attendance at the UMHB vs. ETBU game today was 3,841. It seemed like there were a lot more. But, I did notice that a lot more fans got up and started acting like they were at a football game! The Cru played hard and left no doubt that they want to continue on into the post-season. It's all up the the playoff selection committee to decide if UMHB deserves to move on to the playoffs. It's not much fun having to wait on someone to decide your fate. This is one important lesson for The Cru. They need to play hard and all out for the full 60 minutes, take care of business and don't let the other team stick around thinking they have a shot at winning the game. It's always better when you are in the driver seat and in full control of your post-season. Great job Cru, you finished out the season with a bang!

There is definitely a very pro-Northeast/Midwest, and anti-South/West bias in D3. I know geography often results in Southern and Western teams getting a raw deal in seeding due to the committee being cheap skates about travel, but it often seems that they don't even make an attempt to be equitable. It's almost like they want to get all the Texas/West Coast teams eliminated and out of the way as quickly as possible so the "real" D3 teams can fight it out.

If the current projected bracket turns out to be accurate, that is a prime example of what I'm saying. A first round game between UMHB and HSU, followed by the winner traveling to Linfield, would be a travesty. Penny pinching is no excuse.

[SaintsFAN]

Come on, there is no "bias" - it's just the size of the budget, or lack thereof.  And it's much better than it used to be when only 16 teams made the tournament.  I know it sucks for the Island teams but the alternative was really awful and very political. 

[umhb2001]

I do not feel there is a bias, I mean, all teams have to travel within 500 miles first round, and in the NE, this could prove to be 2nd round as well.

The fact of the matter is that the SCAC needs more teams to earn a playoff spot, like trinity did in the past, which took us out of our conference and brought an outside team in.

The other hard pill to swallow is that UMHB has t won the games they were "supposed" to win. The committee sees this and assigns games accordingly, or so it seems as such in the past.

I definitely don't see a bias. When you're on an island, you're more susceptible to the sea. We do happen to be in such a position.

[UMHB03]

I don't have as much of an issue with the 1st round "Texas sub-bracket" games, but setting up a situation in which UMHB/Hardin-Simmons and Linfield have to face off in round 2 for the second year in a row is indefensible, regardless of whatever penny-pinching geography excuse they want to make. In some instances, the selection committee needs to have enough integrity to bite the bullet on one additional flight in order to keep a deserving team from getting screwed by an early end to their season.

Last year especially, neither UMHB nor Linfield (two teams who were legitimately Stagg Bowl caliber) deserved to have to go home in the second round, yet the committee callously ensured that the seniors from one of those accomplished programs would have to end their college careers a couple of weeks earlier than they deserved. I know that's the way it works, but that doesn't make it justified.

[DFWCrufan]

i think it was 2013-14 playoff rounds, Redlands come out to UMHB first round, was that just a fluke? I mean a Cali team traveling to Texas instead of the recently patterned traveling up to Oregon. Was it just the way the pools laid out or is there someting that can be replicated, LaVerne DCIAC champs traveling to HSU and UMHB going to play elsewhere? Just a thought?

[wally_wabash]

In 2013, PLU made the tournament so the NWC teams played a first round rematch and the SCIAC champion was the odd orphan. 

There is definitely a very pro-Northeast/Midwest, and anti-South/West bias in D3. I know geography often results in Southern and Western teams getting a raw deal in seeding due to the committee being cheap skates about travel, but it often seems that they don't even make an attempt to be equitable. It's almost like they want to get all the Texas/West Coast teams eliminated and out of the way as quickly as possible so the "real" D3 teams can fight it out.

This needs addressed.  The selection committee are not cheapskates.  The NCAA are cheapskates.  Really unfair to pin that on the people that work on the committee.  I'm sure if they had their way, we'd do this very differently. 

If the current projected bracket turns out to be accurate, that is a prime example of what I'm saying. A first round game between UMHB and HSU, followed by the winner traveling to Linfield, would be a travesty. Penny pinching is no excuse.

Actually, penny pinching is THE excuse. 

[umhbalum]

When is the playoff info announced?

[jknezek]

Guys. D3 runs at a deficit. They are trying to get it back in balance. What needs to happen is D3 needs to rally around and the schools need to agree to pay more. D1 is not going to contribute more to D3. If D3 wants more money for championships, D3 needs to make it happen. Just remember it won't just affect football, it will be all D3 sports, so there will need to be significantly more money coming in to the pot. Petition your president if you want it brought up, complaining about the NCAA being cheap isn't correct. The D3 membership must he willing to do more.

[jknezek]

When is the playoff info announced?

5p.m. CST is the show. No idea how long it takes.

[SaintsFAN]

i think it was 2013-14 playoff rounds, Redlands come out to UMHB first round, was that just a fluke? I mean a Cali team traveling to Texas instead of the recently patterned traveling up to Oregon. Was it just the way the pools laid out or is there someting that can be replicated, LaVerne DCIAC champs traveling to HSU and UMHB going to play elsewhere? Just a thought?

You'd have to look at the locations of the teams who earned their way into the tournament that season.

If your team wins the title, they'd have to beat Linfield or someone like that along the way - yeah, it sucks if it's the 2nd round and we are all being short changed by that.  But does it change the result in the 5th week of the playoffs?

[Ron Boerger]

i think it was 2013-14 playoff rounds, Redlands come out to UMHB first round, was that just a fluke? I mean a Cali team traveling to Texas instead of the recently patterned traveling up to Oregon. Was it just the way the pools laid out or is there someting that can be replicated, LaVerne DCIAC champs traveling to HSU and UMHB going to play elsewhere? Just a thought?

You'd have to look at the locations of the teams who earned their way into the tournament that season.

If there was no other TX team in the playoff there probably wasn't anyone within 500 miles and so SOMEONE had to be flown in.

But it's pretty much like jknezek says ... it is all about the Benjamins and won't change unless the D3 membership, the great majority of which aren't impacted by this, decide to do something about it.   You guys go through this every year because you only follow football, but it happens to island teams every year in many sports where it's more important to save money than to be fair and award teams hosting duties they've earned by their play.   At least in football, if you're a top team, you get to host until you lose no matter who the opponent is.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Some very sensible replies on this page, thankfully.

The selection committee isn't a bunch of cheapskates; they're working in a specific set of conditions to try to give some semblance of a fair bracket, while working within the constraints of a budget.  If you want to direct your ire at the NCAA, that's at least the right direction to point your anger, but it's still a little silly.  D3 only has a playoff of any kind because they're willing to give D3 sports some D1 basketball TV money.

jknezek is absolutely right: if D3 schools wanted to create a tournament where travel costs were not an issue, the schools would have to collectively agree that they'd pick up some (or all) of the travel tab for the flights necessary to have a true seeded tournament.  That's just not a realistic option for 98% of D3 schools.  The cost of one additional overnight flight-requiring trip (if you count flights, hotel rooms, bus transportation from the hotel to the stadium on game day, and team meals on the road) is probably more than the cost of the head coach's salary at most D3 schools. 

Until Division III schools collectively agree to do that (and they probably shouldn't, from an institutional standpoint - do you want to explain to the music department that they can't hire an additional tenure-track professor that they desperately need because we have to save an extra $100K in case the football team makes the playoffs this year?) we will have the current structure.

[umhbalum]

Some very sensible replies on this page, thankfully.

The selection committee isn't a bunch of cheapskates; they're working in a specific set of conditions to try to give some semblance of a fair bracket, while working within the constraints of a budget.  If you want to direct your ire at the NCAA, that's at least the right direction to point your anger, but it's still a little silly.  D3 only has a playoff of any kind because they're willing to give D3 sports some D1 basketball TV money.

jknezek is absolutely right: if D3 schools wanted to create a tournament where travel costs were not an issue, the schools would have to collectively agree that they'd pick up some (or all) of the travel tab for the flights necessary to have a true seeded tournament.  That's just not a realistic option for 98% of D3 schools.  The cost of one additional overnight flight-requiring trip (if you count flights, hotel rooms, bus transportation from the hotel to the stadium on game day, and team meals on the road) is probably more than the cost of the head coach's salary at most D3 schools. 

Until Division III schools collectively agree to do that (and they probably shouldn't, from an institutional standpoint - do you want to explain to the music department that they can't hire an additional tenure-track professor that they desperately need because we have to save an extra $100K in case the football team makes the playoffs this year?) we will have the current structure.

So eliminating the music department would solve this issue? Ok, count me in

[crufootball]

Some very sensible replies on this page, thankfully.

The selection committee isn't a bunch of cheapskates; they're working in a specific set of conditions to try to give some semblance of a fair bracket, while working within the constraints of a budget.  If you want to direct your ire at the NCAA, that's at least the right direction to point your anger, but it's still a little silly.  D3 only has a playoff of any kind because they're willing to give D3 sports some D1 basketball TV money.

Personally I don't see the committee as cheapskates, they have a job to do and clearly do a good job in the eyes of the NCAA or they would be replaced with another system. However I think this is also the part that is so frustrating, we look around and see that semblance of a fair bracket that you mentioned, but it doesn't apply to us. The fair part is not putting St. Johns and St. Thomas or the UW schools together because they is fair but it surely would be cheaper to do so.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter, we aren't going to win this battle but surely you can't blame us for complaining especially on the ASC board.

[DFWCrufan]

Crud I logged into the show at 5:10 and missed all but the last bracket.. that was fast... anyone know the brackets? So far NCAA hasn't posted them