Future of Division III

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · April 28, 2006, 08:53:51 AM

That's a big deal for both the major sports covered here. I'm glad the NCAA has taken some steps towards alleviating problems. It's still an issue with PA-NY not being in region for most NE teams, but you can't make everything perfect. I like it.

Ralph Turner · April 28, 2006, 09:01:12 AM

That is why I think that the "200-mile venue rule" is the next amendment that we need.

Having New Jersey and Maryland in Region #1 would give some flexibiity.

Stevens, McDaniel (Western Maryland) and Catholic or Gallaudet (District of Columbia) among others could be the host venue where some Region #2 schools could meet.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · April 28, 2006, 09:41:14 AM

It's true. I guess Upstate New York will still be isolated, but there's not too much we can do about that.

Pat Coleman · April 28, 2006, 04:32:04 PM

Not as much as it used to be. All of upstate New York is now in-region with with CUNY and Skyline schools in NYC and on Long Island. Parts of that area are still within 200 miles of the cluster of schools in Western Mass, plus Connecticut schools that are in the NE.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · April 28, 2006, 05:08:36 PM

Yeah, but the 200 mile thing has always been in effect and not too many of the Upstate schools venture over to Western Mass. I guess they can take trips to Pennsylvania now, but I just don't see it happening. It wasn't happening before, and Utica made out just fine this year without venturing too far. However, it is a good step in the right direction, even if it doesn't make things better for every school.

Mr. Ypsi · April 28, 2006, 06:06:15 PM

While the new in-region option is a step forward (and I hope, for example, that it will increase the number of games between the CCIW and the MWC and WIAC), it does present some curious anomalies. In region 1, unless you go by sea, I defy you to go from the northern to the southern parts of the region without going out of region! In region three, if a MIAA team schedules an in-region Arkansas team, the only reasonable routes require going through out-of-region Illinois and Missouri first. This past season, IWU's games against UT-Dallas and Puget Sound would have been in-region, but there is no MIAA team that would be in-region!

I say scrap the whole attempt to define 'in-region' and count all d3 games as in-region (I'd prefer that they even scrap the in-region selection precess, but I'm not going to be totally utopian here!) - due to cost and class-time considerations, I guarantee that most schools' schedules would not change a whit. Sure, it is hypothetically possible that a rich school might become a powerhouse by promising recruits a trip to Hawaii every Christmas, but that could already be the case if a school was willing to give up a couple of in-region games (and such a school would presumably not be attracted to d3 anyway - in the larger world, I'm not sure that 'powerhouse' and 'd3' are even spoken in the same language)!

Especially since cost is such a key factor for most d3 programs, even if you don't trust schools to do the right thing for the right reasons, can't we trust them to mostly schedule locally out of sheer necessity? And then IWU could meet the spirit of the rules by going to Holland (MI) rather than Tacoma for an in-region game!

Pat Coleman · April 28, 2006, 08:39:06 PM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on April 28, 2006, 06:06:15 PM
While the new in-region option is a step forward (and I hope, for example, that it will increase the number of games between the CCIW and the MWC and WIAC), it does present some curious anomalies. In region 1, unless you go by sea, I defy you to go from the northern to the southern parts of the region without going out of region! In region three, if a MIAA team schedules an in-region Arkansas team, the only reasonable routes require going through out-of-region Illinois and Missouri first. This past season, IWU's games against UT-Dallas and Puget Sound would have been in-region, but there is no MIAA team that would be in-region!

So what? It's more than it was before. Isn't it possible to be happy with something?

Mr. Ypsi · April 28, 2006, 09:27:05 PM

Pat,

I said it's a step forward - I'm happy, I'm just not elated!

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · May 01, 2006, 09:03:57 AM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on April 28, 2006, 09:27:05 PM
Pat,

I said it's a step forward - I'm happy, I'm just not elated!

Well you should be elated. Now. Do it. Be elated. I'm not kidding.

Gregory Sager · May 01, 2006, 09:12:20 AM

Quote from: Hoops Fan on May 01, 2006, 09:03:57 AM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on April 28, 2006, 09:27:05 PM
Pat,

I said it's a step forward - I'm happy, I'm just not elated!

Well you should be elated. Now. Do it. Be elated. I'm not kidding.

He's only going to be doing it in cyberspace rather than the real world, so he'll be e-lated instead.

Pat Coleman · May 01, 2006, 12:09:09 PM

Oof.

Mr. Ypsi · May 01, 2006, 12:14:16 PM

Quote from: Gregory Sager on May 01, 2006, 09:12:20 AM
Quote from: Hoops Fan on May 01, 2006, 09:03:57 AM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on April 28, 2006, 09:27:05 PM
Pat,

I said it's a step forward - I'm happy, I'm just not elated!

Well you should be elated. Now. Do it. Be elated. I'm not kidding.

He's only going to be doing it in cyberspace rather than the real world, so he'll be e-lated instead.

Actually, Greg, you've got it backwards. I'm not e-lated, but in the real world I just submitted winter term grades, and now face 4 months of vacation!! 8)

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · May 01, 2006, 01:08:41 PM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on May 01, 2006, 12:14:16 PM
Actually, Greg, you've got it backwards. I'm not e-lated, but in the real world I just submitted winter term grades, and now face 4 months of vacation!! 8)

What's up with college professors getting the summer off. Shoot, they should only get paid enough to last them 8 months and have to deliver pizzas or paint houses for the summer like high school teachers.

Education just isn't worth that much!!

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · May 01, 2006, 01:11:17 PM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on May 01, 2006, 12:09:09 PM
Oof.

That's two "oofs" in one day, Pat. Not that this one isn't totally deserved, but maybe you should cut down on the stress a little. Take a breather.

Mr. Ypsi · May 01, 2006, 11:46:47 PM

Quote from: Hoops Fan on May 01, 2006, 01:08:41 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on May 01, 2006, 12:14:16 PM
Actually, Greg, you've got it backwards. I'm not e-lated, but in the real world I just submitted winter term grades, and now face 4 months of vacation!! 8)

What's up with college professors getting the summer off. Shoot, they should only get paid enough to last them 8 months and have to deliver pizzas or paint houses for the summer like high school teachers.

Education just isn't worth that much!!

Hoops,

If it makes you feel better, I also receive no pay for the next four months - a more accurate description would be that I am unemployed (though ineligible for unemployment compensation by Michigan rules, since I have assurance of a job again in September), but I prefer 'on vacation'!

Fortunately, I am a better investor than a d3 hoops picker (the 90s were 'bery, bery gud to me') - I could retire today, but I enjoy my job too much to do so. I've been fortunate to always have a decent department head, but I'm in that blessed position of being able to tell him to go f*** himself if I ever encounter trouble!