BB: WIAC: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Jim Dixon]

Congrats to Jordan Zimmermann in a no-hitter for the Nationals.

[cubs]

Wonder if former All Conference OF Tom Lechnir will be participating?!?!?!?!   

http://www.uwoshkoshtitans.com/sports/bsb/2014-15/releases/20140820toadnp

Looks like Alumni Day was canceled, as link is no longer "active." 

Just can't understand why there wouldn't be any interest from any of the alumni to participate!!!!   

[Bishopleftiesdad]

So I was surfing the web. And back in 2009 when UW-Lacrosse almost dropped baseball, Karner said that would probably mean an emd to the WIAC tournament.
http://m.jsonline.com/more/sports/blogs/48072687.html
I have not heard this since Superior left for the UMAC. But does anybody think that the WIAC will do away with their tourney starting in 2018?

[biggio34]

So I was surfing the web. And back in 2009 when UW-Lacrosse almost dropped baseball, Karner said that would probably mean an emd to the WIAC tournament.
http://m.jsonline.com/more/sports/blogs/48072687.html
I have not heard this since Superior left for the UMAC. But does anybody think that the WIAC will do away with their tourney starting in 2018?

I do believe that you need to have at least 7 teams in a conference to qualify for an AQ bid in baseball.  Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

As far as the WIAC goes, my guess is that they will/are efforting adding another school to take the place of UWS.  I doubt they will want to lose their AQ in baseball, or other sports if that is a possibility.  What are the qualifications to be included in the WIAC?  And what schools might be interested in joining if it was an option?  I wouldn't think too many athletics programs would be overly excited to jump into a conference with UWW, Point, LAX etc... but it is certainly interesting to ponder.

[Just Bill]

You do need 7 teams to have an AQ, but the NCAA grants a two-year grace period when an AQ conference falls below seven members in a sport. So the WIAC would retain their AQ for at least two years after Superior leaves.

I suspect St. Norbert College would join right now in all sports if extended an invitation, but I don't think the WIAC is interested in another full member. Inviting a private school to be a full member would also be a dramatic shift of philosophy that I don't know if the WIAC members are ready to accept at this point.

I think they are searching for an associate member for just baseball. Probably Finlandia (already an associate WIAC member in men's soccer) would be willing, but I'm guessing the WIAC is hoping for a higher quality program than the Lions can provide.

The conference baseball tournament is mostly a matter of philosophy. Some leagues would say, if there's no prize (like an AQ bid) going to the winner than let's not do it. Others might see it as a necessary culmination to a conference season.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Would I be correct to say that a conference tourney might help the winner toward getting a pool B bid? I know the UAA has a tournament. It does not occur at the end of the season, so it is not the exact same thing.

[biggio34]

Would I be correct to say that a conference tourney might help the winner toward getting a pool B bid? I know the UAA has a tournament. It does not occur at the end of the season, so it is not the exact same thing.

I think you mean pool C bid... pool B is for teams that are not a part of a conference that has an AQ.  If a team is on the edge of consideration for pool C and they have a strong showing in their tournament but do not win it, it could still certainly help their case for getting selected.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

No, I meant pool b. I was talking about when Superior  left, and two years later when the WIAC, would lose the AQ bid. They would then only qualify for a B or C.

[BigPoppa]

What about considering UW-Parkside. Any chance they'd want to leave D2 and become a D3 member (maybe for baseball only)?

Other than that, there are no other public school options for the WIAC to consider. UW-Milwaukee is D1 and U of Wisconsin does not have a baseball program at all. Any thought to Eau Claire resurrecting its program and rejoining the WIAC?

[TitanBystander]

BigPapa sparked a thought...How 'bout if UW-Madison converted it's club team into an NCAA D3 team and joined the WIAC?  I don't think it would have any title IX implications (but I'm not an expert there) and the cost would probably be roughly what the UW is spending to fund it's club team.  If it's a cost issue, then maybe Alvarez could donate his salary he's sure to pay himself for coaching the bowl game towards an entire season's worth of funding for baseball.

Probably a million reasons why UW-Madison won't consider it, but I'm just trying to think out of the box here.
   

[Ralph Turner]

D-1 or D2 schools cannot "play up" to D-3.  (     )
Select D-3 schools have been "grandfathered" in D-1/D-2 sports such as ice hockey, women's soccer (Colorado College) or lacrosse.

[TitanBystander]

"Play up"  - that's funny . 

No, I thougth that different sports can play at different levels within the same school.  Maybe I'm wrong, but don't a lot of schools play D1 basketball but lower levels in other sports?  Couldn't UW play D1 in everything except baseball where they could "Play up"  to D3? 

Not that it's going to happen, but is it even a possibility?

[Just Bill]

No, it's not possible anymore. For either the UW-Madison or UW-Parkside examples given.

It's informally called the "Dayton Rule". Schools have to go "all in" on whatever Division they choose to be in with only a few exceptions...
- Some D-III schools had teams in D-I or D-II that existed before this rule. Johns Hopkins lacrosse is a well-known example.
- If a championship doesn't exist at a certain level, a school may elevate that sport. For example St. Cloud State, Northern Michigan and Minnesota-Duluth are all D-II schools that play D-I men's ice hockey, because the NCAA does not sponsor a D-II hockey championship.

Occasionally D-III and D-II schools can play D-I in certain sports, but you can't take a scholarship school and make just one team D-III.

The 'Dayton Rule'

Dayton has had a long and illustrious football history at the Division I level, including a stint in what is now the Mid-American Conference and a bowl game appearance. In 1977, however, Dayton dropped to Division III in football but kept the rest of its athletic programs in Division I, including its highly successful men's basketball program.

Inadvertently, this made Dayton a Division III powerhouse. Once it abolished football scholarships it went 158-29-3 in Division III. From 1980 to 1992, Dayton qualified for the playoffs eight of 12 years, appearing in five Division III championship games and winning two. Although Dayton didn't offer athletic scholarships, it could offer other items such as Division I training facilities and tickets to see Dayton basketball games. 

As a result of this dominance and these differences that made D-III schools uncomfortable, the "Dayton Rule" was born. Essentially, it prevented schools to do what Dayton and others had done: namely, host a nonscholarship football team at the Division III level while maintaining the rest of its athletics program as Division I.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

+1 Just Bill beat me to it. I knew about the Dayton Rule, but did not have the detail you provided.

[Just Bill]

One of the issues at Dayton was their scholarship track & field program paired with a non-scholarship football team. It didn't take long for the coaches to figure out that if they could find RBs and WRs that want to run sprints and linemen that wanted to throw the shot put, they could have some key players receiving track & field scholarships while playing non-scholarship football.