FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sju56321]

Ah 1986-everyone posting the game had pass John by-or maybe that was SJU Record?

[hazzben]

Lock in on the Transfer Portal and fine tune that NIL program because this is the new era of college athletics.

Gross. NIL as a major roster-building strategy is just totally at odds with the ethos of DIII and non-scholarship athletics. At that point just follow UST up to D1 already and quit the charade.

It would be very easy for the conference schedules to even up....PLAY EVERYONE!  There is a ten game schedule and nine other teams....one NC game and 9 MIAC games.  Keep in mind part of the schedule building was designed to allow the bottom teams to avoid the top teams on an annual basis.

It wasn't just for the bottom teams. It was so that top teams didn't have a millstone SOS tied to their playoff resume with 1 non-con and Hamline, Mac, and CSS weighing them down. Would you rather a weird year like this where there isn't a clear, strong national contender in the MIAC, and SJU gets boxed out of the MIAC Champ game. Or a setup where a really strong Bethel or SJU can go win 2 good non-con games and play mostly top MIAC competition. Play a 9 game schedule and that SOS number will have a gravitational pull towards .500.

This year is messy, no question. But I'd rather have this, than a scenario where Bethel lost the ability to play Wartburg and added CSS to the schedule. Consider 2023 is an elite SJU team, and the Trinity game is replaced by Hamline, and you end the year with MAC. That team is less prepared for a deep playoff run, and probably has to go on the road a round or two earlier than it would if you ran the table with the 2023 schedule.

Bottom line, I'd rather have a scenario where when the conference lacks a national contender it gets a little muddied, but when we do that team is positioned to make a run. Or a really good runner up is able to build a Pool C resume and make a run of their, ala Bethel in 2022.

[bleedpurple]

GAC isn't going to beat Bethel.

I don't know- they basically already did!

I could also see BU stubbing their tie against the Cobbers.

I hope not. You have to have a very nasty fall to stub your tie!

[GoldandBlueBU]

GAC isn't going to beat Bethel.

I don't know- they basically already did!

I could also see BU stubbing their tie against the Cobbers.

I hope not. You have to have a very nasty fall to stub your tie!

[GoldandBlueBU]

Furnace had to come on this morning.

We were gone a couple of days for MEA, and got home yesterday evening to a house that was 65 - the lack of activity and cooking make a big difference I guess!  That led to a house that was 61 this morning, and an edict that we turn on the heat.  Happy wife, happy life.


Non-furnace topic: 

There is a funny theme from the SJU posters of "this team is average" or "this team is bad" or  "this is the worst team in the past 10 years", combined with "the stupid division format is screwing us out of the playoffs!"  Not sure how those statements co-exist.

Completely agree that there isn't a strong national contender in the MIAC this year, and it's creating a bit of a muddled situation...but isn't SJU being down more of the issue than the divisional format being a problem?  A strong SJU team, or any MIAC team that's capable of making a long run in the post-season doesn't barely beat Augsburg, and then lose to Gustavus - so isn't the divisional setup a moot point?

[AO]

Johnnies really can't count themselves out yet.  8-2 with a monster SOS and wins over Bethel and Trinity is likely going to be a very competitive resume.

[MIAC23]

Furnace had to come on this morning.

We were gone a couple of days for MEA, and got home yesterday evening to a house that was 65 - the lack of activity and cooking make a big difference I guess!  That led to a house that was 61 this morning, and an edict that we turn on the heat.  Happy wife, happy life.


Non-furnace topic: 

There is a funny theme from the SJU posters of "this team is average" or "this team is bad" or  "this is the worst team in the past 10 years", combined with "the stupid division format is screwing us out of the playoffs!"  Not sure how those statements co-exist.

Completely agree that there isn't a strong national contender in the MIAC this year, and it's creating a bit of a muddled situation...but isn't SJU being down more of the issue than the divisional format being a problem?  A strong SJU team, or any MIAC team that's capable of making a long run in the post-season doesn't barely beat Augsburg, and then lose to Gustavus - so isn't the divisional setup a moot point?

I was thinking the same thing, but was thoroughly enjoying the meltdowns.

[hazzben]

Johnnies really can't count themselves out yet.  8-2 with a monster SOS and wins over Bethel and Trinity is likely going to be a very competitive resume.

Agreed. The challenge is we are down to 4 Pool C bids this year correct?

[SJU13]

https://x.com/loghanratings/status/1716474088179281930?s=46&t=6oioRYoVO1fAtYidixHaCg - all not lost?

I believe we are 1 more touchdown away from matching last seasons TD allowed total. Not creating more negative plays and allowing teams to cross the goal line seems to be the biggest difference between last year and this year.

[OzJohnnie]

The conference format gives conference champs a great SOS.  Couple that with a strong non-conference schedule and a strong team is golden. It boosts good champs.

Non-champs and muddied champs don't have it so good.

We have looked hard at the format on these boards and it is well understood that if you do well, your post season seeding is excellent and if you can't run the table, but lose only to a strong champ, then you also have a chance.  That's really no different than a full conference schedule. The actual difference is that this format gives winning teams a strong SOS.  If the Erdmann era teams had this format then they may have hosted to the semis.


The Johnnies are off this year. It's not fun. The conference format has nothing to do with it. Win games and you're in.

[sfury]

The conference format gives conference champs a great SOS.  Couple that with a strong non-conference schedule and a strong team is golden. It boosts good champs.

Non-champs and muddied champs don't have it so good.

We have looked hard at the format on these boards and it is well understood that if you do well, your post season seeding is excellent and if you can't run the table, but lose only to a strong champ, then you also have a chance.  That's really no different than a full conference schedule. The actual difference is that this format gives winning teams a strong SOS.  If the Erdmann era teams had this format then they may have hosted to the semis.


The Johnnies are off this year. It's not fun. The conference format has nothing to do with it. Win games and you're in.

Except the Johnnies will very likely end up winning more games than the team that makes the conference title game so seemingly did their job, no? 

For me these two things don't seem to be in conflict:
--Johnnies are slightly down this year (I don't think it's as apocalyptic as others)
--Division format is lunacy.

One has nothing to do with the other. It's just very, very, very strange--from a pure sports setting, based on 150 years of sporting activity and organizing things into "standings" and not having anything to do with the Johnnies being good, average or bad--that you could have a team with two or even three conference losses going to the, er, "conference" title game, over a team with one conference loss. I'd think it's just as goofy no matter the teams with the respective losses.

At the same time, yes, it is what it is and teams know the rules and the formats ahead of time. And if the Johnnies don't make the playoffs I won't think they got screwed in any way. But I will also separately still think the divisional setup is, to use Marshal Biggs' line in The Fugitive, "hinky."

[sfury]

Also adding one note to an earlier post I had that it's okay to miss the playoffs sometimes. Not the end of the world.

The Tommies--during a decade when they set MIAC records and were so dominant they had to be kicked out of the league--missed the playoffs...THREE times. 2013. 2018. 2019.

SJU missing for first time since 2013 would not be the end of the world, even if it makes for a boring Thanksgiving weekend.

[Redtooth]

As the poster that seemingly started the "Divisional" format debate, my comments were not SJU specific as to my criticism.  Having 4 games as the sole determinate to deciding what game slot a particular team plays in week eleven is beyond silly in a ten game schedule.....find me any other team sport at a high school, college or professional level where 40% of the games played count for 100% and the other 60% count for 0%.  The full conference schedule is irrelevant, and that also doesn't exist anyplace else in sports.  Even the BIG10+ that uses divisions (and can't play all the other teams) uses the FULL conference record to award the top team in each division.

Whether these items impact SJU, Bethel, Concordia, GAC or any other team(s), the format in its current form is antithetical to the athletic concepts that governed not just football but all sports for decades.  Let's adopt the same format in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball etc.....

[AO]

As the poster that seemingly started the "Divisional" format debate, my comments were not SJU specific as to my criticism.  Having 4 games as the sole determinate to deciding what game slot a particular team plays in week eleven is beyond silly in a ten game schedule.....find me any other team sport at a high school, college or professional level where 40% of the games played count for 100% and the other 60% count for 0%.  The full conference schedule is irrelevant, and that also doesn't exist anyplace else in sports.  Even the BIG10+ that uses divisions (and can't play all the other teams) uses the FULL conference record to award the top team in each division.

Whether these items impact SJU, Bethel, Concordia, GAC or any other team(s), the format in its current form is antithetical to the athletic concepts that governed not just football but all sports for decades.  Let's adopt the same format in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball etc.....

Does the Big Ten way really make that much more sense? Iowa doesn't have to play Ohio State or Michigan this year why are we comparing their wins and losses with that schedule to the Gophers?

[faunch]

As the poster that seemingly started the "Divisional" format debate, my comments were not SJU specific as to my criticism.  Having 4 games as the sole determinate to deciding what game slot a particular team plays in week eleven is beyond silly in a ten game schedule.....find me any other team sport at a high school, college or professional level where 40% of the games played count for 100% and the other 60% count for 0%.  The full conference schedule is irrelevant, and that also doesn't exist anyplace else in sports.  Even the BIG10+ that uses divisions (and can't play all the other teams) uses the FULL conference record to award the top team in each division.

Whether these items impact SJU, Bethel, Concordia, GAC or any other team(s), the format in its current form is antithetical to the athletic concepts that governed not just football but all sports for decades.  Let's adopt the same format in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball etc.....

Does the Big Ten way really make that much more sense? Iowa doesn't have to play Ohio State or Michigan this year why are we comparing their wins and losses with that schedule to the Gophers?

I agree that both are stupid...conference championship games are a product of D1 where they are payed to make money!!! Having one in MIAC, as Redtooth shared, that is based on 4 games of divisional play is FUBAR. The Johnnies benefited from the format last year as they lost to Bethel during the regular season...and won the conference championship game. It was dumb two years ago, last year and is now.
Play all the teams and on non-conference and be done with it.