MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Very curious how the NCAA will handle the situation.

I'm far from a volleyball expert, but maybe they'll leave 2 spots open.  One for the MIAA AQ and one for a pool C bid.  In looing at the records, it seems like either Calvin or Hope could be taken as a Pool C team.

I would agree that given the team's records, that seems like a reasonable approach

[oldknight]

Sac:  You might be right.  Looking at the NCAA 3 book it is hard to tell, but have an AQ from MIAA, and than pool C.  My guess is if they do it your way Hope gets in as pool C.

Hope would be tragically short strawed if they lose out on hosting AND participating in the tournament. Hopefully, the committee would be made fully aware of the incredibly strange circumstances and put Hope in as a Pool C.

I'm surprised they are able to force Hope to cancel away athletic events. Half the team probably lives off campus and I'd suspect the majority of cases by far are underclassmen in dorms or those who eat at the cafeterias. If it wasn't 5:15 it'd be an interesting legal issue.

I believe the legal doctrine of promissory estoppel applies.

All legal jokes aside, this unfortunate happening puts everyone--Hope, the other tournament participants, the MIAA, and the NCAA--in a tough spot. With the making of selections Sunday, the NCAA can plug in the still unknown MIAA automatic conference qualifer into their grid, but how can the NCAA possibly reserve a spot for an at-large participant when the MIAA has not yet completed its conference tournament? What if either--or both--Calvin and Hope get upset in the semifinals? Wouldn't that have an effect on the likelihood of those two schools getting at large bids? I don't see how the NCAA can reserve two at-large spots until Tuesday night's results are in.

Also, what if the health department's mandatory closure of Hope's campus is not lifted Tuesday? Obviously, the MIAA commissioner could order the use of another site to complete the conference tournament, but how would a continuing closure affect the ability of Hope's volleyball team to participate? 

[northb]

Very curious how the NCAA will handle the situation.

I'm far from a volleyball expert, but maybe they'll leave 2 spots open.  One for the MIAA AQ and one for a pool C bid.  In looing at the records, it seems like either Calvin or Hope could be taken as a Pool C team.

Although I can see this from the MIAA's and Hope's point of view, but consider what another team outside of the MIAA would think about leaving a bid open that they could have had.  Make the decision with the information that you have, and that will be that.

[gohope]

Very curious how the NCAA will handle the situation.

I'm far from a volleyball expert, but maybe they'll leave 2 spots open.  One for the MIAA AQ and one for a pool C bid.  In looing at the records, it seems like either Calvin or Hope could be taken as a Pool C team.

I would agree that given the team's records, that seems like a reasonable approach

Ahhhh... but then we're dealing with the NCAA and "reasonable" should never be used in the same sentence!!! (Never Could Analyze Anything!)  

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Very curious how the NCAA will handle the situation.

I'm far from a volleyball expert, but maybe they'll leave 2 spots open.  One for the MIAA AQ and one for a pool C bid.  In looing at the records, it seems like either Calvin or Hope could be taken as a Pool C team.

Although I can see this from the MIAA's and Hope's point of view, but consider what another team outside of the MIAA would think about leaving a bid open that they could have had.  Make the decision with the information that you have, and that will be that.

I agree - and at this point you have two teams - Calvin & Hope - that are ranked regionally by the NCAA, and meet the criteria for selection.  The NCAA should simply ignore the games that are going to happen on Tuesday.

[northb]

Shades of J. Wellington Wimpy!

[realist]

FDF:  I think you have it right.  From reading the info on the NCAA D3 volleyball site the conferences with AQ'a must notify the NCAA by midnight tonight.  If the MIAA can not or does not submit an AQ than the NCAA may very well treat the situation as no AQ, and select either Hope and/or Calvin as a pool C.  In this case neither Hope or Calvin is negatively impacted, but should Alma or Adrian pull of several upsets in the tourney they have no recourse.

[hope81]

Unfortunately, the way things stand at this moment, the NCAA is only committing to keeping one spot open for the MIAA AQ.  This means that either Hope or Calvin (or both if an upset happens), will be very unhappy.

[realist]

H81:  I agree with what you are saying.  Until the deadline for submitting the MIAA's AQ team closes it makes sense the NCAA has no comment.  However, once the MIAA fails to submit an AQ team the NCAA no longer is holding anything for the MIAA.  Hope and Calvin according to my understanding of the rules both meet the criteria to be eligible for pool C.  With the failure of the MIAA to name an Aq qualifier it actually opens up one more slot for a pool C team.

[northb]

H81:  I agree with what you are saying.  Until the deadline for submitting the MIAA's AQ team closes it makes sense the NCAA has no comment.  However, once the MIAA fails to submit an AQ team the NCAA no longer is holding anything for the MIAA.  Hope and Calvin according to my understanding of the rules both meet the criteria to be eligible for pool C.  With the failure of the MIAA to name an Aq qualifier it actually opens up one more slot for a pool C team.

I would think that the MIAA folks are aware of what the rules say and are willing to take that option, rather than trying to switch the tournament this weekend, and essentially exclude Hope from the competition.

[calvin_grad]

FDF:  I think you have it right.  From reading the info on the NCAA D3 volleyball site the conferences with AQ'a must notify the NCAA by midnight tonight.  If the MIAA can not or does not submit an AQ than the NCAA may very well treat the situation as no AQ, and select either Hope and/or Calvin as a pool C.  In this case neither Hope or Calvin is negatively impacted, but should Alma or Adrian pull of several upsets in the tourney they have no recourse.

Could the MIAA name the regular season champion the AQ?  The MIAA website says "The automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament will be determined by a combination of regular season and conference tournament results.", so I'm not sure how they get around it.  Interesting dilemma nonetheless.

[NW Hope Fan]

Can't they just "disinfect" the Hope volleyball team???

[hope81]

Well, good news for the Hope volleyball team.  The MIAA was going to postpone naming the AQ until after the tournament on Tuesday, but the NCAA says they needed the name on Sunday.  So according to the MIAA manual, the regular season winner (Hope) is the AQ.  I would expect that Calvin will get a pool C bid as well.  This means the tournament will likely be cancelled.  Check the Hope website to be sure.

[sac]

Update on the volleyball drama........from the MIAA's website.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced Saturday that it has canceled the MIAA volleyball tournament, which had initially been postponed until Tuesday, Nov. 11.


Commissioner David Neilson announced the cancellation after consulting with the NCAA, which had initially allowed an exception to its requirement that the MIAA's automatic qualifier be determined by Sunday's deadline. After revisiting the matter, the NCAA determined that the MIAA must abide by the original timeline.

"As a result of the virus at Hope College, which has now led to the cancellation of the tournament, as per written policy, the automatic qualifier is awarded to the regular season champion, Hope College," Neilson said.

The NCAA is expected to announce its pairings for the Division III volleyball tournament on Sunday, Nov. 9.

[wiz]

How does one navigate from here to the men's basketball site?