D3 Championship Belt

[Superfoot Wallace]

Prefer Kate Mansfield to James Joyce. 

signed,
the Vicar

[Just Bill]

Down goes Macon!  Down goes Macon!  Bridgewater scores the victory by a split decision 65-63 on the Yellow Jackets home canvas.  Bridgewater becomes the 6th different team to hold the Division III Championship Belt^TM this season.  Bridgewater's first defense of the Belt^TM comes against a team that's already held the leather once this year.

Nov. 17-Nov. 27 - Virginia Wesleyan
Nov. 27-Jan. 2 - Averett
Jan. 2-Jan. 7 - Guilford
Jan. 7-Jan. 27 - Virginia Wesleyan
Jan. 27-Jan. 28 - Emory & Henry
Jan. 28-Feb. 7 - Randolph-Macon
Feb. 7-Current - Bridgewater (Va.)

Next Championship Belt match:   Guilford at Bridgewater (Va.), Saturday.

P.S.  Current D-I Belt holder:  Furman (which is either a college in Greenville, SC or just a dude who likes to wear mink.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

I hereby predict that Guilford will hold the belt until the ODAC tourney.  At that time Va Wes will probably recapture it for the third time (though Guilford just might win that game), but neither will retain it past the sectional of the national tourney.

[TeeDub]

Current D-I Belt holder:  Furman (which is either a college in Greenville, SC or just a dude who likes to wear mink.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

O.J. comes to mind as well

[Gregory Sager]

Out of curiosity, I went back to see how the Belt would've traveled if it had started out with defending D3 champion Otterbein at the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the first season linked in the schedule pages on this site. Here's how it would've traveled since then:

Otterbein
* Lost to Tri-State, 11/22/02

Tri-State
* Lost to Albion, 11/23/02

Albion
* Lost to Ohio Northern, 11/30/02

Ohio Northern
* Lost to Hanover, 12/1/02

Hanover
* Lost to Franklin, 1/4/03

Franklin
* Lost to Manchester, 1/15/03

Manchester
* Lost to Anderson, 2/5/03

Anderson
* Lost to Bluffton, 2/8/03

Bluffton
* Lost to Franklin, 2/12/03

Franklin
* Lost to Anderson, 2/17/03

Anderson
* Lost to Transylvania, 2/19/03

Transylvania
INELIGIBLE FOR D3 TOURNAMENT (PROVISIONAL SCHOOL)
RETAINS BELT INTO 03-04 SEASON
* Lost to UW-Whitewater, 11/21/03

UW-Whitewater
* Lost to UW-River Falls, 1/3/04

UW-River Falls
* Lost to UW-Platteville, 1/17/04

UW-Platteville
* Lost to UW-Whitewater, 1/28/04

UW-Whitewater
* Lost to UW-Stevens Point, 2/10/04

UW-Stevens Point
WON D3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RETAINS BELT INTO 04-05 SEASON
* Lost to UW-Whitewater, 1/4/05

UW-Whitewater
* Lost to UW-Eau Claire, 1/11/05

UW-Eau Claire
* Lost to UW-Stout, 1/15/05

UW-Stout
* Lost to UW-Platteville, 1/19/05

UW-Platteville
* Lost to UW-River Falls, 2/12/05

UW-River Falls
* Lost to UW-Stevens Point, 2/16/05

UW-Stevens Point
* Lost to UW-Oshkosh, 2/19/05

UW-Oshkosh
* Lost to UW-Stevens Point, 2/24/05

UW-Stevens Point
WON D3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RETAINS BELT INTO 05-06 SEASON
* Lost to Lakeland, 11/26/05

Lakeland
* Lost to Wisconsin Lutheran, 12/6/05

Wisconsin Lutheran
* Lost to Dominican, 12/10/05

Dominican
* Lost to Southwestern, 12/29/05

Southwestern
* Lost to Trinity (TX), 2/3/06

Trinity (TX)
* Lost to Rhodes, 2/24/06

Rhodes
* Lost to DePauw, 2/25/06

DePauw
* Lost to UW-Whitewater, 3/3/06

UW-Whitewater
* Lost to Illinois Wesleyan, 3/4/06

Illinois Wesleyan
* Lost to Virginia Wesleyan, 3/17/06

Virginia Wesleyan
WON D3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RETAINS BELT INTO 06-07 SEASON

... and thus the Belt travels onward to its current home in Bridgewater.

I don't know what's funnier: The idea that the Belt would have been denied to national champion Williams in March, '03 because it was held by a school (Transylvania) that was ineligible for the tournament; or the idea that the huge upset of two-time defending national champion UWSP last season by lowly Lakeland meant that the Belt was making the rounds in the lightly-regarded and now-defunct Lake Michigan Conference for over a month.

[Greek Tragedy]

I think it's interesting that one conference held it for two full calender years.

[Gregory Sager]

I think it's interesting that one conference held it for two full calender years.

It's pretty predictable, actually, that if it goes into the WIAC it isn't likely to come out again for awhile. WIAC teams rarely lose non-conference games. It just so happened that this stretch coincided with the two UWSP national titles.

That's what makes it so funny that, when it finally did come out of the grasp of the WIAC, it came out into the hands of humble Lakeland College.

[David Collinge]

Two years bouncing around Wisconsin, we're lucky the Belt didn't choose to just strangle itself. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Two years bouncing around Wisconsin, we're lucky the Belt didn't choose to just strangle itself.

Here, here!



(Says the guy who's never actually been to Wisconsin)

[Mr. Ypsi]

Clearly two new rules must be instituted if the d3 Championship Belt^TM is to become the revered institution we all long for:

1.  How can it be a Championship Belt if the champion does not win it?  Henceforth, if at the commencement of the national tournament the holder is ineligible for (or does not make) the tourney, the belt reverts to the last previous holder who is in the field (sorry, Transy; belated apologies, Williams).

2.  Belt holders are limited to d3 teams in good standing.  Otherwise we run the risk that a school from a different division (or organization) may cop the belt and it may be years before we even get a crack at winning back our own Belt.  Imagine the shame if our Belt were lost to a d1, then made the rounds of teams who never even PLAY a d3 school - oh, the humanity! 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

No way, Ypsi.  If we're really copying boxing, the best fighters have to work really hard to get the belts and their constantly in the posession of inferior fighters.  You have to beat the holder to win the belt. 

The d3 only rule was already in effect.

[diehardfan]

yeah, but provisional D3 shouldn't count as DIII!!!

[smedindy]

Hmmm...I dunno about that. I think the more the merrier, as long as they are D-3 or on the way to be D-3.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I say we go with the third and fourth years only, but still provisional should count at some point.

[Greek Tragedy]

That's what makes it so funny that, when it finally did come out of the grasp of the WIAC, it came out into the hands of humble Lakeland College.

Unfortunately, Swampgoon and I were there to witness that fiasco...though Lakeland did play really well.