D3 Championship Belt

sac · February 13, 2008, 12:19:03 AM

In case anyone was wondering, the b*lt is still in New York.

Carnegie Mellon and Rochester get their shots this week in the Big Apple.

Mr. Ypsi · February 13, 2008, 12:48:13 AM

While I doubt that the Violets could go unscathed in a gauntlet of CM, Rochester, @Chicago, @WashU, and @Brandeis, the possiblility exists that a 10-4 UAA, and 17-6 NYU could miss the post-season. Is a crisis team up and running in case the b*lt is not up for grabs in the tourney?

pabegg · February 13, 2008, 06:56:42 AM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on February 13, 2008, 12:48:13 AM
While I doubt that the Violets could go unscathed in a gauntlet of CM, Rochester, @Chicago, @WashU, and @Brandeis, the possiblility exists that a 10-4 UAA, and 17-6 NYU could miss the post-season. Is a crisis team up and running in case the b*lt is not up for grabs in the tourney?

I believe the established protocol is that the UAA champion would carry the belt into the NCAAs. But could NYU take another copy into the ECACs?

Gregory Sager · February 13, 2008, 07:37:20 AM

No, my understanding of the established protocol is that the Belt^TM resides with whichever team won it until another team takes it away fair and square. Taking it away because that team does not appear in the tournament and giving it to the champion or tourney representative of that team's conference is not fair and square, since the Belt^TM-holding team didn't lose it to a discrete opponent in a game of basketball.

Also, your way makes the Belt^TM subservient to the dictates of the selection committee and to the process of a specific set of games (the tournament). That's like saying that Bruno Sammartino should've had his WWWF belt taken away from him in the mid-'70s because he missed several cards while recovering from a broken neck. Heresy!

When I composed the history of Belt^TM holders last year it included at least one instance in which the Belt^TM was retained over the off-season by a team that did not make the tournament. So be it. If the Belt^TM holder isn't in the tournament, then the Belt^TM holder isn't in the tournament. Simple as that. Other squads will just have to wait until next November to have an opportunity to snatch yon bespangled abdominal accoutrement from its current owner. You shouldn't be able to take away the Belt^TM by selection committee fiat. You should only be able to take it away the fair-and-square way: By beating the Belt^TM holder on the basketball court.

pabegg · February 13, 2008, 08:54:23 AM

My memory failed me - actually the proposal that had been made a while back was that the last Belt holder who made the tournament got to defend the Belt in the tournament.

So that would be Rochester, after DQ'ing NYU and Emory.

Or, there could be no Belt defenses until the Walnut and Bronze holder is crowned - now this sounds much more like a boxing approach. Cart the unworn belt around to as many venues as possible in the tournament, build a prominent display case to hold it at Salem, and then bring it out after the title game. Heck, you could even invite NYU to be there for the handover.

I'm still intrigued by the idea of the Belt in the ECACs, where NYU would be qualified for.

Anyway, this is probably silliness, because I think NYU will lose one game (likely) or make the tournament with five more wins.

Pat Coleman · February 13, 2008, 07:48:48 PM

Quote from: pabegg on February 13, 2008, 08:54:23 AM
Anyway, this is probably silliness,

More true words have not been spoken on this topic in quite some time.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) · February 13, 2008, 08:28:37 PM

Sager's right. The belt stays with the team even if it doesn't make the tournament. The belt was created to measure success in a different way, putting it into the tournament defeats that purpose.

NYU has it for now; they may have it until November.

Just Bill · February 14, 2008, 10:18:49 AM

Yes, yes. The Belt^TM may only change hands in one of two ways:

1. By losing on the court to another D-III opponent.

2. By the head coach dramatically dropping the Belt^TM into a garbage can, therefore setting up a "Royal Rumble" where 20 teams simultaneously attempt to score baskets while preventing the other opponents from climbing a ladder where the Belt^TM is suspended high overhead.

#1 is far more common, but #2 is a LOT more fun.

That's it. That's the list.

hickory_cornhusker · February 14, 2008, 10:44:50 AM

If I was a head coach and my team had the belt I would have to fight the urge to not drop the belt in the garbage just so I can watch the Royal Rumble

Greek Tragedy · February 14, 2008, 06:20:41 PM

Knowing the fate of the belt will help me sleep tonight.

Gregory Sager · February 15, 2008, 02:42:28 AM

Question of procedure, Bill: Are players allowed to hit each other with folding chairs in the event of a Royal Rumble?

Just Bill · February 15, 2008, 10:57:22 AM

Yes, but they must use the padded side of the chair. We're not animals, after all.

And of course, NCAA sponsorship agreements dictate that chairs may only have Coca-Cola or Powerade logos. Don't you dare swing that Mountain Dew chair!

smedindy · February 15, 2008, 02:01:17 PM

Ah, actually during the royal rumble, players will be given time to make socratic arguments on why their team should have the belt, and then summarize Proust.

sac · February 15, 2008, 03:10:33 PM

Quote from: Just Bill on February 15, 2008, 10:57:22 AM
Yes, but they must use the padded side of the chair. We're not animals, after all.

And of course, NCAA sponsorship agreements dictate that chairs may only have Coca-Cola or Powerade logos. Don't you dare swing that Mountain Dew chair!

Hope's out!

Greek Tragedy · February 15, 2008, 04:07:21 PM

Interviewer asking a professional wrestler:

"What are those metal folding chairs made of?"