2018 Season - National Perspective

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

A little tangential, but why is Hamilton in New England instead of East?  Is UAA the only conference with teams slotted to different regions?

You basically answered your own question. Earlier in this decade, D3 decided to consolidate all of its leagues within one region apiece, with the obvious exception of the UAA. I think that it was an all-sports decision (Dave would know for sure), because I saw it happen in other sports simultaneously.

Yes ... ALL sports for the UAA in multiple regions.

They and the GSAC was given the exception due to the make-up of their conferences across the country (at the time GSAC had a team in Michigan, California, and elsewhere). GSAC dissolved two years later, I believe.

[WUPHF]

UAA Tiebreaker Rules
SECTION 2. Determination of Association Champion

Association teams shall participate in round-robin play, receiving three (3) points for a win, one
(1) point for a tie, and zero (0) points for a loss. The champion shall be the team with the highest
point total at the completion of the round-robin. If tied, co-champions shall be declared.
In the event of a tie for the Association championship, the representative accepting an automatic
bid to the NCAA championship on behalf of the UAA, shall be determined according to the
following criteria (in order):
1) Head-to-head competition between the co-champions
2) Total goal differential up to a maximum of three goals per individual match between the
co-champions
3) Points (Win-3, Tie-1, Loss-0) earned in UAA road games (This step shall only be used if the
co-champions have played the same number of UAA road games, otherwise this step
shall be skipped.)
4) Points (Win-3, Tie-1, Loss-0) earned against succeeding teams in the UAA standings
5) Most wins
6) Fewest goals against
7) Most goals scored (counting up to 3 goals per game)
8) If this process fails to determine a representative, the representative to NCAA postseason competition shall be determined by a coin flip administered by the Executive Director

Resolution of Multiple Ties: In case of ties among three or more teams, the above criteria shall be applied until a representative is determined directly or until one or more teams are eliminated. In the latter case, once one or more teams are eliminated, the process shall be repeated from the
beginning with the criteria applied in order to the remaining tied teams until a representative is determined directly or an additional team(s) is eliminated. If the resolution of a tie between three or more teams proceeds to a coin flip, the coin flip shall be used to eliminate one team, and the process shall be repeated from the beginning with the criteria applied in order to the remaining teams. If the entire round robin schedule cannot be completed and the designated tie-breaking criteria cannot be equitably applied, a committee of all head coaches shall be convened to determine the Association champion(s) and the automatic bid recipient. Any coach whose team may be directly affected by this decision shall be replaced by the athletic director of that institution who shall serve as a non-voting member of the committee.

[Mr.Right]

I like those tiebreakers compared to Nescac...Big fan of the Road record tiebreaker if both teams played the same road games. Not sure about goal differential up to only 3 Goals...Why limit it? Also, Most Goals scored should be ahead of Least Goals allowed...The sport should be promoting goals not the other way around

[1970s NESCAC Player]

I like those tiebreakers compared to Nescac...Big fan of the Road record tiebreaker if both teams played the same road games. Not sure about goal differential up to only 3 Goals...Why limit it? Also, Most Goals scored should be ahead of Least Goals allowed...The sport should be promoting goals not the other way around

The rationale behind making least goals allowed the tie breaker (before most goals scored) is that the GD tiebreaker already rewards goals scored, but I agree that if you are going to limit the GD, that rationale is somewhat nullified.

[Flying Weasel]

A little tangential, but why is Hamilton in New England instead of East?  Is UAA the only conference with teams slotted to different regions?

You basically answered your own question. Earlier in this decade, D3 decided to consolidate all of its leagues within one region apiece, with the obvious exception of the UAA. I think that it was an all-sports decision (Dave would know for sure), because I saw it happen in other sports simultaneously.

Yes ... ALL sports for the UAA in multiple regions.

They and the GSAC was given the exception due to the make-up of their conferences across the country (at the time GSAC had a team in Michigan, California, and elsewhere). GSAC dissolved two years later, I believe.

For a long time the NEAC was split between the Northeast (now East) and Mid-Atlantic regions, but a few years back they put them all in the Mid-Atlantic.  Numbers-wise it made sense to have them split so the two regions had more similar total number of teams.  Without looking it up, I think the change happened when they started adding members outside Pennsylvania and New York (Gallaudet in DC and St. Elizabeth in New Jersey--both geographically part of the South Atlantic), meaning either dividing the conference among three regions or finally bringing them all together into one region.

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

But, yes, unless geography really doesn't allow the teams to be assigned to the same region, they are kept together.

[Buck O.]

I like those tiebreakers compared to Nescac...Big fan of the Road record tiebreaker if both teams played the same road games. Not sure about goal differential up to only 3 Goals...Why limit it? Also, Most Goals scored should be ahead of Least Goals allowed...The sport should be promoting goals not the other way around

If you don't limit the GD, then the tiebreaker can devolve into the question of who hammered the worst team most mercilessly.  Case in point:  in the 2012 Women's U17 World Cup, Group B consisted of the USA, France, North Korea and Gambia.  The games between the first three of those teams were all draws, which meant that the determination of the two teams to advance out of group play was based on GD vs. Gambia.  North Korea beat Gambia 11-0, and France beat Gambia 10-2, while the US "only" beat them 6-0, so the US was eliminated because they didn't annihilate Gambia thoroughly enough.  Not a good way to determine who should advance.

[Buck O.]

UAA Tiebreaker Rules
SECTION 2. Determination of Association Champion

Association teams shall participate in round-robin play, receiving three (3) points for a win, one
(1) point for a tie, and zero (0) points for a loss. The champion shall be the team with the highest
point total at the completion of the round-robin. If tied, co-champions shall be declared.
In the event of a tie for the Association championship, the representative accepting an automatic
bid to the NCAA championship on behalf of the UAA, shall be determined according to the
following criteria (in order):
1) Head-to-head competition between the co-champions
2) Total goal differential up to a maximum of three goals per individual match between the
co-champions
3) Points (Win-3, Tie-1, Loss-0) earned in UAA road games (This step shall only be used if the
co-champions have played the same number of UAA road games, otherwise this step
shall be skipped.)
4) Points (Win-3, Tie-1, Loss-0) earned against succeeding teams in the UAA standings
5) Most wins
6) Fewest goals against
7) Most goals scored (counting up to 3 goals per game)
8) If this process fails to determine a representative, the representative to NCAA postseason competition shall be determined by a coin flip administered by the Executive Director

Resolution of Multiple Ties: In case of ties among three or more teams, the above criteria shall be applied until a representative is determined directly or until one or more teams are eliminated. In the latter case, once one or more teams are eliminated, the process shall be repeated from the
beginning with the criteria applied in order to the remaining tied teams until a representative is determined directly or an additional team(s) is eliminated. If the resolution of a tie between three or more teams proceeds to a coin flip, the coin flip shall be used to eliminate one team, and the process shall be repeated from the beginning with the criteria applied in order to the remaining teams. If the entire round robin schedule cannot be completed and the designated tie-breaking criteria cannot be equitably applied, a committee of all head coaches shall be convened to determine the Association champion(s) and the automatic bid recipient. Any coach whose team may be directly affected by this decision shall be replaced by the athletic director of that institution who shall serve as a non-voting member of the committee.

Thanks for finding this, WUPHF.  I note that FIFA Fair Play points don't figure into it.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

A little tangential, but why is Hamilton in New England instead of East?  Is UAA the only conference with teams slotted to different regions?

You basically answered your own question. Earlier in this decade, D3 decided to consolidate all of its leagues within one region apiece, with the obvious exception of the UAA. I think that it was an all-sports decision (Dave would know for sure), because I saw it happen in other sports simultaneously.

Yes ... ALL sports for the UAA in multiple regions.

They and the GSAC was given the exception due to the make-up of their conferences across the country (at the time GSAC had a team in Michigan, California, and elsewhere). GSAC dissolved two years later, I believe.

For a long time the NEAC was split between the Northeast (now East) and Mid-Atlantic regions, but a few years back they put them all in the Mid-Atlantic.  Numbers-wise it made sense to have them split so the two regions had more similar total number of teams.  Without looking it up, I think the change happened when they started adding members outside Pennsylvania and New York (Goucher in DC and St. Elizabeth in New Jersey--both geographically part of the South Atlantic), meaning either dividing the conference among three regions or finally bringing them all together into one region.

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

But, yes, unless geography really doesn't allow the teams to be assigned to the same region, they are kept together.

Depends on the sport. NEAC is in the East Region in basketball - they had been part of the East and Mid-Atlantic and maybe the Atlantic at one point. But the idea was to get all conferences in one region. AMCC was split between the East and Great Lakes in basketball... now it is all Great Lakes. CAC in MBB was in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Atlantic in WBB ... when the Landmark formed, they left the schools where they were and that resulted in MBB being in the Mid-Atlantic and the women being split into both Mid-Atlantic and Atlantic.

Um... Goucher isn't in DC and was never part of the NEAC. Do you mean Gallaudet?

At one point, also, in basketball the Mid-Atlantic was nearly double the Atlantic. The East was incredibly small. So they also wanted to even things off.

And yes, other sports and conference splits were also a headache... thus why the massive conference and regional alignments were made nearly ten years ago.

FYI - there could be some new changes coming in the next few years, but it is too early to say.

The biggest reason for these changes, btw, was to keep conference opponents from being "at the table" at the same time. We had a famous moment before the changes when Catholic women's basketball was at the table at the same time as, eventually, three of it's conference mates in the other region. The idea is that conferences should be in the same region and not have that happen whenever possible. UAA is an understandable exception. ACAA (new conference) is the only one where things have been a little bit more confusing. I actually have to check to see how Thomas More will be treated in basketball this year.

[Flying Weasel]

For a long time the NEAC was split between the Northeast (now East) and Mid-Atlantic regions, but a few years back they put them all in the Mid-Atlantic.  Numbers-wise it made sense to have them split so the two regions had more similar total number of teams.  Without looking it up, I think the change happened when they started adding members outside Pennsylvania and New York (Goucher in DC and St. Elizabeth in New Jersey--both geographically part of the South Atlantic), meaning either dividing the conference among three regions or finally bringing them all together into one region.

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

But, yes, unless geography really doesn't allow the teams to be assigned to the same region, they are kept together.

Um... Goucher isn't in DC and was never part of the NEAC. Do you mean Gallaudet?

Yes, both start with "G" and I typed the wrong one.

[Flying Weasel]

A little tangential, but why is Hamilton in New England instead of East?  Is UAA the only conference with teams slotted to different regions?

You basically answered your own question. Earlier in this decade, D3 decided to consolidate all of its leagues within one region apiece, with the obvious exception of the UAA. I think that it was an all-sports decision (Dave would know for sure), because I saw it happen in other sports simultaneously.

Yes ... ALL sports for the UAA in multiple regions.

They and the GSAC was given the exception due to the make-up of their conferences across the country (at the time GSAC had a team in Michigan, California, and elsewhere). GSAC dissolved two years later, I believe.

For a long time the NEAC was split between the Northeast (now East) and Mid-Atlantic regions, but a few years back they put them all in the Mid-Atlantic.  Numbers-wise it made sense to have them split so the two regions had more similar total number of teams.  Without looking it up, I think the change happened when they started adding members outside Pennsylvania and New York (Goucher in DC and St. Elizabeth in New Jersey--both geographically part of the South Atlantic), meaning either dividing the conference among three regions or finally bringing them all together into one region.

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

But, yes, unless geography really doesn't allow the teams to be assigned to the same region, they are kept together.

Depends on the sport. NEAC is in the East Region in basketball - they had been part of the East and Mid-Atlantic and maybe the Atlantic at one point. But the idea was to get all conferences in one region. AMCC was split between the East and Great Lakes in basketball... now it is all Great Lakes. CAC in MBB was in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Atlantic in WBB ... when the Landmark formed, they left the schools where they were and that resulted in MBB being in the Mid-Atlantic and the women being split into both Mid-Atlantic and Atlantic.

Um... Goucher isn't in DC and was never part of the NEAC. Do you mean Gallaudet?

At one point, also, in basketball the Mid-Atlantic was nearly double the Atlantic. The East was incredibly small. So they also wanted to even things off.

And yes, other sports and conference splits were also a headache... thus why the massive conference and regional alignments were made nearly ten years ago.

FYI - there could be some new changes coming in the next few years, but it is too early to say.

Yes, I was referring to the regional alignments for men's and women's soccer since that's the forum we are in.  But, yes, how many regions there are, what their names are and what geographical area they roughly cover, and conferences'/teams' regional assignments vary from sport to sport.

[Shooter McGavin]

Shooter, even with 2 straight losses? I figured 1 loss deserved a drop to #5 and the second at least down to #8.

And I forgot to slot Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Redlands somewhere in the RV category.  I'm sure I missed a couple of other notables as well.

Oh yeah! 8-1-1 RvR has a lot to do with that 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

A little tangential, but why is Hamilton in New England instead of East?  Is UAA the only conference with teams slotted to different regions?

You basically answered your own question. Earlier in this decade, D3 decided to consolidate all of its leagues within one region apiece, with the obvious exception of the UAA. I think that it was an all-sports decision (Dave would know for sure), because I saw it happen in other sports simultaneously.

Yes ... ALL sports for the UAA in multiple regions.

They and the GSAC was given the exception due to the make-up of their conferences across the country (at the time GSAC had a team in Michigan, California, and elsewhere). GSAC dissolved two years later, I believe.

For a long time the NEAC was split between the Northeast (now East) and Mid-Atlantic regions, but a few years back they put them all in the Mid-Atlantic.  Numbers-wise it made sense to have them split so the two regions had more similar total number of teams.  Without looking it up, I think the change happened when they started adding members outside Pennsylvania and New York (Goucher in DC and St. Elizabeth in New Jersey--both geographically part of the South Atlantic), meaning either dividing the conference among three regions or finally bringing them all together into one region.

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

But, yes, unless geography really doesn't allow the teams to be assigned to the same region, they are kept together.

Depends on the sport. NEAC is in the East Region in basketball - they had been part of the East and Mid-Atlantic and maybe the Atlantic at one point. But the idea was to get all conferences in one region. AMCC was split between the East and Great Lakes in basketball... now it is all Great Lakes. CAC in MBB was in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Atlantic in WBB ... when the Landmark formed, they left the schools where they were and that resulted in MBB being in the Mid-Atlantic and the women being split into both Mid-Atlantic and Atlantic.

Um... Goucher isn't in DC and was never part of the NEAC. Do you mean Gallaudet?

At one point, also, in basketball the Mid-Atlantic was nearly double the Atlantic. The East was incredibly small. So they also wanted to even things off.

And yes, other sports and conference splits were also a headache... thus why the massive conference and regional alignments were made nearly ten years ago.

FYI - there could be some new changes coming in the next few years, but it is too early to say.

Yes, I was referring to the regional alignments for men's and women's soccer since that's the forum we are in.  But, yes, how many regions there are, what their names are and what geographical area they roughly cover, and conferences'/teams' regional assignments vary from sport to sport.

Yep... that's why I mentioned the basketball references. I am fully aware there are a lot of different regional alignments ... though, I am also aware they tried to make it more universal (fell a little short, IMHO). I will be interested to see what changes are suggested and implemented the next go around ... though, I know it won't be nearly as major an overhaul.

[Gregory Sager]

Also, the old SCAC used to have teams in different regions.  Of course, that was before a chunk broke away to form the SAA and back under the previous regional alignment that had them primarily as part of the Central Region.  The exceptions to the Central Region assignment were DePauw in the Great Lakes, Colorado in the West, and Birmingham Southern in the South (now South Atlantic after merger with part of the old Metro region).

Wasn't Rose-Hulman in the Great Lakes as well? RHIT was a SCAC member, too.

[PaulNewman]

There has been some back and forth and comments about whether coaches understand the process, might be upset with the cmtes, etc relative to Regional Rankings/Pool Cs.......

Adrian Dubois, St Joe's coach IS ON THE NEW ENGLAND cmte!  Serpone from Amherst is the chair as has been mentioned for New England.  In addition to Dubois from St. Joe's, members in New England include Shapiro from Tufts, Margolis from Brandeis, and the WPI coach.

I will say that reading the names on the cmtes can cause a chill, especially when you see names of coaches that you have a hunch really don't like your team's coach and/or are coaches of teams very likely to be in the middle of very close calls with your team.

NEW ENGLAND REGION
Justin Serpone, chair Amherst NESCAC
Jake Beverlin Massachusetts Boston Little East
Adrian Dubois Saint Joseph’s (Maine) Great Northeast
Gabe Margolis Brandeis University
Bettiann Michalik Fitchburg State MASCAC
Bill Maddock Newbury College NECC
Josh Shapiro Tufts NESCAC
Billy Shannon Maine Maritime North Atlantic
KiKi Jacobs Roger Williams Commonwealth Coast
Brian Kelley WPI NEWMAC

[PaulNewman]

MEN'S SOCCER

CENTRAL REGION
Marc Colwell, chair Illinois Institute of Technology Northern Athletics
Sheila Morrigan Michigan Intercol. Michigan Intercol.
Adam Boyer Spalding SLIAC
Nicole Pieart Aurora Northern Athletics
Derek Marie Carroll (Wisconsin) CCIW

EAST REGION
Kevin Brenner, chair Elmira Empire 8
Kyle Dezotell Ithaca Liberty League
Dima Kamenshchik Baruch CUNYAC
Tom Azzara Farmingdale State Skyline
Tracy Blake Alfred Empire 8
Adam Parker SUNY Potsdam SUNYAC

GREAT LAKES REGION
Brandon Bianco, chair Case Western Reserve University
Nathan Whitehurst Pittsburgh-Bradford Allegheny Mountain CC
Brad Heethius Waynesburg Presidents' AC
Chris Keller Wabash North Coast
Matt Vogel Transylvania University Heartland Collegiate
Alan Yost Capital OAC

MID-ATLANTIC REGION
Kenneth Andrews, chair Middle Atlantic Middle Atlantic Conferences
Craig Appleby Johns Hopkins Centennial
Tim Hollenback Neumann Atlantic East
Kyle Keltner Clarks Summit Colonial States
Joe Machado Cobleskill State NEAC
Matthew Pivirotto University of Scranton Landmark
Casey Moore Alvernia MAC Commonwealth
Mark Bassett King's (Pennsylvania) MAC Freedom

NEW ENGLAND REGION
Justin Serpone, chair Amherst NESCAC
Jake Beverlin Massachusetts Boston Little East
Adrian Dubois Saint Joseph's (Maine) Great Northeast
Gabe Margolis Brandeis University
Bettiann Michalik Fitchburg State MASCAC
Bill Maddock Newbury College NECC
Josh Shapiro Tufts NESCAC
Billy Shannon Maine Maritime North Atlantic
KiKi Jacobs Roger Williams Commonwealth Coast
Brian Kelley WPI NEWMAC

NORTH REGION
Joe Mooney, chair Wisconsin-Superior Upper Midwest
Enzo Fuschino Wisconsin-Platteville Independent
Sara Eisenhauer Upper Midwest Upper Midwest
Brad Johnson Dubuque American Rivers
Nate Grosse Cornell College Midwest
Jon Lowery St. Thomas (Minnesota) Minnesota Intercol.

SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION
Dan Gilmore, chair Rowan NJAC
Evan Scheffey York (Pennsylvania) CAC
Ryan Pflugrad Roanoke Old Dominion
Todd Tumelty Montclair State NJAC
Richard Vardy Berry SAA
Jimmy Stephens Piedmont USA South

WEST REGION
David Hoffmann, chair Dallas Southern Collegiate
Dan Heger Hardin-Simmons American Southwest
Timothy Demant Whitworth Northwest
Matt Edwards Claremont-Mudd-Scripps SCIAC
Scott Palguta Colorado College Southern Collegiate