NPI Rankings 2024

[kansas hokie]

Good find, WIAC not having an auto-bid won't affect the bracket with the strength of that conference, but it does clear up the 42/22 split. Thank you, that manual helps.

[eaglesoccerdad]

page 45 of the manual shows the WIAC having an AQ

[jsr]

I think page 45 is the women's list.

[oacalum]

Yes, page 45 is the women's. WIAC men are on page 36.

[eaglesoccerdad]

my bad

[Crossit4fun]

Adjusted my sheet to 43 AQ, thank you!

Important bubble games tonight 11/6....

Virginia Wesleyan / Washington & Lee - VA Wesleyan is in right now at 35, but a loss or even a tie will likely see them drop out of an at-large spot. W&L is at 30 so carries some risk as well. Two teams battling for conference final bid but also having real implications for their NCAA chances.

SUNY Oneonta / SUNY Cortland - Cortland (28) is likely in but no guarantees as it's a new NPI world. Oneonta (46) is much simpler, they have to win for their season to continue.

previewing tomorrow (11/7)...

Augsburg / St. Olaf - does Augsburg jump up and take an at-large with a win here?
Redlands vs. Chapman - same here for Redlands have to win to jump up

Both Augsburg and Redlands still likely need to win their final to stay up though. 

SUNYAC
Cortland wins over Oneonta in PK's so goes down as a tie..
Buff state wins over New Paltz

[kansas hokie]

Washington & Lee gets the win over VA Wesleyan, likely dropping VA Wesleyan out of at-large spot tomorrow. No bid stolen in ODAC as W&L and Lynchburg are in the final and both are likely in regardless of the outcome.

[LibbyMoore]

I know that Middlebury is looking like the top seed but it seems like it would make sense to use another host location since they are pretty far removed from any other school

Yes, how important is rank in the decision? So many New York schools for example could pull in even Midwest schools to a pod.

[eaglesoccerdad]

Geographical is stated as a factor in the manual but ranking is not. In reality I am not sure how ranking cannot be a factor. I like that they state that a grass field is preferred - not sure how many NESCAC teams play on grass other than Amherst.


CRITERIA
The Division III Championships Committee has prioritized the site-selection criteria in the following order for Division III
championships:
1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations.
2. Geographical location (including such factors as rotation of sites, weather conditions, accessibility and
transportation costs).
3. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to assure fiscal responsibility.
4. Hosts will be selected based on meeting the minimum hosting requirements and maintaining geographic proximity.
Seeding may be a consideration when selecting hosts but is not determinative.
In addition, the soccer committees include the following site-selection deliberations:
● Preference is given to grass/grass-like surfaces; and
● The potential host must have played the majority of its home games on the field it is submitting for
consideration.

[kansas hokie]

New team list based on 11/6 NPI can be found at the link below. Updated last teams in/out and games left as well.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FFmaYk8mMaNjCnoyEG0-j1kaN0vF_-3E7uYYmTeNUI4/edit?usp=sharing

[kansas hokie]

Bubble watch...

Tonight...

Augsburg / St. Olaf - Augsburg needs to win to have a chance at at-large, loss likely knocks them out. Conference semifinal.

Redlands / Chapman - Redlands first team out right now, conference semifinal.

Tomorrow preview of important bubble games...

Oglethorpe / Sewanee
Muhlenberg / F&M
Centre / Rhodes

[Ron Boerger]

Geographical is stated as a factor in the manual but ranking is not. In reality I am not sure how ranking cannot be a factor. I like that they state that a grass field is preferred - not sure how many NESCAC teams play on grass other than Amherst.


CRITERIA
The Division III Championships Committee has prioritized the site-selection criteria in the following order for Division III championships:
1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations.
2. Geographical location (including such factors as rotation of sites, weather conditions, accessibility and
transportation costs).
3. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to assure fiscal responsibility.
4. Hosts will be selected based on meeting the minimum hosting requirements and maintaining geographic proximity.
Seeding may be a consideration when selecting hosts but is not determinative.
In addition, the soccer committees include the following site-selection deliberations:
● Preference is given to grass/grass-like surfaces; and
● The potential host must have played the majority of its home games on the field it is submitting for
consideration.

It's stated in the Pre-Championships manual, pp. 20-21:

Section 2•5 Bracketing Principles (Pairings)

The following bracketing principles will be in effect for the next two years (2024-25 and 2025-26) to assess its financial impact and success in protecting top-seeded teams.

1. Protection of top-eight seeded teams in the bracket.
In brackets greater than 32 teams, teams will be protected based on the seed lines of No. 1s and No. 2s (based on NPI ranking at the time of selection).

a. NPI rank 1-4 will be No. 1s. NPI rank 5-8 will be No. 2s.
b. No. 1s and No. 2s will be bracketed based on quarterfinal matchups providing a possibility that the top eight (8) teams could each advance to the round of eight.
c. No. 1s and No. 2s will be paired in the quarterfinals based on current bracketing principles (i.e., geographic proximity is maintained).
Brackets will be built outward based on protecting the quarterfinal matchups that will protect No. 1s and No. 2s while maintaining geographic proximity.

2. Remaining teams will continue to be grouped in clusters according to natural geographic proximity. Teams shall then be paired according to geographic proximity. A team may be moved to numerically balance the bracket if geographic proximity is maintained. Teams shall be paired and eligible according to geographic proximity (within 500 miles). An exception may be granted when there are not enough teams within the 500-mile radius to fill the region. Geographic proximity shall take precedence over seeding for teams below the top-8 seeds.

3. Teams from the same conference shall not play one another in the first round.

4. The highest-seeded team that meets all selection criteria shall be selected as the host institutions, provided that geographic proximity is maintained and they meet all site selection criteria.
The top team on the bracket is the designated home team and will wear the light (white) colored jersey.

Stated more succinctly, after the 1s and 2s are set, ranking is used for the rest of the bracket - as long as geographic proximity can be preserved.

[LibbyMoore]

Sorry for being so dense--what are the color blocks and how does this translate to brackets? Thank you for sharing this!

I put together a hypothetical bracket (with no adjustments) using today's NPI, will be easy to update as NPI changes. Let me know how to make it better. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FFmaYk8mMaNjCnoyEG0-j1kaN0vF_-3E7uYYmTeNUI4/edit?usp=sharing

[kansas hokie]

Sorry for the confusion. The yellow is for the top 8 seeds as those are the "protected" seeds that can't meet in the bracket before the quarterfinals.

The next green are the ones that should have a right to host, but may not due to conflicts with women's team having priority, not bidding to host, or some other reason. Still, green are the rest of the "1 seeds" in a 4 team pod.

Light blue are the 2 seeds for a pod, dark blue are 3 seeds, and purple are 4 seeds. Now, the NCAA won't stick to those at all, geographic proximity will be most important (less than 500 miles), but it helps me to see where some pods may be balanced out.

Hope this helps, you aren't dense at all, thanks for asking

[kansas hokie]

11/7 NPI team list is updated. Back later with key games tonight.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FFmaYk8mMaNjCnoyEG0-j1kaN0vF_-3E7uYYmTeNUI4/edit?usp=sharing