Usually when we announce annual awards, there’s always a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth, some name-calling, griping, anger, you name it, about who didn’t make the team, or who was ranked ahead of whom, etc.
Because the All-Region team is a new process for us (the committee defected en masse from another All-Region sponsoring entity), this is something I’d like to address on a wider scale. Usually when we name 100 All-Americans, which we’ll do again this year on our Stagg Bowl pregame show, it’s a process of whittling down 250 or so nominees to the 100 honorees. This is a difficult process, to be sure, but there are often a handful of nominees which we can dismiss out of hand.
Not so with All-Region. We got 676 nominations all told for the 300 slots and let me tell you, voting for this award was not easy. I voted for all four regions and I don’t think there was a single region that took less than 90 minutes of poring over. So first of all, my hat’s off to the voters for making it happen.
Secondly, often times the student-athletes who readers and fans complain about simply were not nominated. Although we sent two e-mails out through the SID e-mail list (this is maintained by a Division III school and includes every Division III sports information director) and had a note on our front page for more than two weeks, not every school with worthy people nominated them. Also, we wrote very detailed directions that some schools did not follow. While we contacted as many as we could, in most cases we were left with completely blank nomination forms and no recourse.
Here’s the schools that nominated, and how many players they put forth. We didn’t put any restrictions on how many a school could put in.
Adrian 5; Albion 8; Albright 2; Allegheny 4; Alma 4; Amherst 6; Anderson 3; Augsburg 5; Augustana 6; Aurora 5; Averett 4; Baldwin-Wallace 4; Bates 2; Beloit 3; Bethany 2; Bethel 5; Bluffton 1; Bowdoin 4; Bridgewater (Va.) 6; Bridgewater State 13; Brockport State 5; Buena Vista 1; Buffalo State 2; Capital 7; Carnegie Mellon 2; Carroll 9; Carthage 3; Case Western Reserve 9; Catholic 2; Central 3; Centre 4; Chapman 2; Chicago 4; Christopher Newport 4; Coast Guard 3; Coe 7; Colby 5; Concordia (Wis.) 2; Concordia-Moorhead 5; Cornell 3; Cortland State 8; Curry 4; Defiance 5; Delaware Valley 15; Denison 4; DePauw 7; Dickinson 3; Dubuque 4; East Texas Baptist 2; Elmhurst 4; Endicott 2; FDU-Florham 2; Ferrum 5; Fitchburg State 3; Franklin 2; Frostburg State 1; Gettysburg 4; Greensboro 1; Greenville 4; Grinnell 1; Grove City 2; Guilford 5; Hamline 1; Hampden-Sydney 6; Hanover 2; Hardin-Simmons 8; Hartwick 3; Hobart 4; Hope 2; Howard Payne 3; Huntingdon 6; Husson 1; Illinois College 2; Illinois Wesleyan 4; Ithaca 5; John Carroll 2; Kalamazoo 3; Kean 3; Kenyon 3; King’s 2; Kings Point 4; Lake Forest 2; Lakeland 4; Lebanon Valley 2; Linfield 8; Loras 1; Louisiana College 2; Luther 3; Lycoming 2.
Macalester 1; MacMurray 3; Maine Maritime 2; Manchester 1; Marietta 4; Mary Hardin-Baylor 7; Maryville (Tenn.) 2; Mass-Dartmouth 5; McDaniel 2; McMurry 1; Menlo 1; Methodist 8; Millikin 4; Mississippi College 3; Monmouth 4; Montclair State 5; Moravian 5; Mount Ida 1; Mount Union 6; Mt. St. Joseph 8; Muhlenberg 2; Muskingum 2; North Central 10; Occidental 5; Ohio Northern 7; Ohio Wesleyan 3; Olivet 4; Otterbein 2; Pacific Lutheran 5; Plymouth State 3; Pomona-Pitzer 2; Randolph-Macon 3; Redlands 3; Rhodes 1; Rockford 4; Rose-Hulman 2; Rowan 7; RPI 12; Shenandoah 1; Simpson 4; Springfield 1; St. John Fisher 9; St. John’s 8; St. Norbert 1; St. Olaf 2; St. Thomas 2; Sul Ross State 2; Susquehanna 2; Texas Lutheran 6; Thiel 7; Thomas More 5; Trinity (Conn.) 6; Trinity (Texas) 4; Tufts 2; Union 8; Ursinus 2; Utica 1; UW-Eau Claire 5; UW-La Crosse 5; UW-Oshkosh 7; UW-River Falls 2; UW-Stevens Point 1; UW-Stout 4; UW-Whitewater 6; Wabash 4; Wartburg 2; Washington and Jefferson 6; Washington and Lee 5; Washington U. 3; Waynesburg 6; Wesley 3; Western Connecticut 5; Western New England 1; Westfield State 1; Westminster (Mo.) 2; Westminster (Pa.) 3; Wheaton 2; Whitworth 6; Widener 3; Wilkes 2; Willamette 6; William Paterson 3; Williams 2; Wittenberg 5; Wooster 2; Worcester State 1
I don’t think it would be fair to list the names of the nominees. But this should give you some idea. The 175 schools out of 225 or so eligible (full Division III member schools only) is a large number, far more than we ever got for the All-America team, for obvious reasons.
Thanks to those who nominated. Those nominees will be considered for All-American as well, and you can hear that announcement sometime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET a week from Saturday.
From my perspective, I believe that D3football.com and the committee did an excellent job in selecting the All-East Region Team, which is the only region that I posess sufficient knowlege of to comment about.
If I were to question anything at all about the All-East Team (and I am not a Rowan fan), it would be that one or more of Rowan’s DB’s might have been considered for the team. Having watched Rowan at Union, I felt that Union held their own against Rowan’s front 7, but that Rowan’s DB’s were really the strength of their defense.
Rowan’s DB’s play tough and smart, and they have great closing speed. They were able to get to the LOS to support the run and they were fantastic in breaking on the ball once it was thrown.
I don’t know if Coach Accorsi may have felt that other Profs were more deserving, but from my perspective, Rowan’s DB’s were the best I’ve seen in the last 4 years.
Congrats to Tom Arcidiacano and Steve Angeletta! Two great scholar atheletes whom are so deserving of their awards. Arcidiacano was unreal this season, his cuts and ability to find holes are amazing. He will be a bear next year! Same with Angeletta. Anyone who watched this kid play had to be amazed at this ability to run routes, find the ball, out jump defenders and come up with consistantly brilliant catches! Even more amazing is, these two are able to compete at this level while holding down one of the toughest academic loads in all of division III! Lets go Dutchmen! We all can’t wait until next year.
Pat, you, the SID’s and the others who helped are to be commended for the All-Region teams. The equitability and the transparency of the process are what give these teams validity. The talent level at this level of collegiate athletics is so homogenous. I am quite certain that there are numerous “good” candidates who received consideration, but did not make the final cut. The fact that the committee evaluated players from 175 schools is incredible.
Thanks for the time and hard work that each deveoted to this. Congratulations to the players. Best wishes in their academic and future endeavors.
I would just like to thank all the people here on D3football.com and all other people involved in the committees that put forth countless hours in making Division III football what it has become today. With all this said I must make my complaint. I’m a Huntingdon College football fan and was a bit discouraged at the South All Region Team. I didn’t know if we had nominated any players, but after seeing that 6 Huntingdon players were nominated I must say I’m: 1. Suprised none were selected 2. Curious why they weren’t. I’m looking at the NCAA stats and see where CB Jamaal Jemison was ranked 11th nationally in pass break ups and 41st nationally in interceptions. Six corners were selected to the All Region team, I just don’t see how Jamaal could be left off. He was a defensive leader on a 7-2 team that just missed the playoffs, and that could have easily been 9-0 and a top seed in the playoffs had one or two plays gone different. Also, QB Zach Golson finished the year ranked 18th nationally in Passing Effiency, completely 115-200 passes(57.5%), 1680 yrds, threw 18 touchdownds while only throwing 3 interceptions. Again, a offensive leader on a 7-2 team.W R Marc Colson has to be considered on of the biggest offensive threats in the nation. He made bigs plays all year, was ranked 48th national in receptions per game, had 54 catches for 775 yards and 9 TD’s. K Cody Lange has to have one of the strongest legs in the nation, I don’t know his exact numbers, but I do know that most of the opposing teams started inside their 20 yrd line, that is if they had the opportunity to return the kicks, he put the ball in the endzone almost every time. He finished 38-40 on PATS, 8-11 on field goals making 3-4 from 40-49 yards. These are 4 real good players on a real good team. They played only nine games, and put up great numbers. I don’t know if these were nominated, but I can’t see how they wouldn’t have been. They put up numbers that were recongnized on a national level, but couldnt crack the South All Region team. There are great players with great stats all through the South All Region team, and I know that the committee worked hard to out the team together. The good news about all 4 of these players I’ve talked about is that they will return next season, maybe next year the will put up numbers to get the recognition they deserve.
Again I’d like to thank D3football.com and all people involved for everything you do. God Bless and Go Hawks.