With the loss of Bard and Polytechnic to the Skyline, the North Eastern Athletic Conference is digging further down to fill the gap. The league announced this week it was adding Penn State-Harrisburg, Wells and Wilson.
Penn State-Harrisburg will apparently begin its provisional four-year period in Division III in the fall of 2007. Wells and Wilson are already Division III members and are refugees of the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference. Wells has started admitting men and will add basketball in 2008-09, for both genders. Wells was one of the few schools in Division III without basketball. Wilson remains women-only.
The NEAC will be losing Bard, Chestnut Hill, Polytechnic, SUNY-Purchase and Villa Julie at the conclusion of this academic year. So for those who have lost track (and let’s be honest, that’s gotta be most of us), here’s the NEAC 2007-08 lineup:
Baptist Bible, Cazenovia, D’Youville, Keuka, Keystone, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisbug, Philadelphia Biblical, Wells and Wilson.
Unfortunately, this group will get an automatic bid.
It’s hard to imagine this group won’t change again. They’re all over the map, geographically and philosophically.
Unfortunately, this group will get an automatic bid.
geeze….
I think we’ve either reach, or are close to reaching, a point where there is enough coverage and information about teams that we should do away with the AQ and just pick the 64 (or whatever number the NCAA feels like letting us have today) best teams in the country to play.
Um, I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but they have this same deal with D1 too. It’s a big deal for the small schools and small conferences to get teams in.
Do you know how much it sucks to follow a team who has nothing to play for? Even a conference championship is pretty empty if it gets you nothing.
“Even a conference championship is pretty empty if it gets you nothing.”
You are so correct. Just ask Huntingdon College about that.
Let’s remember that D3 is about the student-athlete, and access to the playoffs thru the conference system is the way that the division has gone. Remember that Cazenovia got in as a Pool B bid. The GSAC is not an official conference for the men.
I know that I am probably in the minority on this stance. We are just seeing the consolidation of the conferences, and the NEAC has prompted much of the consolidation in that part of the country. Every team from the NEAC that has moved into another conference had been an independent or a member of an unrecognized conference before now.
Every team in D3 has access to the playoffs at an equitable ratio!
DHF, you are from a strong conference that is probably above average in every sport in which there is an AQ. Why, the CCIW may even get an AQ in Women’s Golf if they can add one more school. Otherwise it will continue to be Pool B for Women’s golf for teams such as IWU. As for the 2006 CCIW Men’s Golf Champion, Carthage, I will bet that they would have loved to get a Pool A bid to the Nationals last spring, instead of sitting at home under the current at-large system.
I’m sort of with Ralph on this one.
True enough, that’s a group of teams that historically has been weak. They’d be a little better if Baptist Bible would participate in the NCAA tournament. And Keuka wasn’t awful last year.
But setting aside the conference’s status, I’d rather these kids get a chance to play their way into the Tournament.
The recent tournament expansion has provided enough at-large bids for the most serious contenders from major conferences to have a fair shot at the playoffs.
Ralph I know the GSAC doesn’t have an automatic bid, but it was to make a point about the frustration of the Huntingdon fans last season.
They should have received Maryville’s Pool B bid.
I understand that D1 follows the same format, and in all reality I am in favor of the AQ because it does give every team the opportunity.
The problem is that, unlike D1, the division 3 tournament seems to be based on anything but what I would call fair and reasonableness when it comes to the selection of the remaining teams.
Just because a team is unaffiliated with a conference should not put them into a special pool into the tournament. If one of these teams is good enough to get an at large over deserving teams from the CCIW, MIAA, etc, then they should get in. Otherwise they can stay at home. If they want a better shot at getting in, join a conference.
I believe that I am generally in agreement with hoopsfan, Ralph, and gmann. The spirit of d-III is that of the student-athlete and and the tourney being open to all teams no matter how powerful a conference they come from. At least it gives a bettter shot to the “lesser” conferences to make it in compared to the D-I tourney. There may always be a few “weaker teams” that make it into the tourney. However, even they can surprise every once and awhile!
Just a note of interest. Baptist Bible will play in the NEAC Championships and be eligible for NCAA Championships for both men’s and women’s basketball. Keystone and Penn State Berks will have one more year of Provisional Status. Keystone recieved an accelerated status so they will join the “full NCAA Membership” one year early.
Coach Adams, that is great news. The accelerated status designation for Keystone also helps in stabilizing the Pool A bid for the NEAC.
Remember that games against schools in their 3rd and 4th year of provisional status also count towards playoff criteria, such as the Quality of Wins Index.