Author Archives: Pat Coleman

The dark side of going co-ed

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It’s often difficult when a school goes co-ed, and many Division III women’s schools have begun to admit men in recent years. Immaculata, Regis, Lesley, Chestnut Hill (since moved to D-II), Hood and Wheelock are among them. The Atlantic Woman’s Collegiate Conference was a casualty.

Wells College is adding men’s basketball soon as well.

Randolph-Macon Woman’s College became Randolph College after admitting men, and the transition wasn’t easy — not for the teams and certainly not for the campus.

“We applied to a women’s college, and we’re not graduating from one,” said Hillary Peabody, the student government president. “(Men) are the reality of what we don’t want to happen at our school.”

Read the full story, from the jealousy over full stands at a men’s soccer game to a group of hooded figures stalking freshmen in the school’s first co-ed class to a wake-up call in a Roanoke Times feature story by Erinn Hutkin.

Division III fans, the next generation

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I’m sitting here watching Davidson/Kansas (Davidson 51-47 with 7:35 left, for those scoring at home) and my 10-year-old Elizabeth looks up at the television.

Remember, Elizabeth came with me to the regionals at Gettysburg earlier this month and got a real up-close look at what Division III is like as well as what I do on the site.

Elizabeth: “What’s that? It’s basketball, but what division?”
Me: “It’s Division I”
Elizabeth: “Oh. That explains why it’s on TV.”
(Smart girl! And she just closed my parentheses for me. After a pause …)
Elizabeth: “So what’s Division II?”
Me: “Good question”

Then I explained to her that Division II has some scholarships, etc., etc., and she said, “Oh. So it’s second-best.”

I didn’t ask her which was best. Hopefully she knows. 🙂

Hoopsville Podcast: Season Finale

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Well, the 2007-2008 season has officially come to an end and we tried to wrap it up with a little bit of a bow on top!

Guests:
Meia Daniels (Howard Payne)
Troy Ruths (Wash U.)
Steve Bankson (Baldwin-Wallace)
Tim Wise (Millsaps)
Brett Adams (Villa Julie & CBI)

Reporters:
Matt Florjancic (Great Lakes)
Gordon Mann (Atlantic/East)
Bob Quillman (Midwest/West)
Mark Simon (Northeast)
Pat Coleman (South & Everything else!)

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has made this season such a memorable and record breaking one! It starts with Pat Coleman who was more than willing to help me out as a wall to bounce ideas off of and one who would give me suggestions (and questions to ask) when necessary and needed).

My thanks also include everyone who participated as Regional Reporters this season: Bob Quillman, Gordon Mann, Mark Simon, Pat Cummings, Matt Florjancic, Marcus Fitzsimmons, and Jared Rosenbaum. These gentlemen sacrificed a lot every week to get use in-depth reports from their regions and inform the listeners about items we all might not have been aware of. I appreciate their hard work! It has made a big difference on the show.

Also thanks to those at the NABC who have helped out for years, especially this season with the growth of Hoopsville. Coaches Page Moir, Charlie Brock, Pat Cunningham, Mark McGrath, and Brett Adams have all helped out whether it be finding guests, giving us story ideas, or helping promote the show to their counter-parts. They have always been good friends of the show and this year that was more obvious than any other!

Thanks also to my producer Chris Taugher who worked hard to book guests nearly every week and also answered the phones and kept the show running while I tried to host. My fiance, Anne, also had moments where she answered the phones for me and has supported me in so many fabulous ways. I couldn’t do it without her tremendous support.

And then there are the guests. This season marked a milestone with the amount of guests we had on the show. We talked to some familiar coaches while also hearing from new coaches. We also chatted with some fabulous players who have proven once again that sometimes the best part of covering Division III sports is the fact that the athletes truly are students first, and the students on the show proved it!

Enjoy the season finale – including a look back at the NCAA Men’s Tournament – and we will look forward to hearing from you next season!

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Top 25 News and Notes–Final

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Another season has come and gone much too quickly. Allow me to be the first (okay, maybe not the first) to congratulate the new National Champions, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets and the Washington U. Bears. Huzzah!

With the long offseason looming, it’s time to take stock of where the various poll records stand, and who might threaten them next season. With a total of 140 women’s and 139 men’s polls, covering nine seasons, in the books, two programs stand alone as the only ones to receive votes in each and every poll ever taken. The Washington U. Bears have never failed to attract voting attention in a women’s poll, which can also be said of the men’s team at the College of Wooster. DePauw sits in second place on the women’s side, having received votes in 139 polls, including the last 129 in a row. UW-Stevens Point is the second-most frequent votegetter among the men, appearing in the voting in 132 of the 139 polls. The second-longest votegetting streak belongs to Amherst, but at 95 weeks it would take the Lord Jeffs well over two years to surpass the Scots’ streak.

The Bears and Scots go into the offseason holding a bushel of poll records. Wash U. has been in the women’s Top 10 a record 104 times, 15 times more often than their closest challengers from Bowdoin and Scranton. The Bears also recorded the longest streak of Top 25 appearances, being ranked in 110 straight polls between 1999 and 2006. The longest current streak belongs to Messiah at 90 weeks, meaning that Wash U.’s streak will not be headed next season.

On the men’s side, Wooster holds three records beyond their vote-getting streak. Their 94 Top 10 appearances lead Amherst by 11; their 131 Top 25 appearances are 15 more than UW-Stevens Point; and their streak of 54 straight Top 10 appearances (between 2004 and 2007) is 16 longer than the longest currently active streak, belonging to Amherst. The Lord Jeffs, however, do hold one poll record, having been in the Top 25 for 94 straight weeks, two more than the Fighting Scots—and both of these streaks are currently active.

The other two women’s poll records belong to Scranton and Bowdoin. The Royals have made 123 appearances in the Top 25, three more than Wash. U., while the Polar Bears hold the one record that may never be topped: 89 consecutive weeks in the Top 10, between 2001 and 2007. The longest currently active Top 10 streak belongs to Howard Payne, but at 26 weeks, they’d have to stay in the Top 10 for about four more years to top the Bowdoin streak. That would be a nice achievement, but not one that compares to an undefeated national championship season, I imagine.

Debutantes:
Women: First and foremost, by “Finishing It” in Holland, Howard Payne becomes the 19th member of the women’s #1 Club. The other South Region team that advanced to the Final Four, #6 Oglethorpe, cracked the Top 10 for the first time ever. Congratulations to the Jackets and Petrels!
Men: Six squads that had impressive showings in the NCAA tournament populate this section this week. Final Four participant Ursinus moved up to #7, and sectional finalist Millsaps advanced to the #6 slot; for both teams, this is their first-ever Top 10 ranking. #15 Coast Guard also reached a sectional final, while #23 Ohio Wesleyan and #24 St. Mary’s (MD) each knocked off Top 10 teams while reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Each of these teams was rewarded with their first-ever placement in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Finally, Elms fell one point short of the third round, and for the first time received votes in a Top 25 poll. Congratulations to the Bears (x2), Majors, Bishops, Seahawks, and Blazers!

Streakers:
Women: The men’s team may have won the national title, but the women’s team at Washington U. has long ruled the roost in St. Louis. This week the women received 25 votes, extending their perfect run of 140 consecutive appearances in the poll voting. #20 Rochester extended their voting streak to 40 weeks, and #14 Illinois Wesleyan received votes for the 30th consecutive time, but Lake Forest saw their vote-getting streak terminate at 29 weeks. Ninth-ranked Mary Washington is a Top 10 team for the 20th straight week. Southern Maine came up three places shy of a Top 25 ranking, snapping the longest current ranking streak at 92 weeks. The new holder of the longest current ranking streak is #3 Messiah, which reached 90 straight weeks in this poll. #5 DePauw has been ranked in each of the last 70 polls, the second longest currently active streak.
Men: Fourth-ranked Brandeis has now made 30 consecutive appearances in the voting rolls.

Milestones:
Women: Second-ranked Hope is in the Top 25 for the 110th time. Vote-getting milestones were achieved by Washington U. (140 weeks), Southern Maine (130), #20 Rochester (90), Eastern Connecticut and St. Lawrence (75 weeks each), and #4 UW-Whitewater and #25 St. Norbert (25 weeks each.)
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) appears in the voting for the 100th time this week. Other teams reaching significant voting milestones include #2 Amherst (120 polls), Trinity (CT) (75), #4 Brandeis (30), #6 Millsaps and #17 Mary Hardin-Baylor (25 each.) #20 Mass.-Dartmouth is ranked for the 20th time, while #9 Centre is a Top 25 team for the 10th time.

High-Water Marks:
Women: The two debutantes, #1 Howard Payne and #6 Oglethorpe, top this list, accompanied by NESCAC rivals #12 Tufts and #13 Amherst.
Men: This list is the same as the list of debutants: #6 Millsaps, #7 Ursinus, #15 Coast Guard, #23 Ohio Wesleyan, and #24 St. Mary’s (MD).

Movers and Shakers:
Women: The largest gain, by a wide margin, was recorded by Final Four participant #6 Oglethorpe. The Stormy Petrels gained a staggering 432 points and leapt 18 spots in the final poll. Four other teams made gains exceeding 130 points: #20 Rochester (+151), #12 Tufts (+146), #4 UW-Whitewater (+140), and #16 George Fox (+133). #22 UW-Stevens Point lost in the first round (to #25 St. Norbert), costing the Pointers 221 points and nine positions in the final poll. Other significant drops were sustained by #8 Thomas More (-187), Southern Maine (-167), and #21 Medaille (-165).
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) reached a sectional final, gaining 317 points and a berth in the Top 25 as a result. National champion Washington U. dispatched six teams ranked in the final poll, and gained 273 points and 10 positions as well as a nice big trophy. Two Cinderella Sweet Sixteen teams which had no votes in the Week 14 poll jumped into the top 15: #14 Buena Vista (+253) and #15 Coast Guard (+239). UW-Whitewater was upset by Loras in the first round, shedding 194 points and causing the Warhawks to drop from #2 to #8. #20 Mass.-Dartmouth failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen despite receiving a bye; the Corsairs lost 183 points and 10 spots in the final poll.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy offseason!

Great weekends

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Congratulations to Howard Payne and Washington U. for their championships. It’s been a great Division III women’s and men’s basketball season.

The past two weeks, almost out of randomness, I found myself near the Washington U. contingent. I haven’t been too close to too many Division III basketball families — it’s hard to do so and remain neutral — but the Bears’ staff and families made me feel at home. Last week I was in St. Louis for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 and this week, well, Wash U won the title and had a lot to celebrate.

So last week I got to meet a lot of parents, and this week, well, the players were in a great mood tonight and the program had a night to remember. So while I met a lot of families — Kellys, Wallises for example — I also got to meet a lot of players as well.

The night of a title is a great night. Players should be allowed to enjoy it. This is the time to reflect in the glory, relax with teammates. And for us, it’s the end of a long Division III football and basketball season. So we’re getting to relax a little bit ourselves soon.

So while our crew had already met Sean Wallis, one of our Insider bloggers this season, it was nice to meet some of the others.

We’d also be remiss if we did not thank two people who came up huge for us this weekend.

First off, Calvin SID Jeff Febus. We were slated to travel three broadcasters to Holland but one was sick and couldn’t make it. Unfortunately, that meant the same for our equipment. Febus, who already came up big the previous weekend with some well-received broadcasts at the Hope sectional, lent Gordon Mann and Tim Calderwood equipment to get them working.

Secondly, Evans Clinchy. If you missed it earlier in the week, Evans wrote a great Amherst feature story. But this weekend he came up big with in-game blogs and a feature on Troy Ruths, Wash U’s man of the hour/game/night/weekend/year.

This time of year it’s great hospitality all around, and it was no different in Salem.

But the people make this special. Thanks to all for taking us in and making us part of the community.

Many times, people thank us for what we do for Division III basketball. But it’s nothing if the players don’t play and the parents don’t make the sacrifice necessary to put the players out there.

Folks, every year, this one’s for you. No kidding. It would not happen without you.