Author Archives: Pat Coleman

Could reforms get rolled back?

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Two years ago, a package of reforms was passed in Division III, eliminating redshirting and shortening preseason practice schedules along with other measures. However, this month, some of those proposals are back on the table for reinstatement, and the voting population could be very different.

In 2004, school presidents and chancellors made up more of the voting body than ever before, but this year, it will probably be back to business as usual, with athletic directors making the votes on behalf of their institutions.

John Fry, president of Franklin & Marshall, told Inside Higher Ed, “2004 was a step forward. If we don’t see that same level of presidential involvement, those gains will be lost.”

The online publication looks deep into this topic.

We got letters

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We used to get this kind of letter all the time, but it’s been a while, so when I got a handwritten note with no return address in the mail the other day, it took me back a bit. Once upon a time we would get mail from the father of a prominent Division III player, replete with stats the father had hand-compiled, and I was wondering if this was about to be something similar.

… You do very professional work which is appreciated by basketball fanatics like myself. I’m an ex-college coach and still do personal basketball instruction. I live near the (location withheld) so I try to attend as many games as I can within a two-hour drive. …

The letter, on lined paper, written in all caps, had a clipping inside, a photocopy of a player’s bio from a school’s media guide. The letter was extolling the virtues of the particular player, who had reached a milestone on the particular night he saw them play.

… I sat with/in the midst of the (school withheld) sparse fans and to their little enjoyment (player name withheld) had a 22 point night and played bigger than his listed height. …

This could be just a low-tech version of something we see on the message board occasionally, a little rah-rah boosterism of a particular player by a non-neutral party. Whether this was a parent, uncle, grandfather, or truly just a fan, I don’t know. But it was amusing nonetheless. Keep the letters coming. It’s great to see people who care this much.

Rant: Division I Games

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Ok… I want to start this rant with my congratulations to the University of Puget Sound Loggers and the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans. They both got recent wins over Division I opponents (University of California – Riverside and Princeton respectively). It was the first victories for D3 schools over D1 teams in a year. And as a Division III program, it certainly looked impressive (especially on an ESPN crawl).

But… that’s it! They didn’t even count!

In the grand scheme that is everything Division III, a game against a Division I opponent means as much as a game against a high school squad. It’s the same as if you played the game in the pre-season. And it doesn’t matter if you play the game in the first week of the season, half-way through the season, or at the end of the season… the game doesn’t count.

Period!

Sure, you can have your record indicate the game (win or lose), but for everyone else… and those who matter in Division III… it’s just erased.

The game is a wasted date on a schedule. It doesn’t count towards your overall Division III record; it doesn’t count towards your regional record; and it won’t help you get into the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Teams that schedule Division I opponents have nothing to gain… and everything to lose.

If you win the game, sure people talk about it. But if you need a Pool B or C bid at the end of the season, that win won’t help you. There won’t be any comments of “well, we should include Carnegie-Mellon because they beat Princeton” on the Selection Committee’s conference call at the end of February. If the comment was there, someone is sure to add “yeah, but they lost to Bluffton University. You know… the team from Ohio.”

I have heard almost every argument to keep scheduling Division I opponents. It’s a great recruiting tool; it allows our players to have their parents attend a game; there is money in it for our program. None of these are a good reason to play the game.

How is it a great recruiting tool? I can’t imagine a recruit telling people he rather go to Catholic University than another school, because CUA losses every year to American. Is the recruiting tool that a coach can guarantee a player at least one game he is going to play in… because the game will be out of hand at some point, so everyone on the bench will play? Your recruiting tool should be the fact you schedule the toughest Division III schedule possible. And because of it, the program is looked at as a top D3 team and a perennial pick for the post-season.

How does the argument that parents attending a game work? I heard one program argue a few years back that when they traveled to New Jersey to play a D1 opponent, it was great for the parents of the players who might not get to a game normally. Again, I would like to point out I don’t know how a parent can say with a straight face they were glad to see their son play against a team they didn’t have a chance beating. How about telling the parents, instead of Princeton… we’ll make sure to schedule Ramapo College so that you can see us play some of the best basketball in the region… against one of the best teams in the region.

And money?! I understand most schools have trouble financing their programs… but the good teams are the ones scheduling these games and the good teams are certainly not the ones struggling financially. This isn’t the Coppin State University men’s program (Division I, by the way) that takes a yearly trip around the nation playing programs much better than them to get money to help pay the bills (though, they are known to pull a few upsets).

Coppin State isn’t getting into the NCAA Tournament unless they win their conference. So, losing those games really doesn’t hurt them.

Puget Sound, Carnegie Mellon, Catholic and many of the others have a very good chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament without winning their conferences. But, they are shooting themselves in the foot scheduling Division I games in season.

Instead of scheduling a Division I opponent… why not schedule another regional game against whoever they want. They could choose an easy team… or a tough team. Either of those will have some weight on the Selection Committee. The easy team – an extra regional win. The tough team, a win gets them more notice and a stronger schedule… and an extra regional win.

So, stop with the “we’re playing a Division I team tonight” or “wow, we beat a Division I team tonight.” Great! Good for you! It must have been cool to be at that game!

Now tell me… how exactly did it help your season or your post-season chances?

A sad day for D3hoops.com

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Sigh.

The day I’ve been fearing for months has finally arrived. Independence Air has announced it is ceasing operations effective Thursday night, Jan. 5.

This might not mean much to most of you readers, but Independence’s hub was at Washington Dulles airport (IAD for you travel geeks) and it quickly became a favorite of mine because it offered cheap flights to a good number of places where Division III schools are located. I took six flights on Indepdence in the past 15 months, and sent Keith McMillan places via Independence on a few other occasions for D3football.com.

We’ve enjoyed the convenience, the service and the price, which enabled us to see teams such as Wheaton, Illinois Wesleyan, Aurora and the final Hope/Calvin game in the Holland Civic Center last season, not to mention a half-dozen football games. But we also had to figure that such bargains couldn’t last. We’ll have to work harder for bargains in 2006.

Is it too late to start collecting Wendy’s cups?

The best I’ve seen

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I’ve only seen the smallest sliver of Division III women’s basketball history over the last 13 years but I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the best players in the country, after covering the NCAA Tournament in-person for this publication on five separate occasions.

The sport has grown tremendously since I was a college freshman back in 1993 and the players of today have benefited from the play of their predecessors. I don’t know that the players from farther back will get their proper due (I hope there are people out there who remember and appreciate them), but I can speak to the successes of those I’ve seen play the game, and welcome the thoughts of others who wish to comment. If I were to fill out a ballot for the players on this NCAA 25th Anniversary team, I would list…

Allison Coleman (Eastern Connecticut State) Coleman was the driving force behind the unlikeliest, most amazing run through the NCAA Tournament that I’ve seen, leading the Warriors to the runner-up finish in 2003. Coleman was an excellent scorer, rebounder, passer and defender who was at her best when her team needed her most, similar in nature to Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi. In the national semifinals, Coleman, playing with four fouls, rallied her team from a 14-point second-half deficit against a heavily favored No. 1 ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire to win in overtime, then nearly duplicated the feat the next day in the title game, when Eastern’s comeback from 17 down against Trinity (Texas) came up two points short.

Tasha Rodgers (Washington U of St. Louis) Rodgers had the best performance of any player in the five national championship games I’ve seen, a 36-points, 13 rebounds, six steals effort against Messiah in the 2001 title game. Not bad the finale for a four-time NCAA champ. The game story that day described her as unstoppable, and she was, whether it was in the open floor (creating off a turnover) or in halfcourt, driving to the basket. That’s enough to earn my vote.

Alia Fischer (Washington U of St Louis) When I was sideline reporter for our championship game broadcasts a few years ago, I interviewed both the Rodgers family (sitting in the very last row of the stands in Danbury, out of nervousness), and Alia Fischer’s mom, who delivered one of my favorite one-liners from any event I’ve covered in 13 years as a journalist. When I asked if there was anything I should know about Fischer, a dominant center capable of consistently hitting hook shots with either hand, her mom replied “Can I tell you how she was a klutz?”

Corinne Carson (Marymount) I saw Carson twice during the 1996-97 season, when my alma mater took on Marymount, first in regular-season play and then in the NCAA Tournament. She’s the one player whose skills made me sit back and simply say “Wow!” Carson, who overcame significant health issues, was intimidating on both ends of the floor. On defense, she totally destroyed the confidence of opposing shooters by powerfully blocking shots. Offensively she had such a repertoire of moves, that one basket/foul sequence prompted my broadcast partner at the NCAA game to compare her to NBA legend Earl “The Pearl Monroe.”

Ronda Jo Miller (Gallaudet) I wish I had the chance to see Miller and Carson’s head-to-head matchups, because they must have been amazing (I believe Miller was a freshman when Carson was a senior). From the one game I saw, Miller left quite an impression- 38 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots worth- and she made it look so easy that day, in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament against The College of New Jersey. Miller totally owned the floor on both ends, whether it was with Carson-like shot blocking, coast-to-coast steal/basket combinations or moves in the paint. Miller was so perfect that day that one of the beat writers yelled out, to no one in particular “She’s Keith Van Horn!”

Feel free to share your thoughts on those players you voted for, and feel free to come up with a write-in candidate or two as well. Perhaps I’ll address my coach selection at another time…