Category Archives: NCAA stuff

MBB Regional Rankings: Feb. 3

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The first Regional Rankings for men’s basketball have been released, through games of Sunday, Jan. 31. The first record indicates the in-region record, followed by the overall record.

Atlantic Region
1. William Paterson 19-1 20-1
2. Merchant Marine 15-4 16-4
3. Ramapo 14-4 15-5
4. York (N.Y.) 13-5 16-5
5. Richard Stockton 14-5 14-6

East Region
1. St. John Fisher 15-4 16-4
2. Stevens 15-4 15-4
3. New York University 12-5 13-5
4. Medaille 18-1 19-1
5. Rochester 9-5 13-5
6. Nazareth 12-6 13-7

Great Lakes Region
1. Wooster 15-3 15-4
2. Wilmington (Ohio) 13-4 14-5
3. Hope 8-2 13-6
4. Calvin 8-2 12-7
5. Penn State-Behrend 13-3 13-4
6. Thomas More 14-5 14-5

Middle Atlantic Region
1. Albright 14-1 16-2
2. Lycoming 12-3 16-3
3. Cabrini 16-2 16-2
4. Franklin and Marshall 16-3 16-3
5. St. Mary’s (Md.) 13-3 16-3
6. Elizabethtown 13-5 13-5
7. York (Pa.) 14-4 15-4
8. Alvernia 11-4 13-6
9. Catholic 13-4 15-5

Midwest Region
1. Washington U. 13-2 16-2
2. Carthage 11-2 15-4
3. St. Norbert 15-1 16-1
4. Illinois Wesleyan 14-4 15-4
5. Anderson 15-2 17-2
6. Wheaton (Ill.) 12-6 13-6
7. Augustana 12-6 12-7
8. Westminster (Mo.) 12-1 15-4

Northeast Region
1. Williams 17-0 19-1
2. MIT 17-1 18-2
3. Colby 13-1 15-2
4. Middlebury 13-2 17-2
5. Brandeis 14-3 14-3
6. Bridgewater State 12-3 13-5
7. Gordon 14-3 15-3
8. Western Connecticut 12-4 13-4
9. Mass-Dartmouth 13-6 13-6
10. Rhode Island College 13-6 13-6
11. Eastern Connecticut 13-6 13-6

South Region
1. Guilford 18-1 18-1
2. Virginia Wesleyan 15-2 17-2
3. Texas-Dallas 15-2 16-3
4. Eastern Mennonite 11-2 15-3
5. Maryville (Tenn.) 11-3 16-4
6. Austin 14-5 14-5
7. Mary Hardin-Baylor 14-4 14-5
8. Mississippi College 11-3 15-3

West Region
1. UW-Whitewater 16-3 16-3
2. UW-Stevens Point 17-2 18-2
3. St. Thomas 14-2 17-2
4. Whitworth 15-2 17-2
5. UW-La Crosse 13-5 14-6
6. Gustavus Adolphus 12-4 12-6
7. Chapman 15-1 18-2
8. Central 14-2 16-4
9. Augsburg 12-5 13-5

WBB Regional Rankings: Feb. 3

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The first Regional Rankings from the NCAA have been released… the first record indicates the in-region record… followed by the overall record.

Atlantic Region
1. Kean 19-0 20-1
2. William Paterson 20-1 20-1
3. Mary Washington 12-2 14-3
4. Marymount 16-1 19-1
5. Farmingdale State 18-0 18-0
6. Mount Saint Mary 13-4 14-4

Central Region
1. Illinois Wesleyan 15-1 18-1
2. Carthage 13-2 16-3
3. Washington U. 13-2 16-2
4. UW-Stevens Point 15-3 17-3
5. UW-Whitewater 13-4 14-5
6. Chicago 13-5 13-5

East Region
1. Ithaca 15-2 15-4
2. Skidmore 13-2 14-3
3. Rochester 13-3 15-3
4. Medaille 17-1 18-2
5. Utica 14-3 15-3
6. Cortland State 14-3 15-3

Great Lakes Region
1. Hope 15-0 18-1
2. Washington and Jefferson 16-1 17-2
3. Thomas More 17-1 17-2
4. Calvin 13-1 18-2
5. DePauw 14-2 17-3
6. Baldwin-Wallace 13-3 15-4

Mid-Atlantic Region
1. Moravian 17-2 18-2
2. Lebanon Valley 18-0 18-1
3. Messiah 13-1 16-2
4. Scranton 15-3 17-3
5. Muhlenberg 14-3 14-3
6. Gettysburg 16-2 16-2

Northeast Region
1. Amherst 19-0 19-0
2. Tufts 15-1 18-2
3. Williams 16-3 16-4
4. Emmanuel 12-4 14-4
5. Bowdoin 12-4 15-4
6. Colby 12-3 15-3
7. Western Connecticut 16-3 17-3
8. Eastern Connecticut 13-5 13-5
9. Keene State 13-5 13-6
10. University of New England 14-4 15-4

South Region
1. Christopher Newport 17-0 18-0
2. Hendrix 12-3 14-3
3. Roanoke 14-2 16-2
4. Trinity (Texas) 12-4 14-5
5. Louisiana College 12-2 15-2
6. Randolph-Macon 13-4 13-4

West Region
1. George Fox 11-1 17-2
2. Puget Sound 11-2 16-3
3. Cal Lutheran 14-3 14-4
4. Gustavus Adolphus 15-2 15-3
5. Simpson 13-2 18-3
6. Concordia-Moorhead 13-4 13-5

D-III unveils identity statement

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Boiling down Division III into a few bullet points isn’t easy, and it hasn’t gotten easier as the division has grown. But Division III has been attempting to define itself in a way that can be easily communicated to those on the outside. After a Division II identity statement process ended up with the fairly meaningless “I chose Division II” mantra and D-II wrapped itself in a lot of the things Division III holds dear, it became important to take control of the message.

To us here at D3sports.com, Division III is the highest form of purely amateur athletics in the U.S. It’s where students — note, not “student-athletes” — play for love of the game. Division III competitors get no special treatment, no scholarships, no special privileges, no separate dining halls, no dorms to themselves. They don’t get preferred treatment from their professors; in fact, it’s far more likely they get treated more harshly from teachers who believe they don’t belong in the school.

But distilling that opinion, plus the opinions of hundreds of other Division III true believers, down into a form that can be easily shared and understood, isn’t easy. Here’s how Division III is positioning itself:

“Follow your passions and discover your potential.

“The college experience is a time of learning and growth – a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build upon their academic success with new challenges and life skills. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full spectrum of opportunities available during their time in college. In this way, Division III provides an integrated environment for student-athletes to take responsibility for their own paths, follow their passions and find their potential through a comprehensive learning experience.”

What’s your take?

For more, here’s the NCAA News article on the unveiling.

Don’t D-III teams want to win?

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Some misguided sports psychologist studied a soccer team and a tennis team and came to the following conclusion:

Division I athletes wanted to win, but those playing in Division III wanted to make friends.

I think all of us here know that’s not true. Thankfully, Division III has a sports psychologist of its own: St. Thomas men’s basketball assistant coach John Tauer. He wrote a response to this blog:

The majority of Division III athletes I have coached or coached against are highly motivated by many factors, not just making friends. one of those factors is competition — individuals and teams in Division III work incredibly hard. Division III athletes are not on athletic scholarships. As a result, they may actually have higher levels of intrinsic motivation than their Division I and II counterparts.

While this is certainly preaching to the choir, I still think it’s worth passing along. I think it’s important to highlight and debunk every misconception about Division III athletics, every time possible.

D-III newbies look peachy

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Three schools were approved for provisional membership in Division III this upcoming season, according to a news release from one of the schools. (The NCAA doesn’t appear to have said anything on the subject yet.)

Covenant College, in Lookout Mountain, Ga., and Berry College, in Mount Berry, Ga., join Division III, chipping into the NAIA’s dominance of the Southeast, as does Penn State-Abington.

Covenant's Crosson Reed “Both academically and athletically, NCAA Division III is a good fit for Berry,” said Steve Briggs, Berry’s president. “We have always placed a high priority on academic achievement and the overall quality of the educational experience for our student-athletes, and affiliation with Division III allows us to be true to these fundamental values while also growing our athletic program in new and exciting ways.”

Berry’s release mentions something else that doesn’t get a lot of discussion around here: the shorter seasons in Division III. NAIA starts basketball competition, for example, weeks before Division III schools do, resulting in increased class time missed. Covenant references Division III’s lower dues, reduced travel time and expenses, and costs of postseason play which are picked up.

Berry is adding men’s and women’s swimming and diving and softball for the upcoming school year, as well as women’s lacrosse in the spring of 2011, as Division III requires sponsorship of more sports than the NAIA does.

Covenant has 13 sports already, while Abington has 12. Neither will need to add sports to make the Division III minimum.

Obviously the entire future of the Great South Athletic Conference is up in the air, with talks continuing that they may end up merging with the USA South. But if the GSAC remains an independent unit, Covenant and Berry would be an ideal geographic fit.