Selection Sunday: Navigating the Div. III playoffs maze
Nick Spring
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Sports
Selection Sunday is usually a term synonymous with the beginning of the college basketball championship tournament in the beginning of March. This past Sunday marked another selection: the selection of the 32-team Div. III football championship bracket. For the second year in a row, the Spartan football team found themselves in the center of the controversy of who goes where and which team is seeded what. While many college football enthusiasts are calling for a playoff system in Div. I football instead of the BCS system in place, the Spartans can attest that it's no less messy in Div. III.
All teams are divided into three pools: Pool A teams, Pool B teams, and Pool C teams. Pool A teams are the conference champions of one of 23 different conferences that receive automatic bids to the playoffs. Pool B teams are independent schools or schools who play in a conference without an automatic bid. There are three spots available to Pool B teams. Pool C teams are those who did not win a conference championship and any remaining teams from Pool B. There are six slots for Pool C teams. Case falls into Pool B, and has one of the most difficult roads to the playoffs for a number of reasons.
The University Athletic Association - Case's conference - is recognized as one the best Div. III conferences for a multitude of sports. Football, however, is not one of them. With only four teams, the UAA does not receive an automatic bid to the playoffs, and the conference does not have a history of football excellence, which does not sit favorably with rankings voters. In 18 years of football competition, the UAA has produced four playoff teams, including this year's and last year's Spartans teams. In essence, the Spartans must go undefeated if they want to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
The primary criteria for selection into the playoff field is based on your regional competition record, strength of schedule, and results against regionally ranked teams. The NCAA breaks up Div. III football into four regions: East, West, North, and South. The Div. III Football Committee is in charge of selecting the playoff bracket, with help from regional advisory committees. The committee first looks at the team's record in their region. Since the majority of schools play every game or nearly every game in their region, this record is also representative of their overall record. The committee also takes into account a number of other factors such as record against nationally ranked opponents, head-to-head competition, and results versus all opponents. They use these qualifications to not only choose which teams should play in the post-season, but also seed the teams in the bracket.
The seeding is where things get tricky. For instance, this year Case was seeded third behind Trine University because they played one less regional game, even though Case had a higher national ranking. Furthermore, football powerhouse Mount Union, who was number one in the nation and number one in the north regional rankings, was given the number one seed in the east region because the north had too many talented teams. The NCAA does move some teams around in the regions in order to maintain a balance of talent, however geographic concerns take precedence. Many of the teams in the East are within close travelling distance to Alliance, OH, which makes Mount Union a good choice to move to another region.
All teams are divided into three pools: Pool A teams, Pool B teams, and Pool C teams. Pool A teams are the conference champions of one of 23 different conferences that receive automatic bids to the playoffs. Pool B teams are independent schools or schools who play in a conference without an automatic bid. There are three spots available to Pool B teams. Pool C teams are those who did not win a conference championship and any remaining teams from Pool B. There are six slots for Pool C teams. Case falls into Pool B, and has one of the most difficult roads to the playoffs for a number of reasons.
The University Athletic Association - Case's conference - is recognized as one the best Div. III conferences for a multitude of sports. Football, however, is not one of them. With only four teams, the UAA does not receive an automatic bid to the playoffs, and the conference does not have a history of football excellence, which does not sit favorably with rankings voters. In 18 years of football competition, the UAA has produced four playoff teams, including this year's and last year's Spartans teams. In essence, the Spartans must go undefeated if they want to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
The primary criteria for selection into the playoff field is based on your regional competition record, strength of schedule, and results against regionally ranked teams. The NCAA breaks up Div. III football into four regions: East, West, North, and South. The Div. III Football Committee is in charge of selecting the playoff bracket, with help from regional advisory committees. The committee first looks at the team's record in their region. Since the majority of schools play every game or nearly every game in their region, this record is also representative of their overall record. The committee also takes into account a number of other factors such as record against nationally ranked opponents, head-to-head competition, and results versus all opponents. They use these qualifications to not only choose which teams should play in the post-season, but also seed the teams in the bracket.
The seeding is where things get tricky. For instance, this year Case was seeded third behind Trine University because they played one less regional game, even though Case had a higher national ranking. Furthermore, football powerhouse Mount Union, who was number one in the nation and number one in the north regional rankings, was given the number one seed in the east region because the north had too many talented teams. The NCAA does move some teams around in the regions in order to maintain a balance of talent, however geographic concerns take precedence. Many of the teams in the East are within close travelling distance to Alliance, OH, which makes Mount Union a good choice to move to another region.
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