Should The NCAA Expand Hoop Brackets?

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III >> Hello Thursday. It's National Puppy Day. Dogs are the best. >> Looking For Conference Scheduling Help. Email us. We have solutions for your scheduling issues.  >> Please Consider Making A Donation to D3Playbook. Help us keep this site free. Make a donation and to show the DIII community that you appreciate what D3Playbook has to offer you and your department.   I Want to Support D3Playbook TOP STORY 1. Should The NCAA Expand Hoop Brackets?    by Eric Prisbell, On3.com "Since the NCAA men’s tournament bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the structure of one of the jewels in the American sporting landscape has undergone only a nip and tuck here and there.  Could it be destined for a head-to-toe makeover? As the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 awaits later this week, one question hovering is whether its days as a 68-team event are numbered. The NCAA’s Division I Transformation Committee’s report in January recommended that sports with a high number of teams increase the number of participants in championships to 25 percent. With 363 Division I men’s basketball teams, that equates to expanding to 90 teams." >> Court Awareness: "Rewind to 2015, when NCAA officials faced a pivotal moment. Do they extend the original 14-year deal with valued partners CBS and Turner? Or do they hold off and take the event to the open market when the contract expired in 2024? Industry conditions were uncertain, with the cord-cutting trend under way and the streaming movement coming into focus. Ultimately, the NCAA signed the eight-year extension in 2016 and viewed the $8.8 billion figure as impressive. But upon further review, the decision is now widely viewed as a costly, ill-advised one. Just how much did the NCAA leave on the table?" >> Reality Check: "The NCAA is projected to be shorting itself an average of some $546 million each year from 2016 through 2032. According to Navigate, the NCAA signed an extension with a relatively small 3 percent growth rate. But had it taken the event to market, based on the competitive environment for sports rights eight years later, it could have secured a deal with a 6 percent growth rate." >> Of Note: "Unless expansion triggers CBS/Turner to re-open the deal – and the understanding is that even expansion wouldn’t re-open it – there may not be a mechanism that enables the NCAA to make up that financial ground, so to speak, in the wake of the 2016 decision." >> What We're Hearing: “A terrible idea,” said a veteran TV source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of sensitive industry relationships. “If you think regular-season men’s basketball has limited media value now, expanding the tournament might just wipe it out completely. Why bother to watch the regular season if everyone is going to make the tournament?" >> Continue Reading A MESSAGE FROM CHI ALPHA SIGMA     Chi Alpha Sigma is the only national scholar-athlete society that celebrates four-year collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. Founded in 1996 and with 320 active chapters nationwide, Chi Alpha Sigma recognizes undergraduate college student-athletes who participate in a sport at the varsity intercollegiate level, achieve junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full time semester, and earn a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average. To apply for your chapter today contact Executive Director, Kellen Wells-Mangold, at kellen@ncahs.org or visit chialphasigma.org. BASEBALL 2. Nothing Is Cold Like Spring Baseball Practice Cold    by Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal "Spring is nearly here, and with it, the reliable rituals of the season: longer days, colorful blossoms, the delightful return of songbirds and, of course, people completely freezing off their behinds at baseball practice. Ballplayers, former ballplayers, coaches and parents in our northern and Midwest states are familiar with this time-honored, teeth-chattering, existence-questioning experience. Little League clubs, travel outfits, high school teams return to the baseball diamond, full of vigor and optimism…only to be confronted by practices that feel like they’re happening on the frozen surface of Neptune. There is no cold like spring baseball practice cold. I don’t care if you’ve summited Everest, traipsed the Antarctic, finished the Iditarod or just emerged from an ice bath with Wim Hof." >> Why It Matters: "If you’ve ever rudely hit a foul ball off the end of a bat on a 39-degree afternoon and felt your hands go instantly numb, as if they have snapped entirely off your body—well, that’s it, I guess I don’t have hands anymore—you know what I mean." >> Reality Check: "I haven’t even gotten to the parents, who have the worst job of all: sitting there. You can always tell the experienced spring baseball parents. They’re the ones who show up with thermoses, whiskey, generators, electric blankets, earmuffs and firewood. You haven’t been a baseball parent until you’ve wondered: Would I be a bad parent if I just went and sat in my car? Just for, like, 20 minutes?" >> The Final Word: "Spring baseball is more like stepping into a refrigerated meat truck and hanging there, among the prime rib." >> Read More ALUMNI 3. Morrow Carries Underdog Mindset From DIII to NFL    by Josh Tolentino, Philadelphia Inquirer New Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow’s NFL journey is atypical. After he paid his own way to play at Division III Greenville University in rural Illinois, 50 miles east of St. Louis, Morrow arrived in the league as an undrafted free agent, signed by the Raiders in 2017. Morrow was on the field for every single one of the Chicago Bears’ defensive snaps (1,086) this season. In turn, Morrow led the Bears in tackles with 116 and was second with 11 tackles for loss. It was the first time in over six seasons that he started in every game. He’s hoping to repeat that feat and more with the Eagles." >> Field Awareness: "Morrow is one of a select group of players to progress from a DIII to the NFL and continues to use that underdog mindset in his daily approach." >> Quotable: “In DIII, there’s no scholarship,” Morrow said. “You’re paying to play. There’s not that many people watching you play. There’s not that many incentives. So you just play for the straight love of the game. You’re working because you want to play next to your brothers and because you want to compete." >> Keep Reading A MESSAGE FROM D3PLAYBOOK   Help us help you. We are glad that you are enjoying D3Playbook. Now won't you help us continue our work? Your gift helps us offset the costs of operating the newsletter and enable us to continue to provide the quality you have come to expect. Please contribute today.   Make a Donation to D3Playbook GOLF 4. On The Tee   The spring golf season is underway and the traditional powers find themselves ensconced in their usual location - the top 10 of the GCAA, WGCA and Golfstat rankings. Men - GCAA Christopher Newport (8) Methodist (2) Emory (1) Piedmont Carnegie Mellon Wittenberg (1) Illinois Wesleyan Washington and Lee Claremont-M-S (1) Oglethorpe Men - Golfstat Emory Christopher Newport Methodist Wittenberg Guilford Carnegie Mellon Claremont-M-S Piedmont Oglethorpe LeTourneau >> Notable: Emory posted a 15-stroke victory over eight of the top-10 teams in the GCAA poll in last weekend's Jekyll Island Collegiate, including CNU and Methodist. Look for the Eagles to move into the top spot in the next coaches' poll. >> Complete GCAA Poll (as of March 3) >> Complete Golfstat Rankings (as of March 21) Women - WGCA Emory (12) Redlands George Fox Washington U. Carnegie Mellon Washington and Lee Texas-Dallas Claremont-M-S Methodist Pomona-Pitzer Women - Golfstat Emory Redlands Washington U. George Fox Carnegie Mellon Pomona-Pitzer Texas-Dallas Washington and Lee Claremont-M-S Saint Catherine >> Complete WGCA Poll (as of March 17) >> Complete Golfstat Rankings (as of March 21) A MESSAGE FROM PLUM DELUXE TEA     Plum Deluxe Tea Plum Deluxe is well known for its tea of the month club, the leading tea subscription and one of the most well-liked “surprise and delight” subscriptions. Subscribe today to get 20% off! Powered by Swapstack STREAMING 5.  Thursday's Watchlist What we're watching today online.   WLX: #1 Middlebury (6-0) vs. #3 TCNJ (7-0), 4:00   MLX: Centre (5-1) vs. Pfeiffer (8-0), 4:00 NEWS 6.  Lightning Round    News Scripps College president Suzanne Keen is out after less than a year on the job. Keen announced Tuesday that she was resigning from the presidency, which she assumed in July.   Wrestling (W) North Central's Yelena Makoyed is one of five finalists for the first USA Wrestling Women's College Wrestler of the Year. The award will be selected by a vote from three major constituent groups: wrestling journalists, women’s college head coaches and the fans. Each of these groups will account for one-third of the vote.   Baseball Keystone 1B Anthony Raimo and Trinity (Texas) P Jackson Teer were named the NCBWA DIII National Player and Pitcher of the Week   Basketball Vote for Benedictine's Marv Agwomoh in the 2023 State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition, a social media fan voting competition featuring 16 of the nation’s top under-the-radar players from all levels of college basketball.   Happy Birthday Cake and candles for Brent Ridenour, head soccer coach, Franciscan; and Erin Monahan, head basketball coach, William Paterson Do you know someone celebrating a birthday soon? Drop us a line at D3Playbook@gmail.com. TRANSACTIONS 7.  Comings and Goings   CARTHAGE - John Sung stepped down as head women's lacrosse coach. Rebecca Congel named interim head coach HAMLINE - Tyler Oliver named head men's soccer coach JOHNSON AND WALES - Nancy Somera resigned as head women's volleyball coach NEBRASKA WESLEYAN - Jo Bunstock announced her retirement as assistant athletic director VASSAR - Nicole Galewski named assistant track and field coach UW-EAU CLAIRE - Brady Grayvold named assistant football coach UW-WHITEWATER - Marcus McLin named assistant football coach Had a position change in your department? Let us know. Thanks for starting your day with us.  What did you think of today's newsletter? Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

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Administrative Committee Meeting Recap

 

written by STEVE ULRICH Everything you need to know about NCAA Division III, delivered to your inbox 5x per week. Send tips to D3Playbook@gmail.com and via DM. >> Hello Wednesday! It was 60 years ago today that the Beatles released their debut album, Please Please Me. >> Please Consider Making A Donation To D3Playbook. Help us keep this site free. Make a donation and show the DIII community that you appreciate what D3Playbook has to offer you and your department.   I'd Like to Support D3Playbook With a Donation TOP STORY 1. Administrative Committee Meeting Recap   The Division III Administrative Committee met on March 7. The new Financial and Risk Management Working Group was assigned one of its first priorities to be an assessment of the division. Assessment areas may include evaluating the division’s overall financial value; assessing the value proposition of the national office for Division III conference offices, institutions, and student-athletes; and evaluating the organizational effectiveness of the Division III governance structure. The committee reviewed funding enhancements being considered that would improve the student-athlete experience at championships. Enhancement concepts include exploring bracket expansion with a consistent access ratio applied to Pool C berths and providing sport committees the flexibility to add one or two flights during the selection process to protect higher-seeded teams within regions to avoid matchups in the preliminary rounds. The following committee appointments were approved: Committee of Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports - Jami Clinton, UT-Dallas; Management Council - Keiko Price, Emory; Membership Committee - Amy Carlton, American Southwest Conference; SAAC - Myora Slaughter, Rosemont. Elsewhere The membership may submit a proposal to increase the size of select championship brackets (e.g., football championship bracket).   The NCAA Board of Governors delayed the implementation of phase three of the current transgender student-athlete policy. The NCAA will continue to implement phase two while the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports evaluates the current policy, and in particular, the impact of Phase III. >> Read More A MESSAGE FROM CHI ALPHA SIGMA   Chi Alpha Sigma is the only national scholar-athlete society that celebrates four-year collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. Founded in 1996 and with 320 active chapters nationwide, Chi Alpha Sigma recognizes undergraduate college student-athletes who participate in a sport at the varsity intercollegiate level, achieve junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full time semester, and earn a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average. To apply for your chapter today contact Executive Director, Kellen Wells-Mangold, at kellen@ncahs.org or visit chialphasigma.org. SOFTBALL 2. Core Four at Top of Poll Abby Nagy, WPI Despite falling from the ranks of the unbeatens, Salisbury remained atop the latest NFCA Division III softball poll, while Christopher Newport, Trine and Texas Lutheran were locked in at 2-3-4. Salisbury (10), 17-1 Christopher Newport, 11-3 Trine, 10-2 Texas Lutheran, 13-2 Case Western Reserve, 14-0 Virginia Wesleyan, 12-4 East Texas Baptist, 16-1 Berry, 18-4 Linfield, 14-2 Randolph-Macon, 9-3 >> Unbeatens: There are six unbeaten teams in DIII softball according to NCAA Statistics as of March 20 - Case Western (14-0), UW-Oshkosh (12-0), Cortland (6-0, Tufts (6-0), Elmhurst (4-0) and UW-Whitewater (4-0). >> Chicks Love The Long Ball: WPI's Emma Nagy and Haverford's Abby Marquis both had three-HR games last week. Nagy blasted a trio vs. Johnson and Wales, while Marquis drilled three vs. Cabrini. >> Lynchburg 2B Sarah Watts and RHP Angela Sperandeo were named the NFCA Division III Player and Pitcher of the Week. >> Complete Poll A MESSAGE FROM D3PLAYBOOK   Help us help you. We are glad that you are enjoying D3Playbook. Now won't you help us continue our work? Your gift helps us offset the costs of operating the newsletter and enable us to continue to provide the quality you have come to expect. Please contribute today.   Make A Donation to D3Playbook SWIMMING 3.   Academic All-Americans Johns Hopkins junior Kellen Roddy was named the Academic All-American of the Year as the College Sports Communicators released their 2023 Division III Academic All-America men's swimming and diving team. Roddy, who has a 3.98 GPA as a chemical and biomolecular engineering major, helped the Blue Jays to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships as he won his second consecutive national title in the 1650 freestyle race. He also added a fifth-place finish in the 500 freestyle. Roddy has been named an All-American six times in his career.  The Division III Academic All-America® team had a 3.90 average GPA with the first team boasting a 3.92. First Team Drew Albrecht, Kenyon, Sr., 3.98, Molecular Biology Jack Grabinski, Saint John's, Sr., 4.00, Biology & Environmental Studies Roderick Huang, MIT, Soph., 4.00, Mathematics / Computer Science Arthur Kiselnikov, Chicago, Sr., 3.73, Business Economics Jake Meyer, Emory, Jr., 3.88, Business Administration Tobe Obochi, MIT, Jr., 3.84, Computer Science / Engineering Forrest Peterson, Calvin, Jr., 4.00, Engineering Spencer Pruett, Kenyon, Sr., 3.94, Physics Kellen Roddy, Johns Hopkins, Jr., 3.98, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Jesse Ssengonzi, Chicago, Jr., 3.72, Computer Science / Economics Kyle Staubi, WPI, Sr., 4.00, Biomedical Engineering Brandon Stride, Johns Hopkins, Sr., 3.97, Computer Science / Mathematics >> Complete Team BASEBALL 4.   Eastern Connecticut On The Move Matt Malcom, Eastern Connecticut | photo by Kodiak Creative Eastern Connecticut jumped three spots into the No. 2 position just behind top-ranked Birmingham-Southern  in this week's D3Baseball.com poll. Birmingham-Southern (19), 20-2 Eastern Connecticut (6), 10-1 Baldwin Wallace, 13-2 Salisbury, 13-3 Shenandoah, 16-2 UW-Whitewater, 4-0 UW-Stevens Point, 5-2 Endicott, 8-2 Johns Hopkins, 12-2 LaGrange, 14-5 >> Taking Them Deep: Franklin IF Matt Earley became the fifth DIII player to hit three home runs in a game on Monday vs. Trine. Nichols OF Brennan Hyde, Puget Sound 1B Dylan Joyce, Emory OF Ellis Schwartz and N.C. Wesleyan 2B Jackson Hobbs are the other members of the elite group. >> Running Wild: Bates leads the nation in stolen bases per game, swiping 37 bags in eight games. Brevard, Fitchburg State, Tufts and Union are also recording four steals per outing. >> Complete Poll VOLLEYBALL (M) 5.   No Movement In Top 10 Patrick Mahoney, Loras Same list, different week. The top 10 teams held their spots in the latest AVCA Division III men's volleyball poll. Stevens (20), 25-2 Vassar (3), 15-1 Juniata, 20-2 Springfield, 18-2 Messiah, 17-2 Carthage, 13-4 North Central (Ill.), 15-3 St. John Fisher, 19-5 NYU, 11-5 Southern Virginia, 12-2 >> Spreading the Wealth: North Central's Tyler Donovan leads the country in assists per set (10.40) with Vassar's Jacob Kim right on his heels (10.38). NYU's Ryan Li is the only other setter with more than 10 helpers per set (10.02) >> Right Back At Ya: Loras' Patrick Mahoney tops the DIII charts in blocks per set (1.404), while Vassar's Tristan Christofferson is second (1.350). >> Matches We're Watching: #2 Vassar vs. #9 NYU (Sat.); #8 St. John Fisher vs. #11 New Paltz (Sat.);  >> Complete Poll A MESSAGE FROM MORNING BREW   2.6 million people wake up to this newsletter every morning There's a reason over 2.6 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be dry and dense...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out! Powered by Swapstack STREAMING 6.   What We're Watching   SFB: #1 Salisbury vs. #16 Lynchburg, 2:00   BSB: #14 Denison vs. #20 Marietta, 5:00   BSB: #1 Birmingham-Southern vs. #10 LaGrange, 7:00   MLX: #2 Christopher Newport vs. #6 Washington and Lee, 7:00   MVB: #2 Vassar vs. #11 New Paltz, 7:00   WLX: #12 Colby vs. #14 Chicago, 7:00 NEWS 7.   Lightning Round      Wrestling The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will add men's and women's wrestling to its sponsored championships beginning next season    Swimming The CSCAA announced its award winners and All-Americans for the 2022-23 season. Williams' Sophia Verkleeren and Emory's Ariana Khan were honored as female Swimmer and Diver of the Year, respectively, while Whitman's Tanner Filion and Kenyon's Israel Zavaleta won for the men.   Lacrosse (W) Colby's Gianna Bruno joined W&L's Walker McKnight and Caroline Kranich as the IWLCA Division III Players of the Week   Volleyball Concordia Wisconsin's Spencer Herman is the AVCA Division III Men's Volleyball Player of the Week.   Track and Field The USTFCCCA honored Ramapo's Cheickna Traore and Meredith's Corrine Weaver as its DIII National Athletes of the Week   Happy Birthday Cake and candles for Juli Fulks, head basketball coach, Transylvania; Libby Ladrach, associate AD, Wooster; and Jeff Schaly, assistant AD, Marietta Do you know someone celebrating a birthday soon? Drop us a line at D3Playbook@gmail.com. TRANSACTIONS 8.  Comings and Goings   FERRUM - AJ Hopke named assistant football coach ITHACA - Ben Johnson named assistant football coach MANHATTANVILLE - Sean Reilly named head men's soccer coach NORTH CENTRAL (Ill.) - Anita Thomas named president WABASH - Marcus Adams named assistant football coach   Thanks for starting your day with us.  What did you think of today's newsletter? Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

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