What is EEE?

D3Playbook OCTOBER 3, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

Welcome to d3Playbook >> Good Morning! Is the temperature really going to be 30 degrees colder in the Northeast today? Wow! Note: Many of you are receiving the d3Playbook via email because of your role as an influencer in Division III athletics. d3Playbook is available as a subscription email and can also be viewed online at d3Playbook.com. Our goal is to keep you apprised of what's happening around Division III - the games, polls, news, happenings, awards, calendar of events, and much more. We hope you enjoy d3Playbook and that you'll share this with your friends, colleagues and co-workers. Thanks for reading. Steve >> Today's Word Count: 1,205 words (just under 5 minutes of your time. Enjoy your coffee) >> If this email was forwarded to you, we invite you to sign up for your own in-box delivery below.

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1.  Eastern Equine Encephalitis Colleges are taking note ... and making schedule changes. The Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE) has already been found in 17 towns in Connecticut and claimed three lives. There have been a total of 12 human cases of EEE infection in Massachusetts, including three fatalities, and three human cases in Rhode Island, including one fatality. But the Northeast is not alone. Cases have also been found in the footprint of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The members of the MIAA have taken recommended precautions by providing mosquito repellent to all student-athletes and spectators, eliminating any standing water on their campuses, and spraying insecticides on and around outdoor venues. Many towns across Connecticut have taken precautions against EEE, including ending outdoor activities before dusk. State health officials are encouraging residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites by limiting outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. If you have to be outside, officials recommend wearing long sleeves and pants and using insect repellent. >> Why It Matters: EEE virus is a rare cause of brain infections (encephalitis). Only a few cases are reported in the United States each year. Most occur in eastern or Gulf Coast states. Approximately 30% of people with EEE die and many survivors have ongoing neurologic problems. >> What They're Saying: “We have never had anything like this happen. Before 2013, we never had a human case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis,” said Dr. Matthew Cartter, state epidemiologist. >> Reality Check: The UConn-South Florida football game has been moved from the evening to a noon start on Saturday as a precaution. >> The Final Word: There is no cure for EEE. >> Go Deeper with the Hartford Courant.

2.  Analytics in D-III The Great Lakes Analytics Conference, sponsored by the University of Wisconson-Stevens Point, begins tomorrow. It is a conference showcasing the latest concepts, research and innovations in the fast-growing field of data analytics. Two of the many presentations caught our eye: Ben Garski, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee NCAA Division III Football Predictors for Winning The neglected NCAA Division III football will be analyzed for its worth as well as to draw attention to an area where young analytics professionals have an opportunity to get their foot in the door with experience easier than they could at Division I universities. Multiple regression will be used to find important variables for winning, logistic regression will try to predict if a team has a winning record or not, and K-Means will attempt to cluster teams. Thomas Rhomberg, Loras College Application of Data Analytics and Visualization in Division III Men's Basketball This presentation will provide a look inside the analytic methods used by a Division III basketball team and how the team uses these methods to make more informed decisions. It will also describe and provide examples of the ways the team finds actionable results from this data analysis. Attendees will learn data collection methods in R, visualization in Tableau and ggplot2, and expected values of player statistics. >> Situational Awareness: There is still time to register for the conference. >> The Final Word: I was told there would be no math in this newsletter.

SPONSORED MESSAGE Searching for talent for your athletic department? Need assistance with a departmental review or a strategic plan? Time to refresh your conference's policies and procedures? ASC is dedicated to small colleges and is committed to providing solutions for your concerns. Contact steveulrich.asc@gmail.com to see how ASC can help your organization.

3.   Three for III Nine finalists have been named for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Each of the nine finalists will be honored at an awards dinner Oct. 20 in Indianapolis, where the 2019 Woman of the Year will be announced. The nine finalists — including three from each NCAA division — demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. Finalists were selected from a group of 30 Woman of the Year honorees, who will be recognized during the event. That group of 30 includes 10 honorees from each NCAA division and represents a range of sports. Schools nominated a record 585 college athletes for the award. Congratulations are in order for the three finalists from Division III - Monica Feeley of Vassar, Marin McCoy of Swarthmore, and Hannah Orbach-Mandel of Kenyon. Read their biographies here.

4. Polls Cross Country (M) - USTFCCCA North Central Williams Washington-St. Louis Wartburg UW-La Crosse Claremont-M-S Carnegie Mellon Pomona-Pitzer Johns Hopkins Calvin 11. MIT, 12. Chicago, 13. Geneseo, 14. Otterbein, 15. Carleton, 16. Rensselaer, 17. Bates, T18. Emory, T18. Case Western Reserve, 20. Middlebury 21. Haverford, 22. UC Santa Cruz, 23. John Carroll, 24. Amherst, 25. Dickinson, 26. Ithaca, 27. UW-Stevens Point, 28. Berea, 29. St. Olaf, 30. UW-Stout, 31. WPI, 32. Brockport, 33, St. Thomas, T34. Connecticut College, T34. UW-Eau Claire, >> Moving Up: Case Western (+12), Otterbein (+3) >> Moving Down: Amherst (-5) >> Hello: Ithaca, St. Thomas >> Bye-Bye: Rochester, St. Lawrence >> The Key Stat: North Central set a modern-era program record with its 25th consecutive week atop the poll. Cross Country (W) - USTFCCCA Johns Hopkins Chicago Washington-St. Louis Tufts Williams Geneseo MIT Carleton Pomona-Pitzer Dickinson T11. Claremont-M-S, T11. Rensselaer, 13. UW-La Crosse, 14. Oberlin, 15. St. Thomas, 16. Hope, 17. Wartburg, T18. Middlebury, T18. UW-Eau Claire, 20. Carnegie Mellon 21. RIT, T22. Case Western Reserve, T22. Washington and Lee, 24. Rochester, 25. UC Santa Cruz, 26. Wesleyan, Conn., 27. Baldwin Wallace, 28. Centre, 29. Elmhurst, 30. Coast Guard, 31. John Carroll, 32. Messiah, 33. St. Olaf, 34. Emory, 35. Occidental >> Moving Up: St. Thomas (+5), Pomona-Pitzer (+5) >> Moving Down: Rochester (-11), Baldwin Wallace (-5), Claremont-M-S (-5) >> Hello: RIT, Occidental >> Bye-Bye: TCNJ, UW-Stevens Point >> The Key Stat: Johns Hopkins rises to the No. 1 spot for the 50th time in the past seven years.

5.  Comings and Goings  Ron Koenig named assistant men's and women's squash coach at Franklin & Marshall. Kolin Dean resigned as head tennis coach at Wisconsin-Superior.

6.  Play of the Day

😱My Oh My! #SarahCraig #FSUFalcons 🏑 #d3fhpic.twitter.com/tyaRfCRcyu

— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) October 2, 2019

7.  1 Band Thing   Bureaucracy can get the best of anyone. Even people who ooze school spirit. Consider what happened to Columbia University’s marching band last month: The band cannot play for the entire 2019 football season, because it did not submit its application for funding on time. During Saturday’s football game, a Staten Island high-school band played “Roar, Lion, Roar,” — the university’s fight song — while Columbia’s own band members sat in the stands, sans instruments. Students are not allowed to perform this football season, and any band member who tries to play an instrument at a football game could be disciplined. At Saturday’s home opener, security confiscated one student’s drumsticks and another’s flute. A cardboard trombone was allowed inside. On its surface, the crackdown is a little goofy. But as The New York Times put it, the dispute also raises concerns that administrators want the band to be more tame and corporate. Read the Times’s story for more — it hits all the essential notes. - courtesy of The Chronicle of Higher Education

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