Champs Committee Recap

D3Playbook FEBRUARY 19, 2020 | written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III Our goal is to keep you - the influencers in DIII athletics - 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. >> Yep. It's Hump Day. >> Today's Word Count: 1,094. An easy morning read. Less than four minutes. >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please recommend us to a friend or co-worker. Subscribe to d3Playbook 1. Champs Committee Recap The Division III Championships Committee recommended allowing schools in year three of the provisional or reclassifying process, but not year two, to count toward a conference’s waiting period for automatic qualification in a division championship. The division adopted legislation at the 2020 NCAA Convention that eliminated the fourth year of the membership process. Previously, schools in the last two years of the provisional or reclassifying process could count as one of the seven member schools a conference needs to have for two consecutive years before qualifying for an automatic bid in a championship. >> Expansion: Committee members supported the possible expansion of the field hockey and men’s lacrosse brackets by the 2020-21 academic year. If the changes are approved by the Division III Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and the Division III Management Council, the field hockey bracket would grow by two teams (24 to 26), and the men’s lacrosse bracket also would add two teams (36 to 38). >> Regional Realignment: The committee forwarded a proposed regional alignment model that would become effective Aug. 1, 2021. The proposed modifications would have to be approved by the Division III Management Council before they can be implemented. The realignment model was finalized after 18 months of deliberation within the governance structure and with membership input, primarily from conference commissioners and sport committees, acquired throughout the model’s development. >> Quotable: “I would like to thank the Conference Commissioners group for their hard work to make this happen,” said Kiki Jacobs, committee chair and director of athletics at Roger Williams. “We appreciate all of the feedback we received. Moving forward this new model will help balance the number of schools in each region so regional advisory committees can better assess teams each week.” >> Read More from the NCAA 2. Everybody Into The Pool 2.0  Conference championship season enters its final stage as four conference meets get underway today. Five more begin on Thursday, while another more starts on Friday. Follow your favorite conference here. What We're Watching (M) The NESCAC championship pits four teams in the top 25 - Williams (8), Tufts (10), Amherst (12) and Bates (24). No. 11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 13 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 25 California Lutheran will battle for the SCIAC championship. No. 4 MIT will look for its 12th consecutive NEWMAC crown but will face challenges from No. 15 Coast Guard and WPI. Penn State Behrend goes for its 14th straight league title but first in a combined AMCC/Empire 8 championship meet. Geneseo seeks to extend its six-year reign in the SUNYAC. Rensselaer looks to make it five straight in the Liberty League. What We're Watching (W) No. 13 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 15 Pomona-Pitzer will battle for the SCIAC title. No. 19 Geneseo looks for lucky title No. 13 in a row in the SUNYAC. No. 6 MIT is in search of its 10th straight NEWMAC championship. The Centennial will have a new champion as six-time defending champion Ursinus will not compete. 3.  Big Wednesday It's the penultimate night of the regular season around Division III basketball as three games involve a pair of Top-25 teams, while a number of others pit teams fighting for first place in their conference. Women #8 Wartburg at #10 Loras - watch #14 Augsburg at #11 Bethel - watch #9 Transylvania at Hanover - watch Springfield at Babson - watch Men #15 Springfield at #21 WPI - watch #1 Swarthmore at Haverford - watch #5 Wittenberg at Wabash - watch #7 UW-Platteville at UW-Eau Claire - watch La Roche at Pitt-Greensburg - watch Drew at Scranton - watch SPONSORED MESSAGE D3Playbook is looking for sponsors. NCAA Division III has a desirable demographic that can help your company thrive. Reach more than 700 influencers in NCAA Division III today. Contact d3playbook@gmail.com to get your company in front of decision-makers in small-college athletics. 4.  About Last Night    Emmanuel head women's basketball coach Andy Yosinoff won the 850th game of his storied career as the Saints defeated Lasell, 68-62. He is the first DIII, the sixth active and the 12th all-time coach to reach the plateau.   Kenny Bogus scored 20 points as Benedictine (20-4) took over first place in the NACC with an 83-55 rout of Wisconsin Lutheran (18-6).   Whitworth (20-4) won the battle of the whits and moved into sole possession of first place in the NWC with an 87-82 win at Whitman (18-6). Ben College tallied 23 while Sam Lees added 21 and 13 caroms.   New Paltz (20-3) locked down the top seed in the SUNYAC with a 74-68 overtime win against Cortland (19-4). Marion Dietz led the way with 27, while Paige Niemeyer forced the extra time with clutch free throws with 3.8 remaining.   Husson (17-8) finished unbeaten in NAC play for the first time since 2010 with a 52-49 victory over visiting Maine Maritime (20-5). Bailey Donovan led the way with 21 points and 13 boards.   Emily Olson had a hat trick and Katie McCoy made 34 saves as No. 4 Gustavus Adolphus (18-3-2) blanked UW-Superior (15-7-1), 3-0.   Camille Scott threw the first no-hitter in program history as McMurry defeated University of the Southwest, 8-0. She walked two batters and struck out nine in her gem. See a post-game interview. 5.  Rankings >> Welcome: Connecticut College, Saint John's, Geneseo, Amherst, John Carroll, Tufts. >> Movers and Shakers: RPI (+10), Williams (+9), St. John Fisher (+7).   UW-Oshkosh is atop the national rating index in the regular season for the first time since 2013. The Titans have 12 marks listed among the top-10 in the nation, including Jonathan Wilburn's 15.32m (50-3 1/4) in the triple jump. Loras has its best ranking in program history, while Williams soared nine spots to a program-record No. 4 position. >> Hello: Redlands, Trine, John Carroll, Wesleyan, North Central, St. Thomas. >> Upward Bound: Dubuque (+13), Geneseo (+7), Rochester (+5).   Williams has 14 marks that are ranked in the top-10 nationally across eight events. Emma Egan has the top performance in the high jump (1.76m, 5-9 1/4). Ithaca's Parley Hannan leads DIII in the mile, 3000, and 5000 meters. 6.  Comings and Goings Phoebe A. Hanson will step down as chancellor at Rutgers-Camden in July. Megan Morrison named executive director of the Middle Atlantic Conference. Amy Hildbrandt named head women's wrestling coach at Trine. Pete Hansen named head men's and women's wrestling coach at Emory & Henry. Scott Andrews named head women's tennis coach at Juniata. Breann Shelton named head women's volleyball coach at Hardin-Simmons. Aaron Gray named assistant sports information director at Pomona-Pitzer. 7.  For The Win Connor Laverty beats the buzzer...@WidenerMBB MAC Commonwealth Regular Season Champions!!! #GoWidener #PlayWithPride #RisingToRoar #JustTheBeginning pic.twitter.com/yHlxMl06lB — Widener Athletics (@WidenerSports) February 19, 2020 Subscribe to d3Playbook