New-look bracket long overdue By Pat Coleman D3football.com  Eight years after the Division III football playoff structure changed to allow for teams to move between regions and make the postseason brackets more balanced, the NCAA finally produced a bracket that attempted to make that a reality.In a year in which no East Region team presented itself as a strong candidate for the top seed, it had one imported: Mount Union, the nine-time national champions. UW-Whitewater, the top seed in the West region last year and winners of consecutive all-expenses-paid trips to Salem, Va., was moved to the North as a top seed, while Central claimed the top spot in the West. Washington & Jefferson was the top seed in the South. And all I can say is, it’s about time. “We felt like we had a clear top four teams,” NCAA championships committee liaison Wayne Burrow said Sunday morning, “and wanted to make sure they each got a top seed.” I can only hope this is a harbinger of things to come. The walls between regions, which were abolished after 1998, came down finally this season. In the past, the only attempts at competitive balance have come at the bottom of the bracket, with a couple of teams moved across regional lines. How much impact can a No.6 or No. 7 seed have on the strength of the bracket? But moving a No. 1 seed has impact. It’s not as if East Region No. 1 seeds have had anything to write home about. In the history of the expanded playoffs, those teams are 5-8. Back in 1999 we advocated moving a team over to become the top seed in the East. Lycoming was available, sitting as the No. 2 seed in the South, and is a heck of a lot closer to the East Region than Mount Union is. (In 1999 the MAC was in the South Region.) It seems this year’s committee placed a stronger emphasis on teams in strong conferences, as well. The WIAC went through some years where it was underrepresented in the NCAA playoffs but this year the conference actually got a gift – not just a second team in the playoffs but another chance to win two first-round games. The OAC runner-up has always gotten extra respect because teams have to play Mount Union in the regular season. And the Empire 8, well, two at-large bids says a lot for what that conference looks like these days. The old committee might well have given Curry the No. 1 seed based on its 11-0 record. The committee also split up teams in the two strongest conferences. UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire are on opposite ends of the bracket and could meet in the Stagg Bowl, as could Mount Union and Capital. Now, admittedly, there are dangers in all this. Where do we fall down the slippery slope toward subjective rankings and going back toward the old days? The less political the process is, the more open it is. And the more open the selection process is, the easier it is for teams to know what they need to do to get in. So bravo, NCAA. But be careful. |
| Permalink | Nov 11, 2007 |
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