Video: Should Division II Overhaul the Playoff System? - with Mike Racy

[Ram040506]

Do any of those conferences limit scholarships below 36?

I would be OK if they made that and silo scheduling automatic playoff disqualifiers.

I don't think any of the leagues in SR1 have a scholarship limit.

[IUPNation]

Do any of those conferences limit scholarships below 36?

I would be OK if they made that and silo scheduling automatic playoff disqualifiers.

No conference Region 1 has limits below 36. It’s just raising the money is the top issue everyone faces. If IUP had an easier time to be at 36 they’d be there.

[Predatory Primates]

I don't understand why a school would belong to D2, but fund at an naia level? Does naia not offer as many sports, do they belong because there are no naia schools close that they can play, or is it more of a prestige thing?

[Brandon]

I don't understand why a school would belong to D2, but fund at an naia level? Does naia not offer as many sports, do they belong because there are no naia schools close that they can play, or is it more of a prestige thing?

Prestige, proximity, and the fact that it's not much more expensive to fund the other sports in D2.

[IUPNation]

I don't understand why a school would belong to D2, but fund at an naia level? Does naia not offer as many sports, do they belong because there are no naia schools close that they can play, or is it more of a prestige thing?

Because they might be good in other sports at this level they can fund.

IUP prioritizes Foosball and both basketball programs. I am told our mens basketball is fully funded. We are 2/3 funded for foosball..

[boatcapt]

Maybe we should have Two Divisions in D2 the D2-C division where Schools want to be Competitive and D2-DEI for schools who want Diversity Equity and Inclusion...wouldn't that make everyone happy? :)

And who will determine who will be in what "Division?"

[libertybearcat]

And who will determine who will be in what "Division?"

Schools choose, but will have to live up to the standards in each division

[KleShreen]

Maybe we should have Two Divisions in D2 the D2-C division where Schools want to be Competitive and D2-DEI for schools who want Diversity Equity and Inclusion...wouldn't that make everyone happy? :)

Go to the OT if you want to make dumb statements.

[boatcapt]

Schools choose, but will have to live up to the standards in each division

Who decides the standards?

[EastStroud13]

I don't understand why a school would belong to D2, but fund at an naia level? Does naia not offer as many sports, do they belong because there are no naia schools close that they can play, or is it more of a prestige thing?

In the specific context of SR1, NAIA is a complete non-entity here. I don't know what it'd take for there to be a shift from NCAA to NAIA but it'd have to be significant.

[Ram Tough]

In the specific context of SR1, NAIA is a complete non-entity here. I don't know what it'd take for there to be a shift from NCAA to NAIA but it'd have to be significant.

The last huge NAIA presence in the region was the WVIAC before the whole conference moved to NCAA Division II in 1994. That essentially took away the NAIA footprint for most of the area. In fact WVU Tech transitioned to the NAIA and has tried to transition back ever since because they are drowning in travel expenses they never had before.

[IUPNation]

In the specific context of SR1, NAIA is a complete non-entity here. I don't know what it'd take for there to be a shift from NCAA to NAIA but it'd have to be significant.

The Pee Sack was once in the NAIA. The voted in 1980 to join D2. Shippensburg (1981), Bloomsburg (1985) and IUP (1987), made the D2 playoffs before today’s elite did…

[Thunder]

So I thought to myself "Hey I wonder if anything else has been posted on that thread about changing the playoffs, let's check." 19 pages! Wow, this could be some interesting Saturday morning reading. Now I feel like Andy Dufrane having crawled through a river of ****-smelling foulness I couldn't have possibly imagined. I couldn't read it all and skipped quite a few posts, but here are a few thoughts I have:

1) NCAA D2 does not have many opportunities to shine on even a small national stage. The D2 football national championship (and I would argue the semifinals could get there) and the basketball Elite 8. I think it would be in the best interest of all D2 schools to make those games as entertaining and competitive as possible. Regionalization does not make that possible. For example if the 2021 Regional Final between Northwest Missouri St and Northern State had been the National Championship game, it would have been incredible for D2 basketball.

2) I think Witt proved in this interview that you can rethink the bracketing without a major increase in travel. Travel is a bigger problem in football with much larger traveling parties. I don't think flights for teams in basketball should be a conversation ender when attempting to get more evenly distributed region tournaments.

3) I actually would like to see an interview from Brandon and Witt with a conference commissioner opposing these changes. I disagree with Brandon that it would not be interesting as he and Witt would be providing an alternative for the interviewee to argue against. Now, finding someone willing to do that interview might be difficult and doing that interview without it just turning into an argument might be even more difficult.

[Brandon]

I disagree with Brandon that it would not be interesting as he and Witt would be providing an alternative for the interviewee to argue against.

There have been a lot of stories over the years and a lot of comments over the years regarding what can't be done. This was the first time I can remember that a person in a position of prominence has proposed that something new. That's why it's interesting. That's why the same ole same ole is not, unless someone comes out with strong opposition to Mike's suggestions.

[Ram Tough]

I am not against playoff reform, but I also think that there is a bit of an overreaction here and the last two seasons are being used to justify it. In 2021 no one was beating Ferris. We can all talk about how we can make the product look better, but there is no helping a team being that much better than everyone else. This past year, everyone thought that Mines was a Top 5 team. Honestly, they probably were. But they got waxed in the title game. This year, the two best teams were in the GLIAC. Some years, that wouldn't be the case. Was the GSC weak when Valdosta was hammered in 2021 or UNA was soundly beaten by NWMSU in 2016? Of course not.

Realistically, the D2 football landscape revolves around the MIAA, GLIAC and GSC. Then, there's a second tier of conferences that can possibly break through in any given year with the NSIC, LSC and RMAC. After that, there is everyone else. Realistically, do you see a champion coming out of any other conference outside of a lightning in a bottle scenario? Shoot, the same can almost be said of the RMAC and LSC as well.

So, what's the best solution? Do we take away regions? In a perfect world, we would. However, the NCAA is not going to add that extra travel expense. At best, what we can hope for is basing the brackets around geography based on the teams selected. And even then, it doesn't guarantee that you're going to have the best two teams meet in the title game. Shoot, even if they want to move the GLIAC back into SR1, I am okay with that. Just be aware that will likely mean current conference in SR1 will likely be shipped into a different region. And then, a conference from that region will likely move somewhere else. We all remember when SR2 had so few teams in it until the CIAA was moved back.

My point is that we can reform, but we also don't know what the landscape of D2 will look like in 5 or 10 years.