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

[Ram Tough]

I think it's likely that the game broadcasts were discontinued not because no one watched, but because Division II decided not stop paying for them.

Part of the problem with doing something like the game of the week is that all the conferences were represented. Because they are part of Division II and contribute financially they felt justified in demanding their inclusion. This led to very few games between the top programs. I specifically recall Central Washington playing Minnesota Duluth, but I cannot remember the matchups outside that one.

I remember Shippensburg and someone else. But even that wasn't a great match up as far as the PSAC is concerned. The WVIAC got Charleston and I want to say Fairmont. Again, we aren't talking about a grand match up. So, I definitely see your point.

[Brandon]

I remember Shippensburg and someone else. But even that wasn't a great match up as far as the PSAC is concerned. The WVIAC got Charleston and I want to say Fairmont. Again, we aren't talking about a grand matchup. So, I definitely see your point.

I was thinking there was a game at Fairmont.

The schools and coaches are not blameless on this.

GVSU/FSU
NW/PSU
CSUP/CSM
IUP/SRU
Etc.....

Most of those schools won't acquiesce to moving the game against their rival to play on a Thursday night so that the game is played in a short week. So, we are left with second-tier matchups (even within a conference) because those schools are willing to adjust to get some sort of bump out of being seen.

I think streaming also had an impact on the continuation of paying a fourth tier network like CBS College Sports to broadcast suboptimal matchups with suboptimal setups and suboptimal announcers who routinely mess up names, facts, etc.


Side note.... One of my biggest criticism of regionalization is that not only are we not getting the 28 best teams in the playoffs, we are often not getting the best seven in each region.

[Ram Tough]

Matt's method seeded 1-8. That aligns with your thinking and goes a long way toward making sure the four best aren't eliminated by each other early in the playoffs.

It was constructed using information only available after the regular season. It was a snapshot of how things would have looked at the time.

1. GVSU
2. Ferris State
3. Angelo State
4. Pittsburg State
5. West Florida
6. Ouachita Baptist
7. Delta State
8. Colorado Mines

I could see something like that more than worrying about the top four teams being in different brackets. I feel like most of us felt GVSU and Ferris were the two best teams, but it wasn't as clear after that. It doesn't help with the travel issue, but it does completely take care of the problematic thinking to give the best four teams a chance to make the semis. It's more feasible to give the top eight teams from the regular season a chance to make it deeper into the playoffs.

[Ram Tough]

I was thinking there was a game at Fairmont.

The schools and coaches are not blameless on this.

GVSU/FSU
NW/PSU
CSUP/CSM
IUP/SRU
Etc.....

Most of those schools won't acquiesce to moving the game against their rival to play on a Thursday night so that the game is played in a short week. So, we are left with second-tier matchups (even within a conference) because those schools are willing to adjust to get some sort of bump out of being seen.

I think streaming also had an impact on the continuation of paying a fourth tier network like CBS College Sports to broadcast suboptimal matchups with suboptimal setups and suboptimal announcers who routinely mess up names, facts, etc.


Side note.... One of my biggest criticism of regionalization is that not only are we not getting the 28 best teams in the playoffs, we are often not getting the best seven in each region.

Around that time both Fairmont and Charleston loved having Thursday night games for whatever reason. I think Fairmont had three Thursday night games one season.

I also agree with you that they don't even always get the best seven teams in a region. I pay more attention to SR1 because that is where my team is and not a single conference in the region is behind a paywall. And let's just say that some sketchy decisions are sometimes made between numbers 5-10. I hate Earned Access. I could accept it better if they gave a bid to conference champions. I also hate that every conference doesn't have a tie breaker for their conference champions.

[KleShreen]

No...I know reality when I see it.

You want it rigged so it's always to your advantage.

People just don't like how I tell it like it is...

But you keep on whining how you want a perfectly engineered playoffs so that the Semi Finals are a GLIAC/MIAA/GSC circle jerk that will somehow be the games of the week and College Game Day will be broadcasting from one of them and the world will be all perfect but like fetch...that 's not going to happen.

Wake up...D2 is small college foosball. Grand Valley has chosen to stay in a small college division when it's not a small college. It's peers are MAC schools and they are choosing not to fade away into the sad MAC world. That's their right. I don't blame them.

The MIAA guy said expand to 32 and give every conference an auto bid. Okay..I can go with that but I think there should be less teams. I feel once it went past 16 the field was just watered down. FBS needs to never go past 8 teams. I would hen assume all conference winners would stay in Region and at large teams would get put across all regions.

If you add more teams from the Midwest into a Northeast bracket, those teams would have to be the bottom seeds. It would not be fair to put a Midwest team at the top of a Northeast bracket. Nope. Nope. Nope. The top 6 seeds in each region must be from that region and the regional final must be played on the home field of the top remaining seed of the region. We cannot have a team in Michigan or Missouri or Kansas having the Northeast regional final on their home field. Absolutely not.

Yes. D2 is small college football. For schools who can afford 36 scholarships. SR1 is playing even smaller college football, and should be playing D3 if they can't afford the allotted 36. Then you can save all the money in the world. GV's "peers" are not MAC schools. MAC schools are spending 5x the yearly budget on athletics. GV can't afford that. They are where they need to be. SR1 is not. They are the ones who are playing at a level which they can not afford.

[Brandon]

Around that time both Fairmont and Charleston loved having Thursday night games for whatever reason. I think Fairmont had three Thursday night games one season.

I also agree with you that they don't even always get the best seven teams in a region. I pay more attention to SR1 because that is where my team is and not a single conference in the region is behind a paywall. And let's just say that some sketchy decisions are sometimes made between numbers 5-10. I hate Earned Access. I could accept it better if they gave a bid to conference champions. I also hate that every conference doesn't have a tie breaker for their conference champions.

I love Thursday night games. I wish there were more of them.

[Predatory Primates]

Yes. D2 is small college football. For schools who can afford 36 scholarships. SR1 is playing even smaller college football, and should be playing D3 if they can't afford the allotted 36. Then you can save all the money in the world. GV's "peers" are not MAC schools. MAC schools are spending 5x the yearly budget on athletics. GV can't afford that. They are where they need to be. SR1 is not. They are the ones who are playing at a level which they can not afford.

I thought GV already decided to move up?

[Ram Tough]

I love Thursday night games. I wish there were more of them.

I'm a Shepherd fan. Night games seem mythical.

[Predatory Primates]

A fix of the problem of the extinction of local media has to be achieved before the playoffs can be restructured?

No. A fix for the problem of there being almost no experts on d2 football. They can't use a committee made up of coaches or AD's. They would need to pay to create a consulting firm or other source. Otherwise it would probably be a bigger s### show than it is now.

[Brandon]

I'm a Shepherd fan. Night games seem mythical.

Are the light poles too tall for the town's liking?

[Brandon]

No. A fix for the problem of there being almost no experts on d2 football. They can't use a committee made up of coaches or AD's. They would need to pay to create a consulting firm or other source. Otherwise it would probably be a bigger s### show than it is now.

Gotcha.

[IUPNation]

I think 2004 was the first year that any sort of data was used, but I could be remembering incorrectly.

You probably are correct but 2003 was a travesty no matter what..

[Ram Tough]

Are the light poles too tall for the town's liking?

It's an old and historic town. From what I have been told, the town has not wanted lights at the athletic facilities due to ruining the town's aesthetic. And if you spend more than a month there, you could believe that Shepherdstown would be that petty. I can also tell you first hand that the town will even out its aesthetics over safety if it can get away with it.

This has been disputed by a couple of people in recent years, and a couple of people have said that the school just didn't want to budget for lights. However, considering all of the improvements to campus, I find it hard to believe that adding lights would be considered too expensive.

I will also add that I couldn't imagine the lights affecting the town that much when you look at how Ram Stadium sits on the campus. On one side, you enter at the top of the stadium. The other side is surrounded by academic and administrative buildings.

[IUPNation]

Why is that not fair, other than it's the way you want it to be?

The system doesn't have to be married to NE quadrant. Maybe it could be split in two. Maybe there could be no split at all.

Because we’d never get home games going forward and then everyone will stop caring. Once the Midwest takes over the process it’s going to stay that way because the permanent narrative would be that the Midwest teams will always be better.

[IUPNation]

Yes. D2 is small college football. For schools who can afford 36 scholarships. SR1 is playing even smaller college football, and should be playing D3 if they can't afford the allotted 36. Then you can save all the money in the world. GV's "peers" are not MAC schools. MAC schools are spending 5x the yearly budget on athletics. GV can't afford that. They are where they need to be. SR1 is not. They are the ones who are playing at a level which they can not afford.

Stop with the move to D3 crap. That’s tired. Yeah let’s move IUP’s nationally ranked basketball program to D3 because we are just at 25 for foosball. Maybe GV should move to D3 because their basketball team sucks.

GV has money. The poor act isn’t working.