Appeasement of the MIAA

[SEC_OF_D2]

So this is 100% conspiracy theory with zero evidence at all. But hey, this is a message board. What better place to share this.

After the week ten regional rankings and now the playoff selections, I can’t help but wonder if some of the choices were meant to appease the conference. My thoughts started with Mo West being slated to make the playoffs in week 10 as long as long they beat MOSO. While they were absolutely deserving, it would have been a surprise to me that they would put 3 MIAA teams in and pass on a conference champion with only 1 loss in UIndy. I believe if they had won, that would have happened. Seeing the playoff matchups reaffirmed my thoughts. It makes zero sense that Grand Valley State opens with Ferris State, with their only losses being to an FCS team and Grand Valley. The NCAA has said they try to avoid in-conference match ups and Ferris State had a good enough resume to warrant a different match up. UCM and Pitt have way better match ups in round 1. It should have been GV vs. Henderson, and either Pitt or UCM playing either Ferris or UIndy. What they did is baffling. UCM has the best path to the regional finals and we could easily see Pitt vs. UCM again there.

Racy has been one of the more adamant voices for changing the current playoff model and to have the NCAA invest more into championships. If the NCAA has proven anything over time, it’s that they will resist change to the status quo as much as possible. Could the MIAA’s favorable playoff positions be the NCAA trying to give the MIAA better odds at making a deep run to try to quell the push to change the playoff format? Maybe so.

This probably carries zero weight to it, but I can’t help but wonder now seeing how things played out. Should be an exciting playoffs to watch either way.

[NWFanatic]

Had MOWest not stumbled at MoSo UIndy likely would’ve bumped them via EA

[GorillaTeacher]

So this is 100% conspiracy theory with zero evidence at all. But hey, this is a message board. What better place to share this.

After the week ten regional rankings and now the playoff selections, I can’t help but wonder if some of the choices were meant to appease the conference. My thoughts started with Mo West being slated to make the playoffs in week 10 as long as long they beat MOSO. While they were absolutely deserving, it would have been a surprise to me that they would put 3 MIAA teams in and pass on a conference champion with only 1 loss in UIndy. I believe if they had won, that would have happened. Seeing the playoff matchups reaffirmed my thoughts. It makes zero sense that Grand Valley State opens with Ferris State, with their only losses being to an FCS team and Grand Valley. The NCAA has said they try to avoid in-conference match ups and Ferris State had a good enough resume to warrant a different match up. UCM and Pitt have way better match ups in round 1. It should have been GV vs. Henderson, and either Pitt or UCM playing either Ferris or UIndy. What they did is baffling. UCM has the best path to the regional finals and we could easily see Pitt vs. UCM again there.

Racy has been one of the more adamant voices for changing the current playoff model and to have the NCAA invest more into championships. If the NCAA has proven anything over time, it’s that they will resist change to the status quo as much as possible. Could the MIAA’s favorable playoff positions be the NCAA trying to give the MIAA better odds at making a deep run to try to quell the push to change the playoff format? Maybe so.

This probably carries zero weight to it, but I can’t help but wonder now seeing how things played out. Should be an exciting playoffs to watch either way.

Truthfully, nothing was surprising about this bracket. The committees largely don't care about rematches if it reduces flights. This was the easiest way flights were going to be reduced.
I would hardly say we have a favorable position. They aren't going to make Ferris fly out to UCM or Pitt just to save a rematch. They could have swapped them into another region, but that would likely have created more flights later. Then the earned access with New Haven who had to play a 2-seed threw a wrench into swapping Ferris out. EA should probably be abolished, or have AQs for conference champs, but they would have to make conferences have a tie breaker for the AQ spots.

Since OBU lost, all MOWest had to do was win, and they and Uindy would have been in the playoffs on their own accord with no earned access.

[GrifFan]

Truthfully, nothing was surprising about this bracket. The committees largely don't care about rematches if it reduces flights. This was the easiest way flights were going to be reduced.
I would hardly say we have a favorable position. They aren't going to make Ferris fly out to UCM or Pitt just to save a rematch. They could have swapped them into another region, but that would likely have created more flights later. Then the earned access with New Haven who had to play a 2-seed threw a wrench into swapping Ferris out. EA should probably be abolished, or have AQs for conference champs, but they would have to make conferences have a tie breaker for the AQ spots.

Since OBU lost, all MOWest had to do was win, and they and Uindy would have been in the playoffs on their own accord with no earned access.

Yeah, the NCAA has consistently demonstrated that avoiding rematches isn’t a consideration. Like, at all. Henderson State is the team that would have been out in the cold if MWSU had won, not UIndy.

[GorillaTeacher]

Yeah, the NCAA has consistently demonstrated that avoiding rematches isn’t a consideration. Like, at all. Henderson State is the team that would have been out in the cold if MWSU had won, not UIndy.

If the committee knew about Inkblots work, they could probably contract him out and come up with a bracket that satisfies all their rules, reduces flights and is interesting. Right now the committees are staffed with bureaucrats and politicians, not analysts and logistics.

[lleachieshusband]

If there really was a conspiracy theory aspect to playoff seeding, NW would have made it in on the “just because” clause; win-loss record be darned. :-).