NCAA to announce Regional host sites tomorrow

Tom Petty had it right: The waiting is the hardest part. But there’s just one more day until the NCAA announces the Division-III Regional host sites, according the the Volleyball Handbook.

Also due out tomorrow are the second of three NCAA regional rankings that are a key criterion in the selection of Pool B and C teams for the NCAA tournament.

My predicted area regional hosts: Washington University and UW-Oshkosh. The Wash U part of things doesn’t bode well for Midwest and Central teams on the bubble come selection night, as I’ve lamented before … at great length. Just not enough schools within driving distance (500+ miles and the NCAA must fly teams) of St. Louis to make Wash U a bubble-friendly host. But the Bears definitely deserve it, so it’s an immutable scenario for the NCAA. And for the bubble teams, unfortunately. If you didn’t know, the NCAA doesn’t like to spend money on flights.

Wash U (Central) and UWO (Midwest) should also be No. 1 in tomorrow’s regional rankings.

-Ricky Nelson