What Did I Miss?

Those following along know that I’ve been in Cancun for the past week. I’ve tried to follow along the best I can but things get missed. I know that I’ve got double-duty on the Watch List this week and I really need to look through the conferences as we are at the mid-point. I usually do a mid-season review for the conferences so maybe that will get some focus this week.

The NCAA had a press release on Regional Realignment that really didn’t say anything. It’s almost like they are just reminding us that they are looking at it?

In the same release, the NCAA mentions that they are looking at reducing the time it takes to reclassify a school to DIII, which is a good thing in my mind. It basically takes 5-years now with an exploratory year and 4-years of reclassifying. Heck, I’d make it one year to be honest and then have the NCAA push it out if the school isn’t ready after they do their yearly review. If it takes 5-years then fine but if it takes one or two years then great. Just don’t have an extra year if it’s not needed.

In non-volleyball news, UMHB is in hot water and may have to forfeit their 2016 National Championship in football. Not a funny story but what is funny to me was that part of the violations were that a car was provided to a student. Wait for it…a 2006 Subaru. You got to love DIII, right!?! I guess the car was loaned out to a second student but it broke down like an hour after he got it. UMHB is appealing the NCAA decision to vacate their championship. They will lose this appeal because, hey, it’s the NCAA. With that said…a 2006 Subaru.

I kind of figured that the Pre-Championship Manual would come out while on vacation when it was delayed so long. I say “delayed” only because it’s normally out sooner. I really don’t know if there was a set date for its release. I have updated my FAQ page with all of the 2019 information. The highlight of the manual on day one was the announcement of there being 2 Pool B bids. This was just crazy and really showed a lack of work done by the NCAA in putting together the manual, which frankly is like 98% cut/paste. The number of independent teams has dropped a lot since last year and there really was no way there should have been 2 bids for them this year. It was quickly fixed the next day and my assumption is that this was just an oversight. But…IT WAS A HUGE OVERSIGHT! It’s like the one thing most of us are interested in. It was the first thing I looked for in the manual when I got it. It’s like getting the 12 Bill of Rights from James and seeing that he skipped over Amendment I. (Note – Yes, there were originally 12 amendments and they were written by James Madison.)

I’ve already reported this but just because it’s coming up and it’s so important, our West Region RAC is led by HSU Head Coach Sabrina Bingham. Sabrina is a WONDERFUL lady who will no longer speak to me for some reason. Another member is Whittier Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott. Chris is another AWESOME guy who will no longer speak to me for some reason. A new member is Trinity Head Coach Julie Jenkins. Julie is a FANTASTIC lady that secretly wants to talk to me but she can be timid at times. Another new member is Concordia Head Coach Nicole McCoy. I know what you are thinking; I’m going to say something nice about Nicole. Nah, she’s kind of shifty. You never know if she’s going by McCoy or Dalby or McCoy-Dalby. Nicole is definitely someone to keep an eye on and, oh, she doesn’t talk to me, either. Finally, we have my good friend and buddy Whitman Head Coach Matt Helm who loves me and tells me everything…wait!?! What is this? Where did Matt go? He’s been replaced by Willamette Associate Athletics Director Leslie Shevlin! I actually don’t know Leslie but I’m sure if she knew me that she wouldn’t talk to me. (Note – Hey NCAA, I was joking about Matt telling me everything. I’m sure he’s freaking out right now. I mean, seriously, he didn’t even tell me his term was up!) Anyway, three new members to the RAC and I’m just now breaking the news on the third one. I’m really bad at this job!

More Pre-Championship information from the manual:

• The NCAA now allows for Championship sites to be hosted in states that allow sports wagering.

• The National Selection Committee is now chaired by New England Region Moira Long.

• The Midwest Chair is now Paul Schlomer (Head Coach from Edgewood College). (The other Chairs seem to be the same outside of our region, of course.)

• Regional Rankings will be public starting October 23^rd.

• Potential host site bids for Regionals will be due November 1^st.

• Independents Trinity Washington and Valley Forge were moved from the Midwest to Mid-Atlantic Region.

• The NCAA Selection Show will be Monday, November 11 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.

• Complaints about the selection will be Monday, November 11 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

• Logical explanations from the NCAA regarding strange selections will be never.

As for my recent vacation, it was great. We celebrated 30-years of marriage with some friends of ours. I’m not lying that we played volleyball almost every day there to the point my body was breaking down. As I write this I still have a swollen knee and elbow but there is a price to be paid for love at times and volleyball can be a very demanding mistress.