"John T. Whelan" <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>
> Mike Machnik explains:
>
> >Actually, the NCAA still considers these programs (AIC, Sacred Heart) to be
> >D2.  Lee Urton of USCHO clarified this with the NCAA recently.  They are D2
> >but not eligible for the D2 NCAAs.
>
>         After I sent the message, I realized there might be a
> difference between schools (like Quinnipiac) that were trying to move
> all of their sports to Division I and schools (like Nebraska-Omaha)
> that wanted to begin NCAA hockey and do it at the Division I level.  I
> suppose something like that is at play here.  (UNO is playing up,
> right?  I'm not sure now if they're D1 in other sports.)
 
Yes, UNO is a D2 institution.  They are playing up in hockey.
 
However, the other distinction here is the schools that are not changing
their NCAA division (AIC and SHU) but want to move just hockey up and were
playing before.  So you really have three situations here.
 
> >Thus the MAAC will have two D2 programs and six D1 programs this season.
> >In 1999-2000, AIC and Sacred Heart will become D1, and Bentley and
> >Mercyhurst will join.  Those two will then be D2 programs (in their second
> >year of provisional D1 membership) while the other eight will be D1.  In
> >2000-2001, all ten MAAC teams will be D1 (unless others move up and are
> >still provisional members).
>
>         Here's an interesting thought: there was talk a few months ago
> of the MAAC getting an automatic NCAA bid on that sort of timescale.
> I would presume that they will not get such a bid until everyone in
> the league is an eligble D1 school.  It sounds like they might get it
> in the first season where that is true, though.
 
18.5 says that a conference is eligible for automatic qualification if they
have at least six members classified in D1 (which the MAAC does) and if
they meet "all requirements...in 31.3.4."  31.3.4 goes into a lot of detail
as to how the qualification process may occur and it's rather complicated.
However I have been told that the MAAC would first be eligible for an auto
bid in its third season and this may be because of 31.3.4.2(a) which says
that a conference must be a member of the NCAA for two consecutive academic
years and have conducted competition in that sport for 2 years as well
(waivers may be granted).  I am guessing that the first part of that does
not apply to the MAAC since it has been a D1 conference for a while, but
the second part does since it has not sponsored hockey yet.
 
The natural question would be what happens if the championship is won by a
non-D1 team.  In that event I believe the rule would apply which says
simply that the auto bid would be forfeited for that season.  This also
seems to apply for teams that are ineligible for the NCAAs (due to
probation, etc.).
 
BTW since a conference like the ECAC East has at least six D3 members, it
would seem to be eligible for a D3 bid.  But it may be that the ECAC East
is not considered a D3 conference by the NCAA.  Or since the rules say only
that a conference *may* receive automatic qualification, then there are
probably reasons why it was just not extended a bid.  The situation with
NESCAC schools not being able to take part in the NCAAs if they also
competed in the conference postseason may play a role here (as well as the
possibility at least in the past of non-D3 teams like AIC, UConn, etc.
winning the title).  But I do not actually know the specific reasons why a
conference like the ECAC East has not received a bid.  This is only
speculation.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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