I talked to Merrimack coach Ron Anderson today about the schedule change
and divisions.  He said that it was done by the coaches, and that 24 games
was a compromise between some of the coaches who wanted to go to 28 games
and some who wanted to stay at 21.  There was never a consideration to go
to 24 instead of 28 for the main reason of allowing teams to schedule more
nonconference games.  So although Keith, Bill, etc. have commented that this
was good for the game by allowing more NLG, it's just a nice side effect.
In actuality, most of the coaches who wanted to go to 28 were concerned about
whether they would be able to schedule enough NLG if they remained at 21
league games (and probably still are concerned about this).
 
As for how the divisions were determined, he said that the exact way it was
done was to take the league order of finish over the last two seasons.  This
is how it went:
 
89-90: BC, Maine, BU, PC, NH, NU, Low, MC
90-91: BC, Maine, BU, PC, NH, MC, Low, NU
 
Then, an average finish was determined for each team by giving one point for
a first-place finish, two for second, etc.  So, the first five were BC, Maine,
BU, PC, and NH.  The last three tied.  But this doesn't matter, as we will see.
 
The first-place team was placed in one division.  2 & 3 went in the 2nd.
4 & 5 went in the first.  6 & 7 went in the 2nd, and 8 went in the first.
NU & MC went ahead of Lowell because they eached finished 6th once, while
Lowell's highest finish was 7th.  So, we end up with:
 
BC (1), PC (4), NH (5), Low (8)
Maine (2), BU (3), NU & MC (t6)
 
I mentioned that this doesn't favor some teams who are stuck with teams they
have more trouble with, etc. and suggested the head-to-head idea I put forth
on the list.  He agreed that the system wasn't perfect, but they had to find
some way to compromise and this was it.
 
Anderson added that this was how the divisions would likely remain for the
next two years, and that at that time, they would look at the results and
decide what, if any, changes should be made, i.e. reorder the divisions
based on a new set of 2-year standings or some other criteria or perhaps
go back to the drawing board.
 
So there you have it.
 
By the way, I've learned that Merrimack nonleague games for next season
include hosting Union and likely RPI & travelling for pairs of games at Air
Force, Western Michigan and perhaps Alabama-Huntsville (= 8 NLG of a possible
10 with the 24-game league schedule).  The only overnight trips this season
are to Union/RPI and one game at Maine in January, but it looks like next
season it will be time to start racking up those frequent flyer miles again.
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Mike Machnik        [log in to unmask]       [log in to unmask]