Paulette Dwen wrote:
> Okay, a couple of days ago, the problem was that the decision to keep a
> certain eastern team at home was because they had better fan support than
> Lowell.  Today, the argument is that Lowell is getting fan support, and
> thus should be seeded in the East because that fan support can grow even
> larger.
>
> I say if this is the reason to seed teams in the East, we have the wrong
> teams there.  Vermont doesn't need help with increasing fan support.  Nor
> does Clarkson or Cornell.  Who needs the most help?  Dartmouth.  They are
> the ones who really got screwed.  Think about how many fans Thompson would
> pack in next year if they had only gotten one of those eastern bids.  How
> can the NCAA ignore this program year after year?  Why, they should have
> taken Lake State's bid and given it to the Big Green.  After all, Lake
> State has had its turn in the national tournament.  It's time to give
> another program a chance.
 
Hello?  I never asked for a handout for Lowell.  In fact, I SPECIFICALLY said
that back when Lowell looked like a bottom two seed I expected them to be
DESERVEDLY sent out West.  However, UML finished as the third team in the
East.  They weren't looking for a handout.  They were looking for what EVERY
SINGLE OTHER THIRD SEED has gotten.  Namely a home regional.
 
Precedent was broken and Lowell lost what no previous third seed has lost and
Cornell was given was no previous non-host sixth seed has gotten.  This sounds
more like welfare-for-the-rich than Lowell asking for a handout.
 
My point in terms of discussing Lowell's current situation was to emphasize
that the welfare-for-the-rich situation that has developed comes at a very
tough time for Lowell.  More established programs (and I used the example of
Lake State although private email has shown that to be a somewhat flawed
example) could sustain this inequity better than Lowell can at this time.
 
Not looking for anything we didn't deserve,
 
DaveH
 
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