This topic may have previously been discussed on the list;
however, I don't recall seeing any mention of it.
On page 2 of the Drop the Puck 1995-96 College Hockey
Yearbook there is a brief article about changes made in the
selection criteria for the NCAA Hockey Tournament.  For the past
few years the primary criteria was the infamous RPI, and if two
team's rankings were within .01 of each other then additional
factors were considered, such as: head-to head competition, record
against common opponents, record for the last 20 games, and
record against all teams under consideration.
The article points out several things without being very specific
about the changes.  First, Rick Comley, head coach and A.D. at
Northern Michigan, and Chairman of the NCAA Championship
Committee, said that the RPI was to be "tweaked and
downgraded".  I would assume that "tweaked" means that the
calculation of the Index will be modified.  The current breakdown
is based upon 25% of a team's won/loss percentage, 50% on its
opponent's won/loss percentage, and 25% on its opponent's
opponent's won/loss percentage.  The "downgrading" of the Index
refers to how it will be used in the selection process.  Comely is
quoted as saying that the Index will be used as one of five criteria,
although it will also be used as the final tie breaker.  The other
four criteria are those mentioned above.  Somehow the five criteria
will be used to rank the teams with a "point" system.  Comely goes
on to say that head-to-head is the only criteria that could be worth
more than one point, and that there could be a fluke situation
whereby an under-consideration team with an average record may
have beaten a superior team several times and thus accumulate
several "points".  Unfortunately, the article lacks enough detail to
understand the "point system" referred to.
 
There is one other change in the selection process, which is that
any team with a winning record will be considered for the national
tournament.  This will certainly increase the size of the field, and
make the determination of record against teams under
consideration a challenge to figure out!
Perhaps someone on the list has more information about how the
selection criteria will be applied to generate the "points" for the
relative comparisons.
Rick Sayles
 
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