[Timothy Newman asks why Middlebury does not accept NCAA tournament bids.] Middlebury is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). NESCAC is really not a conference (i.e. there is no NESCAC champion or computed NESCAC standings). It is mainly just an agreement between a group of schools pertaining to athletics versus academics. (sort of like the Ivy League of division III ;-)) I forget the exact content of the NESCAC rules, but they set limits on practice time, how soon practice can start before the season, how many games may be played, etc. Due to these regulations, there can be no NCAA tounament play for any NESCAC school's hockey programs. If people are interested, I can try to find out what NESCAC rule pertains to this and which schools are affected by it (i.e. members of NESCAC). Pete