I was going to wait another month or two for the dust to
settle before wondering about this, but:
 
        On the subject of who in the MAAC would be eligible for the
NCAA tournament, and whose games are to be included in the RPI and
pairwise comparisons, it's been pointed out that AIC and Sacred Heart
are still in their probationary periods.  As I understand, that
doesn't mean they're still Division II, but rather that they're
Division I and not eligible, just like Nebraska-Omaha was last season.
The distinction is important for two reasons:
 
        1) Games against ineligible D1 teams still count for
determining who's got 20 D1 games on their schedule (although if there
are six full-fledged D1 programs in the MAAC, that still gives each of
them 20 conference games against the others, so it shouldn't matter).
 
        2) Ineligible teams (eg Mankato State in 1996-1997) can still
be included in the PWR.  Last year UNO and Niagara asked not to be
included so D1 powers wouldn't shy away from playing them.  The
dynamic might be different with the teams in question safe within a
28-game conference structure, so I think we have to see what the NCAA
says is happening this season.
 
        Here's my understanding of the status of MAAC schools:
 
Full Division 1:
        Canisius, Iona, UConn, Fairfield, Holy Cross
 
Probationary:
        American International, Sacred Heart
 
????:
        Quinnipiac
 
Dick Tuthills says:
 
>        Quinnipiac only did one year of D-2 to D-1 probation which I believe
>finishes in a few days.   They received a waiver of the second year from
>the NC$$,  and will be full-fledged D-1 this summer in all sports.
 
But a quick check on the web seems to indicate that they competed in
Division II last year.  Which one of us is confused?
 
        Finally, I think the other big question is whether UNO is
getting their second D1 probationary year waved, as Mankato did last
season.  I'm sure a member of the Maverick Horde will be glad to
volunteer that information. :-)
                                         John Whelan, Cornell '91
                                               <[log in to unmask]>
                      <http://www.cc.utah.edu/~jtw16960/joe.html>
 
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