greenie wrote:
>
>Simply put: If the NCAA designated the MAAC as a D1 conference, they
should
>be able to participate in the championship. Given that not every team
in
>the MAAC has full D1 status, it makes me wonder why the heck the NCAA
made
>it D1 in the first place
 
The MAAC may be technically D-I now, but they obviously have a long
way to go to catch up to the other four conferences.  Just looking
at their 3-10-1 record against the *Independents* shows that.
 
The NCAA knew that it would be difficult to evaluate the MAAC by
the criteria the first couple years since much of the selection
criteria doesn't apply.  Record against Teams Under Consideration
and Common Opponents and Head-to-Head are either nonexistent or
extremely skewed.  So the NCAA, in a rare case of sensible
foresight, put in the rule saying
that they would also consider a conference's overall strength.
 
An NCAA berth would admittedly mean more to a MAAC team than an
established team, but it would also mean more to Mankato State or
Nebraska-Omaha.  But those teams haven't earned it yet and neither
has the MAAC.
 
The MAAC just has to pay some dues for a couple years just like
UMass-Amherst and Merrimack have had to since joining Division I.
While instant gratification would dictate an immediate berth, it
just isn't justified.
 
And no one should blame the D-I schools for being reluctant to
schedule the MAAC when it can't yet post a winning record against
the Independents.  The MAAC will get there over the course of a
few years, but it isn't there yet.
 
Duane Glass
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