SA Online Q&A with Editors (College Edition): Nov. 18, 1996

1996 Women’s NCAA Tournament Draw

Christy Long

Decorah, Iowa

I have some questions on the NCAA tournament draw. How can the selection committee justify giving bids to seven of the eight ACC Conference teams and five Big 10 teams when there are other teams in the country who are above them in the regional rankings (i.e., the University of Evansville in the Central region) and across the United States teams got ripped out of the bid because of the representation from these two conferences? Evansville beat two top 20 teams and proved it could play the game against tough teams and it did not get a bid. It is also now ranked 24th in the nation, does that not justify that it should receive a bid to this coveted tournament? I am beginning to think that this is not as fair of a process as they try to make it sound.

Pete Bailey: There are always controversies surrounding the selections for an NCAA tournament, whether it be in soccer, football, or basketball. Now that there are so many quality women’s soccer programs, the selection process is even more difficult.

To begin with, let’s take a look at how the NCAA tournament field was put together:

Eight automatic bids were given to the champions of eight conferences: North Carolina (ACC), Notre Dame (Big East), Indiana (Big Ten), William & Mary (CAA), Harvard (Ivy), Stanford (Pac-10), Florida (SEC), and Portland (WCC).

The NCAA also was required to take the top two teams from each of the six regions (Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, Central, Great Lakes, and West). Because Portland, Notre Dame, and North Carolina already had automatic bids, this process handed out nine more berths in the tournament, for a total of 17.

It should be noted that these are the NCAA’s own regional rankings, NOT the NSCAA rankings published in Soccer America (although they are most likely similar).

So that left the selection committee with 15 at-large bids. Criteria for these bids no doubt included: strength of schedule, strength of conference, number of victories over tournament teams and ranked opponents, and performance over the final weeks of the season.

The ACC is, without question, the strongest women’s conference in the country:
All seven of the teams that received bids had strong schedules and wins over ranked opponents. On top of that, Wake Forest and Duke, two of the teams who were on the proverbial bubble, each won their first-round tourney game this weekend.

Five teams from the Big Ten might seem a bit excessive, but Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Penn State were locks to make the field, and Indiana got in by virtue of its run through the conference tournament (where it beat the Nittany Lions and the Badgers to grab the title). Northwestern beat Minnesota, hammered Penn State 4-0 earlier in the season, and also beat George Washington — hard to ignore.

Evansville played two ranked opponents (Kentucky and Minnesota) and won both games. The Purple Aces may also have fallen victim to the weakness of their conference (the Missouri Valley). A tougher schedule might have offset losses to Tulsa, Creighton, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Butler. Still, it’s tough to keep them out while Dartmouth (which beat UMass but lost to UConn, Harvard, and Colorado College) received a bid.

Another team that is probably surprised it did not get in is Rutgers, which finished 14-7-0 and beat James Madison and Penn State. It also lost to Notre Dame, Wake Forest, George Mason (in overtime), and twice to UConn, so it certainly can boast of a strong schedule. Tough losses to Princeton and unfancied Seton Hall may have done the Lady Knights in.

Tremonton, Utah

Why was BYU’s women soccer team left out of the NCAA tourney when they had one of the better records?

PB: BYU compiled a gaudy 22-1-0 record on the season, but plays in a weak conference (the WAC, which does not have an automatic bid). In addition, the Cougars didn’t play a single ranked opponent, and they lost to San Jose State. Nonetheless, BYU is a program on the rise, with a talented goalscorer in Shauna Rohbock — look for it to play a more difficult schedule next year.

Los Gatos, Calif.

How can the women’s college NCAA seedings ignore No. 19 California? It finished the year at 13-3-2, and is coming off of a tie with Santa Clara and a victory over Stanford. I don’t see how soccer will ever gain the place it deserves in the USA until we can remove the politics. This is unfair to all involved.

PB: Cal had its best season since 1993, and several coaches we’ve talked to were surprised that the Bears did not make the tournament field. They had a 1-1-1 record against tournament teams, beating Stanford, tying at Santa Clara, and losing 0-4 at Washington. It is most likely this last result, along with a moderately easy schedule, that kept the Bears out. Cal and Washington tied for second in the Pac-10, but the Huskies won the head-to-head clash, and Washington also boasts a victory over a ranked opponent in William & Mary. Perhaps Andy Bonchonsky & Co. can blame Indiana, for the Hoosiers were not likely to receive a bid, and their victory in the Big Ten tournament may have cost Cal a spot.

Other College Questions

Matthew Howe

Rio Grande, Ohio

I was wondering what your thoughts were on NAIA soccer. Many people believe that it is equal to the talent of Division II. What do the people at SA think? Why is your coverage of the NAIA so non-existent? It is the only level of soccer in America that is not covered in your magazine.

Mike Woitalla: More than 1,600 colleges sponsor men’s and women’s soccer in the United States. Soccer America’s coverage focuses on the top 30 to 40 NCAA Division I programs. We cover all national championships and run as many scores and rankings as are provided to us by the NSCAA. In addition, we occasionally run small college features and make mention of extraordinary small-college achievements in our College Scene section.

To judge NAIA on the whole is difficult, because the quality of teams varies greatly, as it does in other divisions. Obviously, the best NAIA teams can hold their own with NCAA Division I schools and some could possibly be among the best if compared to the entire Division I field. Such comparisons, however, are deceiving because the different divisions play under different regulations. For example, the NAIA does not have the age restrictions that Division I has.

Springfield, Mass.

Who are the top college prospects that will end up in MLS? Which will most likely to go to Europe?

MW: See my story in the Nov. 25 issue of SA.