All things D2 and D3 football 2022

[Panthadad2]

I guess I don’t see the problem with that. Who cares that there are blowouts?

Plenty of schools in better conferences make the argument that crappy conferences take up coveted spots in the 32-team playoff. I think there are only 5 at-large spots now.

The NCAA in its infinite wisdom just reduced the minimum conference size to receive an auto-bid at 6 teams. Now conferences are splitting to increase their chance at that coveted auto-bid. Stupid.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Augsburg went through some tough seasons, but with Lamker as coach, the Auggies are on an upward trend.

I'm not saying it's easy, but Hamline, Mac and Scholastica have the same opportunity. Find a good coach, then go out and recruit better players.

St. John's and Bethel are clearly at the top of the conference, but the teams in the 'middle' are very competitive with each other. If the teams that are currently on the bottom can just get a little better, the MIAC can be a very solid league for Football.

and as noted, there are a lot of other sports being played in the MIAC. Football gets a lot of attention, but in the other sports, there is a lot more balance. Gustavus just won the VB playoffs.
St. Catherine's won the Women's soccer title, and St. Olaf took the Men's Soccer title.

 

[Some guy]

Plenty of schools in better conferences make the argument that crappy conferences take up coveted spots in the 32-team playoff. I think there are only 5 at-large spots now.

The NCAA in its infinite wisdom just reduced the minimum conference size to receive an auto-bid at 6 teams. Now conferences are splitting to increase their chance at that coveted auto-bid. Stupid.

I wish division 1 would do that and go back to smaller regional conferences

 

[Schnauzer]

Augsburg went through some tough seasons, but with Lamker as coach, the Auggies are on an upward trend.

I'm not saying it's easy, but Hamline, Mac and Scholastica have the same opportunity. Find a good coach, then go out and recruit better players.

St. John's and Bethel are clearly at the top of the conference, but the teams in the 'middle' are very competitive with each other. If the teams that are currently on the bottom can just get a little better, the MIAC can be a very solid league for Football.

and as noted, there are a lot of other sports being played in the MIAC. Football gets a lot of attention, but in the other sports, there is a lot more balance. Gustavus just won the VB playoffs.
St. Catherine's won the Women's soccer title, and St. Olaf took the Men's Soccer title.

Gustavus has had the best overall Women’s sports program in the MIAC for a long time (not counting St. Thomas).

 

[Panthadad2]

Augsburg went through some tough seasons, but with Lamker as coach, the Auggies are on an upward trend.

I'm not saying it's easy, but Hamline, Mac and Scholastica have the same opportunity. Find a good coach, then go out and recruit better players.

St. John's and Bethel are clearly at the top of the conference, but the teams in the 'middle' are very competitive with each other. If the teams that are currently on the bottom can just get a little better, the MIAC can be a very solid league for Football.

and as noted, there are a lot of other sports being played in the MIAC. Football gets a lot of attention, but in the other sports, there is a lot more balance. Gustavus just won the VB playoffs.
St. Catherine's won the Women's soccer title, and St. Olaf took the Men's Soccer title.

True. The MIAC All Sports competition doesn't necessarily track football, though it does resemble it for the most part.

 

[Panthadad2]

I wish division 1 would do that and go back to smaller regional conferences

Well, the horse has left the barn on smaller D1 conferences, but you'll probably get your wish on auto-bids to a playoff.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Augsburg went through some tough seasons, but with Lamker as coach, the Auggies are on an upward trend.

I'm not saying it's easy, but Hamline, Mac and Scholastica have the same opportunity. Find a good coach, then go out and recruit better players.

St. John's and Bethel are clearly at the top of the conference, but the teams in the 'middle' are very competitive with each other. If the teams that are currently on the bottom can just get a little better, the MIAC can be a very solid league for Football.

and as noted, there are a lot of other sports being played in the MIAC. Football gets a lot of attention, but in the other sports, there is a lot more balance. Gustavus just won the VB playoffs.
St. Catherine's won the Women's soccer title, and St. Olaf took the Men's Soccer title.

I don't know about a lot of the MIAC schools, but Carleton and MAC are literally top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation.

I doubt they'll ever be allowed to recruit players who aren't at least fairly representative of the student body, academics wise.

 

[WAGopher]

Well, the horse has left the barn on smaller D1 conferences, but you'll probably get your wish on auto-bids to a playoff.

When they expand the playoffs, I hope the FBS will have auto bids to the playoffs, but it seems the SEC is dead against it.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

as an Auggie grad, I will note that the All-Sports competition does not include Wrestling, in which Augsburg is a Men's and Women's power - because not enough schools in the conference still offer the sport.

I believe that Augsburg, Concordia and St. John's are the only three MIAC schools that still have men's wrestling. correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Tommyboy]

I don't know about a lot of the MIAC schools, but Carleton and MAC are literally top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation.

I doubt they'll ever be allowed to recruit players who aren't at least fairly representative of the student body, academics wise.

These two school have large endowments, if they wanted to they could put more into football, tough for them to find students that fit that box. There are only 6 kids on the Carleton roster from Minnesota. They had a third string QB playing against SJU this weekend. They same when they played Gusties, St. Thomas would currently beat SJU soundly.

 

[Panthadad2]

as an Auggie grad, I will note that the All-Sports competition does not include Wrestling, in which Augsburg is a Men's and Women's power - because not enough schools in the conference still offer the sport.

I believe that Augsburg, Concordia and St. John's are the only three MIAC schools that still have men's wrestling. correct me if I'm wrong.

With wrestling being such a strong Minnesota HS sport, it's always stumped me why more MIAC schools don't offer it. Maybe there's only enough demand for the NSIC and D2; the flip side of there being no D2 hockey. I know Concordia schedules multiple D2 and NAIA meets/tourneys to fill the schedule. Not sure about the Auggies.

 

[disco]

When they expand the playoffs, I hope the FBS will have auto bids to the playoffs, but it seems the SEC is dead against it.

I've said it for years. I think all ten FBS conference Champs should get auto bids,

 

[disco]

I don't know about a lot of the MIAC schools, but Carleton and MAC are literally top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation.

I doubt they'll ever be allowed to recruit players who aren't at least fairly representative of the student body, academics wise.

They won't, but Stanford is occasionally very good in football, and usually wins the all sports title.

 

[Ope3]

They won't, but Stanford is occasionally very good in football, and usually wins the all sports title.

While it was a while ago, somehow Carleton did win the MIAC in 1992.

Less ancient, in 2008 they had the lead against St John's in the season finale with a minute to go but couldn't hang on. That game the MIAC crown was on the line. Granted a lot has changed since then.

Yesterday, the Division #1 seed was up for grabs at least. Odds are long they will ever win the MIAC, but not unthinkable.

 

[Gophers_4life]

as an Auggie grad, I will note that the All-Sports competition does not include Wrestling, in which Augsburg is a Men's and Women's power - because not enough schools in the conference still offer the sport.

I believe that Augsburg, Concordia and St. John's are the only three MIAC schools that still have men's wrestling. correct me if I'm wrong.

Augs could probably go up to DI in wrestling??

Maybe it's gone now, but the NCAA used to allow D2 and D3 schools to play up in one non-revenue sport (perhaps per gender). There are various examples of this, still to this day.

 

[Gophers_4life]

I've said it for years. I think all ten FBS conference Champs should get auto bids,

You would need a bare minimum of 16 team bracket, more likely 20-24. Could maybe see it, if/when we ever get to 16 since going to 12 is the same number of rounds.

If some of the FBS conferences died off or merged, getting down to 8 total, that might help as well.

 

[Tommyboy]

Fair competition is always good, when you took St. Thomas out, the MIAC is kind of a joke, it is suppose to be the second strongest DIII conference in the country. How bad are the other conferences.

 

[Some guy]

You would need a bare minimum of 16 team bracket, more likely 20-24. Could maybe see it, if/when we ever get to 16 since going to 12 is the same number of rounds.

If some of the FBS conferences died off or merged, getting down to 8 total, that might help as well.

Disagree
10 conference champs and 2-6 at larges would actually expand the playoff and the money that goes with it while increasing the value of hundreds of regular season games


The ideal playoff to me is 11.
10 auto bids for conference champs in a formula based top 25.
If outside the top 25 Extra at large.


Right now playoff would be:
Georgia
Ohio state Michigan winner
TCU
Pac 12 winner
Clemson/UNC winner
Tulane
UTSA (probably not in top 25)
Mac champ (probably not in top)
Mountain west champ (probably not in top 25)
Coastal Carolina (I think they’ll be in by the end)

1 at large
Probably 3-4 more at larges depending on how things shake out

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Here is the Coach's Poll after the past weekend in D2. NSIC teams in bold, Minnesota teams in italics.

1. Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 10-0
2. Angelo St. (Tex.), 10-0
3. Shepherd (W. Va.), 10-0
4. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 10-0
5. Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 10-0
6. Ferris St. (Mich.), 8-1
7. West Florida, 8-1
8. Benedict (S.C.), 9-1
9. Slippery Rock (Pa.), 9-1
10. Northwest Missouri St., 8-2
11. Colorado School of Mines, 8-2
12. Delta St. (Miss.), 9-1
13. Ashland (Ohio), 8-1
14. Indianapolis (Ind.), 8-1
15. Virginia Union, 9-1
16. West Georgia, 7-2
17. Harding (Ark.), 8-2
18. Davenport (Mich.), 8-1
19. Indiana (Pa.), 8-1
20. Truman St. (Mo.), 8-1
21. Newberry (S.C.), 8-2
22. Emporia St. (Kan.), 8-2
23. Minnesota St. Mankato, 8-2
24. Henderson St. (Ark.), 8-2
25. Winona St. (Minn.), 8-2

Others receiving votes: Wingate, Sioux Falls, Wayne St., Assumption, Notre Dame (Ohio), Colorado St-Pueblo, Bemidji St., Fort Valley St., Saginaw Valley St., New Haven, Fayetteville St., Tuskagee.

 

[Panthadad2]

Here is the Coach's Poll after the past weekend in D2. NSIC teams in bold, Minnesota teams in italics.

1. Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 10-0
2. Angelo St. (Tex.), 10-0
3. Shepherd (W. Va.), 10-0
4. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 10-0
5. Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 10-0
6. Ferris St. (Mich.), 8-1
7. West Florida, 8-1
8. Benedict (S.C.), 9-1
9. Slippery Rock (Pa.), 9-1
10. Northwest Missouri St., 8-2
11. Colorado School of Mines, 8-2
12. Delta St. (Miss.), 9-1
13. Ashland (Ohio), 8-1
14. Indianapolis (Ind.), 8-1
15. Virginia Union, 9-1
16. West Georgia, 7-2
17. Harding (Ark.), 8-2
18. Davenport (Mich.), 8-1
19. Indiana (Pa.), 8-1
20. Truman St. (Mo.), 8-1
21. Newberry (S.C.), 8-2
22. Emporia St. (Kan.), 8-2
23. Minnesota St. Mankato, 8-2
24. Henderson St. (Ark.), 8-2
25. Winona St. (Minn.), 8-2

Others receiving votes: Wingate, Sioux Falls, Wayne St., Assumption, Notre Dame (Ohio), Colorado St-Pueblo, Bemidji St., Fort Valley St., Saginaw Valley St., New Haven, Fayetteville St., Tuskagee.

Bemidji State probably wins the conference and they aren't even ranked. Weird. BSU will likely be North Division champions and at least tie for the best record in the conference. They beat Winona by 10 and lost to Mankato by 3. Winona and Mankato play this weekend for what look like the South Division championship.

I can't find online how the D2 auto bid is decided for the NSIC.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Disagree
10 conference champs and 2-6 at larges would actually expand the playoff and the money that goes with it while increasing the value of hundreds of regular season games


The ideal playoff to me is 11.
10 auto bids for conference champs in a formula based top 25.
If outside the top 25 Extra at large.


Right now playoff would be:
Georgia
Ohio state Michigan winner
TCU
Pac 12 winner
Clemson/UNC winner
Tulane
UTSA (probably not in top 25)
Mac champ (probably not in top)
Mountain west champ (probably not in top 25)
Coastal Carolina (I think they’ll be in by the end)

1 at large
Probably 3-4 more at larges depending on how things shake out

TV will never pay for this and P5 would never vote for it, no matter how right you are.

I can see 8 conf champs and 8 at-large for going up to 16 team bracket. Any bigger bracket than that and it's tough to see where they put the extra round, unless they expand out the back end more into Jan/Feb and go head to head with the NFL.

8 conf champs if, for example, PAC and CUSA go away. Or you could even just say "well 8 out of 10 ain't bad, the two worst don't deserve to have their champs in it anyway".

 

[disco]

TV will never pay for this and P5 would never vote for it, no matter how right you are.

I can see 8 conf champs and 8 at-large for going up to 16 team bracket. Any bigger bracket than that and it's tough to see where they put the extra round, unless they expand out the back end more into Jan/Feb and go head to head with the NFL.

8 conf champs if, for example, PAC and CUSA go away. Or you could even just say "well 8 out of 10 ain't bad, the two worst don't deserve to have their champs in it anyway".

I'd love to see 16. Ten conference champs and six at large. I know it's a long shot, but it would generally bring FBS in line with all other divisions of college football.

 

[Some guy]

TV will never pay for this and P5 would never vote for it, no matter how right you are.

I can see 8 conf champs and 8 at-large for going up to 16 team bracket. Any bigger bracket than that and it's tough to see where they put the extra round, unless they expand out the back end more into Jan/Feb and go head to head with the NFL.

8 conf champs if, for example, PAC and CUSA go away. Or you could even just say "well 8 out of 10 ain't bad, the two worst don't deserve to have their champs in it anyway".

Maybe
But the 11 team model would end up with 7 conference champs and 6 teams from the SEC/BIg anyways

It’s actually pretty close to what they’re doing but it puts an unbeaten conference USA team in guaranteed instead of them hoping to be top 12

 

[AO54]

Augs could probably go up to DI in wrestling??

Maybe it's gone now, but the NCAA used to allow D2 and D3 schools to play up in one non-revenue sport (perhaps per gender). There are various examples of this, still to this day.

Nope, have to move every sport now. The programs with teams in multiple divisions were grandfathered in.

 

[disco]

Nope, have to move every sport now. The programs with teams in multiple divisions were grandfathered in.

Kind of. The D3 schools that are playing up at D1 in hockey are grandfathered in (Colorado College for example.) No D3 school can move up to D1 any longer in a single sport.

The D2 schools that are playing up (Mankato, UMD etc.) are allowed to do so because: 1. The NCAA no longer sponsors a D2 hockey championship. and 2. D2 schools are still allowed to have scholarships.

 

[Panthadad2]

Augs could probably go up to DI in wrestling??

Maybe it's gone now, but the NCAA used to allow D2 and D3 schools to play up in one non-revenue sport (perhaps per gender). There are various examples of this, still to this day.

I'd rather see how the Auggie does against St. Cloud State which is one of the best D2 wrestling programs in the country.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Kind of. The D3 schools that are playing up at D1 in hockey are grandfathered in (Colorado College for example.) No D3 school can move up to D1 any longer in a single sport.

The D2 schools that are playing up (Mankato, UMD etc.) are allowed to do so because: 1. The NCAA no longer sponsors a D2 hockey championship. and 2. D2 schools are still allowed to have scholarships.

Bolded: would add that I suspect it is still allowed, in a sense, when the NCAA only has a single championship for all schools sponsoring the sport at a varsity level. Which is likely rare circumstances.

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Bemidji State probably wins the conference and they aren't even ranked. Weird. BSU will likely be North Division champions and at least tie for the best record in the conference. They beat Winona by 10 and lost to Mankato by 3. Winona and Mankato play this weekend for what look like the South Division championship.

I can't find online how the D2 auto bid is decided for the NSIC.

Basically, D2 football is split into four "super" regions, which each has a few conferences. Regional rankings are released in the lead up to the regular season finale that shows the top teams in each of the four. The top seven teams, I think, in each region are then selected to enter the tournament.

Speaking of which, here are the latest rankings for the region the NSIC shares with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Lone Star Conference. NSIC teams in bold, Minnesota teams in italics

1. Angelo State (Texas), 10-0
2. Colorado School of Mines, 8-2
3. Minnesota State Mankato, 8-2
4. Bemidji State (Minn.), 8-2
5. Winona State (Minn.), 8-2
6. Wayne State (Neb.), 8-2
7. Sioux Falls (S.D.),7-3
8. Colorado State Pueblo, 7-3
9. Minnesota Duluth, 7-3
10. Augustana (SD), 6-4

 

[Tommyboy]

Basically, D2 football is split into four "super" regions, which each has a few conferences. Regional rankings are released in the lead up to the regular season finale that shows the top teams in each of the four. The top seven teams, I think, in each region are then selected to enter the tournament.

Speaking of which, here are the latest rankings for the region the NSIC shares with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Lone Star Conference. NSIC teams in bold, Minnesota teams in italics

1. Angelo State (Texas), 10-0
2. Colorado School of Mines, 8-2
3. Minnesota State Mankato, 8-2
4. Bemidji State (Minn.), 8-2
5. Winona State (Minn.), 8-2
6. Wayne State (Neb.), 8-2
7. Sioux Falls (S.D.),7-3
8. Colorado State Pueblo, 7-3
9. Minnesota Duluth, 7-3
10. Augustana (SD), 6-4

If Bemidji can recruit in that pit hole area, any team should be able to recruit.

 

[Panthadad2]

If Bemidji can recruit in that pit hole area, any team should be able to recruit.

Have you even been there? BSU might have the most picturesque campus location in the state; right on Lake Bemidji.