March 9, 2005
NCRHA Expands B Division to 9 Teams
The NCRHA will be expanding the B Division in the 2005 Collegiate
Roller Hockey National Championships to nine teams. Following is an
explanation of the decision making process.
As an organization, the NCRHA has constantly been focused on its members, in many different ways. In every relevant conversation, thought is given to what is best for our teams as a whole, and college roller hockey in general. Because of the vast expansion of B teams over recent years, the NCRHA implemented a B Division at the 2004 Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships. The tournament was designed to be a ?test-run,? to see if it was a feasible event to continue and maybe even expand in the future. With only 8 teams invited in 2004, and absolutely no interregional play, the decision was made to give all 7 regions with B teams one bid to the tournament, and vote on the final bid.
In 2005, the decision was made early to continue the B tournament, and have the same number of teams again. The thought was that any greater number of teams would require the tournament to go an extra day, or the event to be moved away from the rest of the national tournament, something we felt we weren?t prepared for quite yet. Because the range in talent at last year?s tournament was so vast, however, the decision was made not to simply give one bid to each region. The focus was to be put on getting our best estimate of the best B teams in the country into the tournament. Clearly, parity is paramount in the B Division, as you can see by looking at standings for the MCRHL, ECRHA, and GPCIHL B teams, just to name a few. Selecting one team over another is a nearly impossible task, and every year someone will be left out that ?belongs? in.
By the judgment of the NCRHA Board of Directors, Cal Poly SLO B Gold is clearly a team that not only belongs in, but was just missed in the selection process. A Final Four team last year, a great record this year, and glowing recommendations from the region have shown us this much. In anticipation of a growing B Division National Championship next season, the NCRHA has decided to include 9 teams in this year?s tournament, including Cal Poly SLO B Gold. No decision in the NCRHA Board of Directors passes without an overwhelming majority vote. You can be confident that the Board felt that this was without a doubt the correct decision.
This kind of step would not be taken in Division I or Division II, where teams are debated for hours and there are already automatic bids for each Member Organization in each division. However, in the B Division we did not give automatic bids and we made a mistake. This is simply the best way to fix it.
The nine B teams will be grouped into 3 round-robin pools, and will be guaranteed 3 games instead of the four games other teams are guaranteed. As a result, the tournament fee will be reduced. All invited teams will be receiving an email detailing this in the near future.
The NCRHA continues to strive to do what is right in all situations. In some situations, there is simply no opportunity to correct mistakes. In this situation there is. Please pose all questions and direct all comments to your Member Organization Director. We promise to continue to make the NCRHA a place where college roller hockey can flourish, and our members can have confidence that we?re always looking out for their best interests.
As an organization, the NCRHA has constantly been focused on its members, in many different ways. In every relevant conversation, thought is given to what is best for our teams as a whole, and college roller hockey in general. Because of the vast expansion of B teams over recent years, the NCRHA implemented a B Division at the 2004 Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships. The tournament was designed to be a ?test-run,? to see if it was a feasible event to continue and maybe even expand in the future. With only 8 teams invited in 2004, and absolutely no interregional play, the decision was made to give all 7 regions with B teams one bid to the tournament, and vote on the final bid.
In 2005, the decision was made early to continue the B tournament, and have the same number of teams again. The thought was that any greater number of teams would require the tournament to go an extra day, or the event to be moved away from the rest of the national tournament, something we felt we weren?t prepared for quite yet. Because the range in talent at last year?s tournament was so vast, however, the decision was made not to simply give one bid to each region. The focus was to be put on getting our best estimate of the best B teams in the country into the tournament. Clearly, parity is paramount in the B Division, as you can see by looking at standings for the MCRHL, ECRHA, and GPCIHL B teams, just to name a few. Selecting one team over another is a nearly impossible task, and every year someone will be left out that ?belongs? in.
By the judgment of the NCRHA Board of Directors, Cal Poly SLO B Gold is clearly a team that not only belongs in, but was just missed in the selection process. A Final Four team last year, a great record this year, and glowing recommendations from the region have shown us this much. In anticipation of a growing B Division National Championship next season, the NCRHA has decided to include 9 teams in this year?s tournament, including Cal Poly SLO B Gold. No decision in the NCRHA Board of Directors passes without an overwhelming majority vote. You can be confident that the Board felt that this was without a doubt the correct decision.
This kind of step would not be taken in Division I or Division II, where teams are debated for hours and there are already automatic bids for each Member Organization in each division. However, in the B Division we did not give automatic bids and we made a mistake. This is simply the best way to fix it.
The nine B teams will be grouped into 3 round-robin pools, and will be guaranteed 3 games instead of the four games other teams are guaranteed. As a result, the tournament fee will be reduced. All invited teams will be receiving an email detailing this in the near future.
The NCRHA continues to strive to do what is right in all situations. In some situations, there is simply no opportunity to correct mistakes. In this situation there is. Please pose all questions and direct all comments to your Member Organization Director. We promise to continue to make the NCRHA a place where college roller hockey can flourish, and our members can have confidence that we?re always looking out for their best interests.